East Londoners defy vandals who repeatedly defaced Pride flags
LGBT colours put out of homophobes' reach after "sheer hate" backlash
Last updated 1st Dec 2024
A London council's hoping to outsmart homophobic vandals who've defaced Pride flags at least five times in the last year.
The vandalism prompted a hate crime investigation by the Metropolitan Police, but there is no news of any arrests.
Newham Council's now removed the painted rainbow and trans flags from the pavements around Forest Gate's Elizabeth Line Station, and replaced them with Pride wraps, high up on lampposts.
On Saturday afternoon (30 November 2024), local LGBT people held a ceremony of songs and speeches, and a short walk, taking in the lampposts with their colourful new designs.
The response by some to the vandalism has shown the homophobia and transphobia that Newham's LGBT+ residents are up against.
The Metropolitan Police made an appeal to find a suspect caught on CCTV. But responses (not necessarily from people in the neighbourhood) on X, formerly known as Twitter, included " I'd find him and shake his hand", "Do you not have real crimes to Police. Jesus you are pathetic", and "Oh c'mon surely you got better things to be doing. 🤡🤡🤡🤡"
"Sheer hate"
Uma Kumaran, Labour MP for Stratford and Bow, says she was taken aback by the venom generated online. "Being a woman of colour and being in the public eye, I'm not a stranger to hate, sadly," she told the crowd gathered at Saturday's ceremony in Forest Gate. "But I had to turn my Twitter replies off when I tweeted about this - the sheer hate and the sheer scale of outrage…"
"I don't know why people are so easily triggered, actually, but I also thought to myself, I've got to protect myself and protect my mental health. I'm not going to hide away from tweeting about it, but I absolutely am not going to let you win either.
"And it just gave me a slight glimpse into it. Now, imagine being a person of colour who is also LGBT+, or who is also from a faith group that perhaps doesn't accept you, and at every layer we see how difficult this can be.
"But the community here in Forest Gate - everyone here is absolutely standing shoulder to shoulder and we will not let this come between us. You know, I've taken your message loud and proud to the Mayor of London, who himself is a great ally. We hope that we will have for the next Forest Gate Pride, an even bigger protest through here, an even bigger celebration, an even bigger standing together of who we are as a community."
"Overt, violent, ugly"
Labour mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz echoed the local MP's sentiments about inclusivity.
"Please never ever think I ... will turn a blind eye to the hate that we have seen in this part of our inclusive borough.
"I will go to the ends of the earth to make Newham a showcase around the world for inclusivity, for equality, for equity, for justice, for fairness. And that means challenging prejudice. Overt, violent, ugly, angry.
Hate, as we've seen so many times, as it related to those flags that we helped support ... as a celebration of how inclusive Newham is and Forest Gate has always been.
"And I know it's been frightening. It's been scary for the community."
Forest Gate is an area popular with LGBT people, and it holds a Pride event every summer. It's also a racially diverse part of east London, with part of the district 60% Muslim, according to the latest census.
"An outrage"
Speaking on behalf of the Muslim LGBT+ Network, Ejel Khan, a gay Muslim of South Asian origin with Pakistani and Bangladesh heritage, said as a victim of hate crime himself, he understood the LGBT+ community's pain.
"When I see flags being defaced, it sends a shockwave throughout the community," he said. "I advocate for people all around the world who come here. They think this is a safe haven. They think we're a bastion of tolerance and human rights. That's why they come here. I advocate for those who flee persecution ... or even the death penalty in some Muslim countries.
"I want them to know that this place is for all of us. We should celebrate one another and be inclusive. I don't know who the perpetrators were who defaced those flags. But if they were Muslim? That's an outrage."
Mayor Fiaz said some residents find themselves torn between their beliefs and their sexuality.
"I hope that there isn't someone who thinks that they can get a saw to saw a lamp post"
"There are LGBT members of our community who are Muslim. They are LGBTQ+ members of our community who are of all religious backgrounds and faith.
"I know first-hand the trauma, the dilemmas of living your life where you wish to live with liberty and freedom. And you cannot because of your faith or cultural background.
"So as we mourn, and we should, the defacing of the flags, but as we come together in love, and yes, in profound peace, but in solidarity in allyship, let's know this: The struggle will continue. It will be difficult. We do need to have those challenging conversations."
"We will celebrate these banners, which we've enabled at the council. I hope that there isn't someone who thinks that they can get a saw to saw a lamp post. If that ever happens, we'll fix it. We have a fix it mindset!"