Hello and welcome to this post-Brexit edition of OMFG Sarkar
I'm Ash Sarkar for Novara Media
and today we're here in Barking,
(to find out just what's going on)
(a fortnight after the referendum.)
Barking's MP, Margaret Hodge proposed a motion of no confidence
in Labour's leader, Jeremy Corbyn,
citing his failure to successfully campaign for Britain to remain in the EU
but, Barking, her own constituency,
voted overwhelmingly for Leave,
(sixty-two point four per cent)
(and that's a margin of eighteen thousand.)
(I actually voted to leave) and I think, well yeah,
if we got the right sort of government, like, to do that,
yeah, I'd go with it.
I think we really needed a change
because the government have been promising for a long while
with immigration and with NHS and things like that -
What did you feel was being imposed on this country that otherwise wouldn't be?
I just think that there's lots of different rules and regulations
(that the EU and Brussels were imposing on us)
the immigration was definitely an issue -
Barking very famously has been a
flashpoint for conflicts between Labour and UKIP
and earlier the Labour and the BNP.
Do you see those politics along
ethnic or racial lines playing out in the Leave vote
or do you think it it was more to do with the economics?
I think a lot of it was probably to do with the racist side view,
probably just to get immigration down and things like that.
We can't now get into properties like council or
we can't get things from the hospitals
there's so much a waiting list now -
Lots of people are now scared about whether or not they can stay,
lots of people are scared of racial street harassment.
(What would you say to those people,)
(regarding the referendum result?)
I think that a majority of the people in this country
are ... very tolerant and very ... welcoming to the immigrants.
They shouldn't worry, I think I'm sure that the politicians,
as soon as they sort themselves out, will ...
negotiate the right deal for everyone in the country.
Do you feel that there's more, like, racial segregation and antagonism?
There is more.
Everyone is open now to racial segregation so,
hopefully, it shall resolve itself soon.
I mean there's been a five-fold increase in racist attacks on the streets -
I've personally experienced some of them -
and one of the things that I've been coming across is that
lots of English people who did vote Brexit
are very much in denial about that.
Do you think there's any way to resolve it?
Hmmmm... I just think we should come together...
but the thing is at least they're open now,
so now we know where everyone else stands.
But, we just want the nation
in peace, that's what we need right now -
(- about the EU referendum?)
(Yeah)
Can I talk?
At the end of the day, right,
I think that is a brilliant idea that we left the EU.
Because there are so many foreigners
coming over and taking our jobs.
I know it's not just all them foreigners,
because I know some of the foreigners are doctors
and some of them foreigners can save our lives..
There are some foreigners that are coming over,
and taking our jobs, yeah,
and not even working!
And they're working -
How can they take our jobs if they're not working?
Because they do it!
They do it over, they do it!
Simple as that.
They take our jobs yeah, and they're not even working
they say that they're signed on for a job, and they do that job,
but they're not even doing the job!
They just send they're money over to the people,
over to their families in a different country,
and I don't think that's fair.
Because they're getting something for nothing,
and their families are getting something for nothing.
May I ask how old you are?
I'm seventeen, but, I know I'm seventeen,
and I honestly, I think I speak sense.
If you want me to say it, I'll say it, I don't give a damn, OK:
we fought, we voted, we got in.
In regards of these people,
whoever youse people are,
I don't give a damn.
We got in. It was fair.
Everybody voted to come out of the EU.
Do you think that there are groups of people out there who might feel differently,
who might be feeling more scared,
a bit more vulnerable, a bit less optimistic?
They probably are, they probably are
but
-Well you gotta get a hold of yourself and realise -
-we've gotta think of our own people and all.
All these people that's coming by boats,
causing their self ... to drown and stuff like that -
'cause they're doing it to their selves -
they know damn well
it's too many people here now.
Housing. Our kids can't even get an house.
I really appreciate the honesty of your comments
but I disagree entirely.
These are people fleeing war.
They want, they want to have cities, lives just like ours here,
-and they've been reduced to rubble.
-(That's true)
That is true but what can you do?
I mean we're not the only country in this world are we?
No and in fact we're taking far fewer refugees than other European countries.
-Well, maybe you're right ... you probably are right
-(Yeah 'cause this is one country -)
(Lotta men with them.)
Why don't they give them arms to fight for their country?
Like other countries have to do?
[inaudible] you got Africa right? You got all wasteland in Africa, right?
Get people to go there, right, and start a living there.
He's ill, he's been ill before Christmas.
They stopped his money for thr... six weeks?
Seven weeks.
Seven weeks.
Do you not think that's the fault of the Tory government,
rather than the immigrants?
(And they'd also want to starve me for seven weeks as well.)
(Precisely)
I think the Tories have ruined this country.
I think they have...
and what they're doing to Jeremy Corbyn,
I think's bad. Really bad.
I met him, right, I met him
and he's a lovely man.
I think they should be done for what they're doing.
They should be stopped.
But you don't see a difference in his view on immigration
and your view on immigration.
I don't know his point on that.
He believes in accepting more refugees,
especially from Syria.
No, I don't agree with that,
you can't agree with everything they say,
everything a politician comes out with,
you can't agree with everything.
No i don't agree with that.
But he's good for this country
and he don't forget houses for us.
Alright, so,
two weeks after Brexit,
how are you feeling?
I feel devastated,
because
the majority of people that voted were all old,
and
their decisions
isn't really gonna make a big effect on them.
It's gonna effect young people more -
No-one's gonna have confidence with voting again
'cause they're gonna feel like it's all rigged
and their voice didn't matter.
The panic is there.
People are not really sure what is going to happen next.
We don't know
what's going to happen to our children.
I lost my job since the Brexit.
Seriously?
Yeah!
Our share prices just went plummeting down
and then they said, suddenly said
that they're gonna make cutbacks,
things like that, and then,
next thing you know I've lost me job so... [laughs]
Leaving the EU is kind of a good thing
because, like, I don't know, because
it's not really affecting me in any way
... I see other people and they ...
they, like all my friends and stuff
they feel happy about it.
Lots of people have been saying that they've been seeing,
an increase in racism,
particularly towards people who look Muslim or are perceived as Muslim;
have you experienced any of that
or have you seen any of that?
No, I haven't.
People actually have turned really racist since the Brexit
and I feel that London and England are very much stronger
in the European Union itself and ...
I just can't believe that this is actually happening.
Let's take Hitler, right?
He just wanted to banish everyone,
and just for the Germans to live long (under) Europe.
And how did he turn out?
How did he turn out!
He turned out dead!
I mean, that's the way I think it's gonna be -
I mean, that's the most logical way to put it in words.
So you see this as part of like, an uprising of populist fascism?
Exactly. Exactly!
That's how I see it.
How could they do such a thing?
I mean we're all people, right?
We all deserve jobs, we all deserve a living.
It's not that it benefits them or not -
you know -
they don't care about whether it benefits them or not,
they just wanna be English pride,
and say that they want their country back,
and that's it, you know! [laughs]
- Yeah
(How do you feel after all that?)
[laughs]
Like I've just gone three rounds with
Anthony Joshua.
I stayed up all night watching the referendum coverage
- like an idiot -
and, after the sunderland result came in, which
surprisingly voted leave,
all the reporters,
be they from the BBC, ITV or Sky News,
started saying the same thing:
they started saying that the Leave vote 
reflected a protest vote
by an alienated, forgotten "white working class"
and they used that phrase "white working class".
(Barking and Bradford are)
(really working class,)
(hard hit by austerity,)
(hard hit by deindustrialisation,)
(and, yeah,)
(you can start thinking of it as anti-establishment in that way.)
(But they're not racially homogenous towns, right?)
And then you've got places like Broxbourne,
You've got places like South Buckinghamshire,
which aren't really working class at all
- though a bit more racially homogenous.
So...
Let's think about what happens when we racialise
the working class as white;
specifically let's think about what whiteness is doing here.
Not just as false-consciousness,
which means that white working-class people can identify with
elitist toffs like Boris Johnson,
but as a sense of entitlement,
and as a sense of aggrievement.
There's a hell of a lot to unpack in
what we got from the vox-pops today
- which is why I feel mildly concussed -
but one of things that I found really interesting was that
when white people were confronted with
(the increase in incidences of racist street harassment,)
(they were really casual about it.)
(People were saying:)
(yeah it's really bad that these racist things are happening,)
(but what's important is that we've
taken control of our country back.)
(So, there's an element of cognitive dissonance.)
They're disavowing that violence,
but at the same time,
I think,
tacitly condoning it as being a necessary part
of reclaiming British Sovereignty.
(It might look like we're being selective in our footage,)
(but we honestly didn't come across)
a single white remain voter today.
(People were talking about strains on the NHS,)
(people were talking about precariousness in their employment,)
people were talking about housing.
But, the way in which responsibility was being allocated
was really interesting
and a lot of the time it just didn't make any sense.
(The people saying this stuff are obviously really vulnerable)
(in their own way,)
and I really wouldn't wanna downplay that.
That feeling of vulnerability -
of being under attack by...
a cruel and brutal state -
I think is a fair analysis of what's going on.
So... what else have we learned today?
Ooh, we learned that it is possible to be 
incredibly xenophobic,
and, let's not beat about the bush,
incredibly racist,
and still support Jeremy Corbyn!
Now, this isn't a par on Jeremy Corbyn's politics, because...
my man J-Corbz 4 Life,
but I think it points towards failures on the part of the Left.
And what we have failed to do is
(unpick and dismantle this formulation of)
("the white working class".)
What we've failed to do is look at how
class is inherently racialised.
(So what that means is:)
(you're more likely to be working class)
(if you're a person of colour.)
(And, that race itself is materially constituted.)
So, what that means is:
you're less likely to be paid well,
less likely to have 
good employment opportunities
or good educational opportunities,
less likely to have good access
to healthcare.
There was actually a lot of differentiation politically
amongst the people of colour that we spoke to. So,
(some people weren't worried at all about leaving the EU.)
(They weren't worried about the economy,)
they weren't worried about an increase in racist violence.
(Others, however, were very worried about those things.)
(Normally I end my videos by)
asking what you think, like,
holla at me @ayoceaser @novaramedia
and I'm still interested in those things, but
to be honest I wanna hear about what you're doing.
I wanna hear about what you're fighting for,
I wanna hear what you're struggling against,
because right now the stakes of our survival 
are so very, very high
and, in the words of Assata Shakur:
"We have duty to fight for our freedom,
we have a duty to win"
