community cohesion 2024

 

 

Community Comes Together to Rebuild Brick Wall of Mosque Damaged by Rioters (goodnewsnetwork.org)

‘My shop was looted by rioters, then saved by strangers’ - BBC News

Ask the children what they see in the pictures and explain although the pictures are about different people, they are connected.

The first picture shows bricklayer Tony Hill re-building a wall outside a mosque after it was attacked during violence in Southport. Tony says, “Building crews were coming down so we joined them. We just really want to get this up so the community is safe. It’s just a community isn’t it. You can tell by just looking at everyone here. It’s quite diverse.”

Tony said if he had to rebuild the wall again, he wouldn’t hesitate. The video went viral with over 5 million views. Many people commented calling Tony a legend and saying this was what being British was all about.

The second picture shows Chanaka Balasuriya, who owns a Minimart grocery store in Southport. Chanaka emigrated to England from Sri-Lanka in the 1990s and worked hard to build up his own business from scratch.  During the anti-immigration violence, Chanaka’s shop was destroyed, and his goods were looted. Before this happened, he had not experienced racism while living in England.

Chanaka says, “I remember thinking ‘well that’s it, we’re finished.’ A business I started from scratch. I kind of gave up on everything.”

But the following morning, when he arrived at his shop, Chamaka found a crowd of people already there, clearing up and making repairs.. Support flooded into Chanaka. The owner of a beauty salon nearby set up a crowd funding campaign and more than £11,000 was raised. A local builder replaced Chanaka’s windows for free.

Chanaka says, “You never imagine you’re going to get that much support.”

“It’s not about the money people gave me. It was the messages, the cards, the flowers, that support from strangers is unbelievable.”

-        What is racism?

-        Where do racist ideas come from?

-        Why was a mosque attacked?

-        Tony is not Muslim so why is he rebuilding the wall?

-        “It’s just a community isn’t it. You can tell by just looking at everyone here. It’s quite diverse.” What does Tony mean by this?

-        Chanaka is an immigrant, what does this mean?

-        What do the people who caused the violence say about immigration?

-        When Chanaka came to England he worked hard to build his business from scratch and made it successful. How does this challenge the ideas given by people causing the violence?

-        Why did so many people want to help Chanaka rebuild his shop?

-        What does that show about most people living in Southport and England today?

-        Why are the messages more important to Chanaka than money?

-        What do these stories tell us about living in England today?

-        What do we say at our school about difference and diversity?

Why is this about No Outsiders?

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (new for 2024)

Watch CPD films showing schools in 2024 using No Outsiders to teach community cohesion