My name is Emma Daniel, I am a local Councillor, a Labour Councillor and I Chair the Neighourhoods, Communities and Equalities committee. It is my job to prevent and respond to hate crime. To provide a culture of belief and to ensure people are supported.
I would like to thank the organisers for also remembering our Labour MP, Jo Cox who was gunned down in the street.
What I see globally, and within our country and within my own party is the sense of being “right” and angry. That sense of right-ness seems to give those experiencing it a sense that their angry is justified and their victims deserve the pain they meter out.
But I say when the means involve a mother bleeding to death in the street or a child lying alone and dying alone as their parents can’t be traced. When the means aren’t kind they are aren’t justified no matter how “right” you feel. The ends never can justify the means if the value of kindness is lost.
What I often say to young people in my family and friends when their passions are roused about injustice is this. Being kind is always more important than being right.
In the midst of emotions, pain, disbelief and despair and problems so huge what I can do to help as just a local Councillor in those small shoes, politically speaking? I turned to a book I read as a child, the Diary of Anne Frank for inspiration
In that I found the hope in humanity at a time of global fear and I know that we must focus on the lost children of Europe, the refugee children lost to services and alone. And I must do everything I can to ensure we provide sanctuary and hope to them.
I ask all the Faith Leaders here to please ask their communities to come forward if they have space and love and are able to provide a home for a child who needs it and to encourage them to sign up as foster parents.
Our city must have the spirit of sanctuary in a world of pain.
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