Members of the Portuguese community in London say they are terrified by the current violence in the UK due to far-right demonstrations against immigrants, Portuguese community councillor Pedro Xavier told Luce on Wednesday.
“I am aware of some reports from members of the Portuguese community in London who say they are scared, although they have not yet been directly affected, although one of the girls killed [em 30 de julho] “It is of Portuguese origin, which of course has alarmed people in an unprecedented way,” an adviser to Portuguese communities in the UK told Luce.
Pedro Xavier said it was wrong to classify events held by the far right across the UK as “protests”, with particular reference to London, the capital, because “to do so they would have to be sanctioned by local authorities and the police, which is a protocol that is part of British law”, which was not the case.
The unrest began after three girls were stabbed to death at a summer holiday centre in Southport, north-west England, leaving eight other minors and two adults injured.
“Unfortunately, one of the girls was Portuguese and we were in contact with the family, with the parents, not only with me but also with the Consulate General of Manchester, which was in the jurisdiction of the region where they live,” the consultant said.
As for the Portuguese community, Pedro Xavier said it had not suffered much – except for the tragic episode involving a minor – as the riots “are aimed at the Muslim community and racial aspects”, which is also regrettable, he said.
These demonstrations, which are caused by “misinformation spread on social media by some prominent people, have already resulted in about a hundred police officers being injured from the north to the south of the country, and the authorities are on high alert,” he said.
“We have information that this new leader, who took office last month, has already warned the army in case of further unrest,” he stressed.
According to Pedro Xavier, justice is working 24 hours a day and at least three people involved in some of the riots have already been sentenced, which sends “a strong signal that this chaos will obviously end on the streets of London and in other cities in the United Kingdom.”
The consultant also added that he had recently learned from members of the Portuguese community that “counter-demonstrations” had begun to be organized by some groups in the Muslim community and the group “Black Lives Matter” (As Vidas Negras Importam, in Free Translation).
He finds this reaction “worrying” because it could lead to clashes that would then “create even more problems for the authorities in containing all these groups” since the authorities are “already under pressure to maintain order on the streets.”
“I hope that in the coming days the authorities will be able to contain this situation and that social media will help spread information and not disinformation,” he lamented.
The camp counselor also said that the seventh mass in memory of the death of the Portuguese-born child was held on Tuesday.
“The Community Service and the Regional Government of Madeira have helped the family, especially in terms of facilitating the presence of family members with them in the United Kingdom. There is also a unification of our community from the north to the south of the country, through vigils, masses and messages of consolation,” he stressed.
The violence that has engulfed the United Kingdom in the past week has come amid partially disproved rumours about the identity of the suspect who carried out the crime, who was wrongly described as a Muslim asylum seeker.
In fact, the 17-year-old was born in Cardiff, Wales, and according to British media, his family is of Rwandan descent.
At least 378 people have been arrested since the unrest began, police said, and that number could rise in the coming days.