Fighting Talk, Summer 1998

Many thanks to the person who forwarded this leaflet to the Archive. This is a two page document from Anti-Fascist Ireland produced in Summer 1998. As noted previously:

Anti-Fascist Action Ireland was founded in 1991. As it says on its Facebook page:

AFA is dedicated to confronting fascism, both physically and politi­cally, in whatever guise it might take” and “As expected, the group’s work is diverse. Small-scale activities involve the removing of racist graffiti and stickers, leafleting an area where there has been a case of fascist activity and organising ben­efit gigs. More substantial projects include getting involved in football related anti-racist initiatives, writing and producing a magazine called No Quarter and mobilising large numbers to physically confront neo-Nazis when the time calls.

This documents notes:

Anti-Fascist Action was founded in Ireland in 1991. Since then, due to the low level of racist activity in Ireland, we have operated as a ‘network’ organisation providing information to people interested in anti fascist issues in Ireland, Britain and Europe.

Racism has been allowed to fester in certain areas and it is getting worse, not better.

We should not fool ourselves that racism is the preserve of ‘tiny minorities’ or a ‘handful ofright wing politicians’ or that ‘the media’ is solely responsible for it.

Where it matters – in working class communities throughout Dublin – the anti-immigrant argument has become accepted. At present Ireland, especially the urban areas, is fertile ground for a racist populist group or individual. In the last General Election two candidates ran on an anti immigration ticket. With the local elections due next year it could provide the racists with aplatform. Anti racists must be prepared to deal directly with such developments.

No amount of petition signatures or placard waving will ‘turn the tide’. Protests against racism addressed to anti-racists are a sterile strategy.

The battle must be fought and won at local level. This means slow, patient work to dispel the racist lies about refugees and, crucially, the building of links between both the refugees and the local communities. It also means presenting a physical response to those engaging in racist attacks or distributing racist literature.

And:

This is a crucial period for anti-racists. The racists are becoming more vocal and better organised. Race attacks are increasing. AFA were joint organisers of an anti-racism demonstration last April, which brought over 1,000 people onto the streets of Dublin. The race attacks have continued to rise. One-off marches/carnivals and ‘well intentioned’ liberalism are not enough.

The document has a piece on AFA’s Campaign and it seeks to place AFA in a broader context:

AFA in Ireland is part of the wider Anti Fascist Action network with branches throughout England. Scotlandand Wales and has international contacts with similar groups in Europe and America. We also organise among football fans in Britain to counter fascist recruitment at football.

AFA has·been the only organisation to effectively challenge and prevent the growth of fascist groups such as BNP, the National Front, Cl8 and Nazi ‘Blood & Honour’ gigs. AFA publishes the quarterly magazine Fighting Talk and a wide range of anti fascist merchandise and stickers are available.

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