Rotherham protest: Crowds face off over ‘Valentine’s card to refugees’ claim
A protest about debunked claims schoolchildren sent Valentine's cards to refugees in Rotherham has been met with huge opposition
An estimated 40 protesters, some carrying England flags, gathered outside Rotherham Council’s headquarters on Main Street, spurred on by conspiracies online about an initiative by the City of Sanctuary charity called ‘Show Your Heart for Refugees This Valentine’s Day’.
They were met by a similar number of pro-refugee counter protesters with banners and a loud speaker.
Police are stationed between the two sides and around the building, with a drone hovering overhead.
Rotherham Council workers can be seen in the windows of their offices, watching as shouts and chants become louder and increasingly aggressive.
The City of Sanctuary said it was aware of a far right group circulating “false and inflammatory” material about its Schools of Sanctuary programme which aimed to offer a “simple act of welcome.”
It added: “This material includes dangerous misrepresentations of school activities and is being used to mobilise people to protest.
“Our Schools of Sanctuary programme promotes compassion, understanding, and safety.
“Whilst we are not directly involved in the delivery of activities in schools, we understand the activity in question, undertaken in a small number of schools, did not involve children writing personal Valentine’s cards to adults in the asylum system.
“Instead, it was a simple act of welcome – pupils wrote short, anonymised messages to people seeking safety in their communities.
“These were expressions such as “Welcome to our town” or “We hope you feel safe here.”
“No personal information was shared, and the activity was age-appropriate, teacher-led, and in line with rigorous school safeguarding policies.”
This is the wepage: Show Your Heart for Refugees This Valentine’s Day