SOCIALIST UNITY

Last weekend in Taunton.

For the attention of the Branch and members:

From Jerry Hicks Unite member Bristol:

I write to you about the election for General Secretary (GS) of Unite which this time round will involve the whole union, unlike last year’s election for Joint General Secretary which was only held in the Amicus section.

As yet there is no definite date or timetable set for the election, though it is extremely unlikely to be held or even announced during the run up to the General Election. However it has to happen this year.

With the election for a single General Secretary ahead of us it’s worthwhile for a moment looking at where we are right now.

We are a year on from the election held in the Amicus section of unite and sadly, in my view we are in an even worse position than we were then. With the economy in tatters and our members in the firing line, the union continues to be run as a business and not a service.

Again and again member’s say they feel even more distant from the leadership and even more remote from decision making leaving them feeling both angry and vulnerable. Our members need and deserve a lot more from our union!

There is in my view a lack of clear, bold leadership in our union for which they, the leadership bear a collective responsibility for where we are and how we got here. They have either agreed with the decisions and direction of the union or have not being able or willing to change them.

Already a number of candidates have come forward though with the exception of myself, I am not an official or employee of the union, they are all senior national officials. Whilst I have no axe to grind with any other prospective candidate I believe they have become ‘part of the problem and not the solution’.

Given their positions they are more able to contact members or appear in the union publications.

Our campaign on the other hand is doing precisely what we promised and that is, involving and engaging, supporting and organising, with and for the members. These last few days and weeks especially, in that our latest leaflet (enclosed) which lots of our supporters have been taking to workplaces, is aimed at informing members of the GS election, the importance of it and where we stand.

For many this is the first they have known about it.

It will require sufficient nominations to progress and I do not underestimate that task. More of the same won’t do, members need and deserve a lot better than another false dawn. We confounded all the sceptics by coming second last time with nearly 40,000 votes and we believe that this time we can go one better.
We are in it to win it and we want to win it to be able to change the union. Where it’s good we want it to be fantastic, where its OK we want it to be great and where it’s wrong we want it to make it right.
Change from a ‘can’t do’ union to a ‘can do’ union, from a campaigning union to a fighting union, from a remote and distant union to an inclusive involving union where members decide and the union provides.

Not change in the form of top down dictates but change from below from the workplaces, branches, sectors and regions that will be given authority and independence over decisions and direction, change at the top helping to bring about change from the bottom up.

Some of the issues I stand for:

• Election of all officials.
• Repeal of anti union laws and when necessary confront them.
• A General Secretary on an average members wage.
• Members decide while the union provides.
• Mergers that make us stronger not just bigger.
• Prioritise: Public ownership: Pensions: The creation of one million ‘Green’ jobs.
• Public works programme, first 3100 jobs offered to blacklisted construction workers
• Make the ‘Peoples charter’ happen.

If you wish to and are able to help with the leafleting please let me know, in many places there are already small (or large!) groups of supporters organising themselves, let me know if you would like to be put in touch with others, by phone, email or meeting up.

If you agree with some, most, or the majority of what you have read, please would you consider supporting me in my campaign for General Secretary by way of an invitation for me to speak, by nomination at the designated branch meeting or by making a financial donation, details below.

I will be relying upon the generosity of individuals and the belief that collectively, when determined people come together ‘all things are possible’.

If you wish to help, want to know more, or make a donation
Please contact me by either of the following ways
Tel: 07817827912
Email: jerryhick4gs2010@yahoo.co.uk

Or write to me at: 10 York Road, Montpelier, Bristol; BS6 5QE.
Please make cheques made payable to JerryHicks4GS

All donations will be receipted, and a record of all transactions will be available for inspection. Please note that the new unite rule book does allow for donations to be made from branch funds up until to the time the election is called.

For more about information visit the campaign web site: www.jerryhicks4gs
And a look at the recent you tube clip: ‘organising the union’.

Yesterday London Underground announced it is to axe up to 800 jobs under plans to make savings of GBP16 million a year. The cuts will include 100 managers, 450 ticket office posts and up to 200 other jobs, although London Underground (LU) said it was committed to achieving the losses without any compulsory redundancies. Between 700 and 800 jobs will be cut, but LU said no Tube station ticket office would close and staff will remain available to help travellers in ticket halls, gate lines and on platforms.

Unions reacted furiously to the announcement, which they said confirmed suspicions they have had for several weeks that LU was drawing up plans to cut jobs. Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, said:

“If these cuts to jobs are bulldozed through by Transport for London it will turn London’s tube stations into a muggers paradise. MT will fight to protect passenger and staff security on London Underground and in the event of compulsory redundancies and the undermining of tube safety we will have no hesitation in balloting for action.”

Gerry Doherty, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, accused London Mayor Boris Johnson of “betraying” passengers and staff.

“He was elected promising to keep ticket offices fully open and fully staffed. He has now broken that promise. We shall fight this all the way if any of our members are threatened with compulsory redundancy.”

Gerry is completely correct. Boris Johnson’s commitment in the election was: “ensuring there is always a manned ticket office at every station.”

and:

“local people feel it is important there is a manned ticket office at their station, as often there are not enough Oyster outlets in the local area. There has been little consultation with local residents, and I think it is wrong that some local stations could lose this service.”

Congratulations to Respect National Committe member Ian Drummond who has been elected Vice-President of the University of London Union.

Sons of Malcolm

Sukant Chandan interviews Palestinian revolutionary Leila Khaled and Palestinian Gaza resident and revolutionary Shireen Said for International Women’s Day 2010

The Palestinian people’s oppression continues primarily due to the financial, diplomatic and military support that the Zionist state receives from the USA, and secondly the acquiescence of pro-Western states in the region. After the fall of the Zionists state’s long lost brother – the Apartheid state of South Africa – the Palestinian struggle remains perhaps the leading and most potent anti-imperialist struggle in the world. Unsurprisingly therefore Palestinian women are a central example of what role women can play in the struggle to free themselves, their families, communities and their nation against imperialism and Zionism.

Leila Khaled brought the Palestinian struggle to the world’s attention by means of two dramatic plane hijackings in 1969 and 1970 in which no-one but one of her own comrades was killed, the person killed was American-Nicaraguan Patrick Arguello.Kahled retells her account of this hijacking in her autobiography ‘My People Shall Live’ (1973) in which she writes: “Patrick Arguello, age twenty-seven, father of three children, a Nicaraguan citizen of the world, born in. San Francisco, USA, was pronounced dead. What had prompted someone half-way across the world from Palestine to undertake this dangerous mission? Patrick was a revolutionary Communist. His gallant action was a gesture of international solidarity. A flame of life was extinguished; it lit the world for a moment; it blazed a trail on the road back to Palestine. Arguello lives, so do my people, so does the revolution!”

Khaled remains one of the most inspirational and influential leftist anti-imperialist women in the post-Second World War period. Leila Khaled remains active today in the leadership of the Palestinian revolution, as she is one of the central committee members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) as well as a representative of the Palestinian National Council.

The rise of the Islamists Hamas in the Palestinian revolution since the mid 1990s has meant that many people associate the Palestinian struggle with the Islamism of Hamas rather than that of Leila Khaled and other Palestinian and Arab revolutionaries such as the Lebanese communist resistance fighter Souha Bechara. But the recent 42nd anniversary rally of the PFLP in Gaza that attracted some 70,000 people raised the profile of the Palestinian revolutionary left and also of the role of women when one young woman called Shireen Said of the PFLP stood on stage giving a salute in military fatigues and was co-chair of the rally alongside her male comrade and co-chair of the PFLP rally. In an interview with the writer Said explained a little about her background, stating that she was born in 1985 Jabalya refugee camp, from which the ‘children of the stones’ started the first Intifada, “my childhood memories are mostly of the first Intifada” she explains. In her early teens she became involved in one of the student movements associated with the PFLP.

Said explains further about herself, “I studied my Bachelor in Sport at Al-Aqsa University. I worked at Progressive Student Labour Front with lots of comrades until I got the position of secretary at the students union. I was the first young woman in Gaza to get this position via democratic elections at the university. After my graduation I worked in the committees of the Union of Palestinian Women which is part of a progressive feminist struggle for women’s liberation and to bring them together and on an equal footing with men in all fields of national and democratic reform. Along with my professional work in many non-governmental organizations as an activist in youth issues, I am now a board member of the Palestinian Progressive Youth Union and I study my Masters in Education at Al-Azhar University.”

Like many young women around the world, Shireen Said was inspired by the example of Leila Khaled: “Ofcourse comrade Leila Khaled as a national and international struggler inspires all women who seek freedom, social justice and an independent prosperous homeland for themselves and for the coming generations.”

When asked to react to what Said said about her, Khaled explained to the writer: “I am proud if anyone sees me as a symbol of resistance; it gives me more strength for the struggle. To see a woman anywhere struggling for a just cause gives me hope and courage for my people. Women give their life for the struggle in Palestine and elsewhere.”

Leila Khaled is a symbol for many Palestinian young women including Said of commitment and sacrifice to their peoples struggle: “My story with comrade Leila started in kindergarten when we learnt the national songs about the Intifada, martyrs and our heroes like Leila, Ghassan Kanfani and Wadi Haddad. As I was growing up my interest and love towards Leila grew inside me, I wanted to know everything about her. Although I had not had the chance to meet her she inspired me and I felt proud of her. As a woman she argued that no-one could prevent her from participating with men in the hardest parts of the struggle, so comrade Leila is an example for me and for many women.”

In the historical moment in which the Palestinians are living today many of the Palestinian revolutionary left’s principles and morals are seen by many in this traditional largely Muslim and Arab society as being alien or an unnecessary importation of Western ideals and standards, therefore Said’s participation in the PFLP rally was no easy choice: “Due to our conservative and traditional society I was afraid to face such a big audience but also because it is the first time a young Palestinian woman wears military fatigues at such a rally, but nevertheless I insisted to go through with the experience.”

Said explained how her decision was largely defined by the defiance and steadfastness of the masses in Gaza during the barbaric Zionist onslaught early last year: “The Zionists massacres of in Gaza in January 2009 were still memories raw in the hearts and minds of the people, so I wanted to present a message that despite all the killing, destruction and terror of the Zionist war we will assert that our men and women will stand side-by-side in the resistance which is our path to liberation and freedom. At the rally itself I was pleased that my personality could convey these messages to millions through television and the internet across the world. My family were also very proud of me.”

Khaled emphasised the importance of defending the hundreds of Palestinian women prisoners: “I especially think of the women in Israeli jails, the women there are evidence to the torture and oppression of the occupation, and also at the same time are examples of courage and strength.”

When asked what her message would be to women across the world on International Women’s Day, Said answered: “Firstly I would like to send greetings to all women who hold the banner of struggle against capitalism and imperialism and to say to them that our path is very long and hard and necessitates well thought out strategies. We shouldn’t forget that the capitalist system oppresses and exploits women and takes away their human dignity. Therefore we must adhere to our values of humanity and progressive politics as well as remaining united and strong in the revolutionary left as the best means to achieve our ends. This is the only path to attain freedom, equality and social justice for us, our families and our children.”

Finally, Khaled’s message focused her message on the women of Palestine, particularly those in the West Bank and Gaza in their role in unifying the factions, especially Hamas and Fatah, a process of reconciliation and unity in which the PFLP has been playing a central role: “In this political moment the most important issue is that of unifying our people to face the terrors of the occupation, and the main basis of unity must be fighting the occupation. Fighting the occupation demands that Palestinian factions are united. It is important to understand the role of the Palestinian masses in achieving this unity by putting pressure through democratic and civil means on the Palestinian factions focusing on Hamas and Fatah. Palestinian women are adversely affected by these divisions as many of their families are divided, which is why I am adamant that Palestinian women recognise the importance of the unity in the Palestinian struggle and their role in achieving this unity.”

NB - There’s also a great piece by Johan Hari in today’s Independent. 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=302907136405&ref=ts

Bristol Convention of the Left welcomes you to a day of decentralised discussion in Easton Community Centre.

The Convention will be about participation not top-down platforms, and hopes to develop agreement on the Left about policies around which we can all unite.

We will be holding workshops on:

-War and Peace - Palestine, Afghanistan and Iran
-Defending Public Services
-Solidarity with Latin America
-The Environment and Climate Change
-Fascism, Racism and Islamophobia
-Defending Civil Liberties
-Gender Equality
-Unemployment and the Economic Crisis
-Electoral Strategy- Builiding a Movement

These workshops will be about creating agreement on campaign strategies across the Left and will be co-run by groups within the movement.

Our Sponsors So far:

In Personal Capacity:

Tim Lezard (NUJ)
Jerry Hicks (UNITE)
Katie Buse (Bristol Green Party)
Jeremy Clarke (Bristol Stop the War)
Steve Mills (UNISON)
Paulette North (NUT)
Jo Benefield (Bristol Respect Party)
Mark Baker (PCS)
Tom Baldwin (Socialist Party)
Paul Smith (Labour Party)
Julie Boston (Campaign for Free Public Transport)
Ed Hill (Bristol Computers for Palestine)
Dave Chapple (CWU)
Karina Watkins (People and Planet- Bristol)
Paul Saville (People and Planet- UWE)
Dan Iles (Bristol Left)
Gus Baker (Bristol Labour Students)
Sophie Bennett (Bristol Uni Feminist Society)

and Ken Loach - International Film Maker!

Party, Union Branch and Campaign group Sponsors:
-UNISON UWE Branch
-CWU Bristol Branch
-Socialist Worker Party
-Bristol Stop the War
-Bristol Unite Against Fascism
-Youth Fight For Jobs
-Green Left
-Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign
-Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers Campaign
-plus more to be confirmed

If you or your group also wants to sponsor this exciting event, contact us on leftconvention@gmail.com

**********************************************
Please invite all who you think will be interested!!
*************************************************
Easton Community Centre
Kilburn St
Easton
BS5 6AW

http://www.eastoncommunitycentre.org.uk/p_Contact_Us.ikml

The Conservative party’s calls for immediate cuts to the economy have been met by a growing chorus of criticism, warning that this risks sending the economy back into recession (Report, 8 March). The government was right to stimulate the economy with a variety of measures last year and so offset some of the worst effects of the recession. Yet, as some of the world’s leading economists have pointed out, the fragile nature of the recovery means that fiscal stimulus is still required. However, according to the IMF, Britain is one of only two G20 countries not currently planning any such fiscal stimulus in 2010.

A programme of government investment would not only stimulate the wider economy in the short term, but would increase long-term growth, thereby lowering the debt levels through a higher tax take. To this end, we encourage the chancellor to use the forthcoming budget to announce a second fiscal stimulus – especially in housing and transport, where investment has fallen most, and with a focus on developing a low-carbon economy – which would both help to secure economic recovery and create much needed jobs.

Colin Burgon MP

Alex Smith, Editor, Labourlist

Austin Mitchell MP

Anne Cryer MP

Alexandra Kemp, Chief Executive, West Norfolk Women and Carers’ Pensions Network (personal capacity)

Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy, NUS National Officer

Billy Hayes, General Secretary, CWU

Byron Taylor, National Trade Union Liaison Officer, Trade Union & Labour Party Liaison Organisation (TULO)

Cat Smith, Vice Chair, London Young Labour

Chris Edwards, Senior Research Fellow, UEA,

Chris McCafferty MP

Chris McLaughlin, Editor, Tribune

Christopher Cramer, Professor of Political Economy of Development, SOAS

Clifford Singer, Director, The Other TaxPayers’ Alliance

Colin Challen MP

Compass Youth Executive

Dave Anderson MP

David Drew MP

Dai Havard MP

Dave Prentis, General Secretary, Unison.

David Hamilton MP

Diane Abbott MP

Denis Murphy MP

Edward O’Hara MP

Ellie Gellard, Labour blogger

Grazia Ietto-Gillies, Emeritus Professor of Applied Economics, Director Centre for International Business Studies, London South Bank University

Glenda Jackson MP

Gerry Doherty, General Secretary, TSSA

Gordon Prentis MP

Prof. George Irvin, Univerity of London, SOAS.

Professor Ian Gough, Professorial Research Fellow, LSE

Hugh Lanning PCS Deputy General Secretary

Hywel Francis MP

Harriet Yeo, Labour Party NEC

Hilary Wainright, Co-Editor, Red Pepper

Ismail Erturk, Senior Lecturer in Banking, Manchester Business School

Janet Dean MP

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Jim Cousins MP

Jim Sheridan MP

Jon Cruddas MP

John Austin MP

John Ross, Editor, Socialist Economic Bulletin

John Weeks, Professor Emeritus of Economics, SOAS, University of London, and former director of the Centre for Development Policy and Research.

Jonathan Rutherford, Professor of Cultural Studies, Middlesex University

Katy Clark MP

Karen Buck MP

Keith Norman, General Secretary, ASLEF

Ken Livingstone

Kevin Maguire, Associate Editor, Mirror

Kelvin Hopkins MP

Martin McIvor, Editor, Renewal

Malcolm Sawyer, Professor of Economics, University of Leeds

Mehdi Hasan, Senior Editor (politics), New Statesman

Michael Connarty MP

Michael Meacher MP

Mick Shaw, President, FBU

Mike Wood MP

Michael Burke, Economist and contributor to Socialist Economic Bulletin

Neal Lawson, Chair, Compass

Neil MacKinnon, Chief Economist, VTB Capital

Paul Kenny, General Secretary, GMB

Paul Truswell MP

Paul Sagar, New Political Economy Network.

Pat Devine, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester

Peter Kilfoyle MP

Peter Willsman Labour Party NEC

Prem Sikka, Professor of Accounting, University of Essex

Richard Ascough, Regional Secretary, South Eastern GMB

Richard Murphy, Director, Tax Research UK

Roger Berry MP

Robin Murray, Fellow, Young Foundation, Author of Danger and Opportunity:Crisis and the New Social Economy

Roger Godsiff MP

Ronnie Campbell MP

Sam Tarry, National Chair, Young Labour

Sunder Katwala, General Secretary, Fabian Society (personal capacity)

Susan Himmelweit, Professor of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Open University

Terry Rooney MP

Tim Roache, GMB Yorkshire Regional Secretary

Tony Juniper, environmentalist

Tony Woodley, Joint General Secretary UNITE

Will Straw, Editor, Left Foot Forward

The tragic suicide of a family of asylum seekers in Glasgow last Sunday, who after being informed that their application for asylum had been denied and told they must vacate their accommodation in the Red Road high rise flats in the Springburn area of the city, jumped 15 storeys to their deaths, throws into focus the inhumanity and sheer brutality of the treatment meted out to asylum seekers in this country.

Witnesses have reported that immigration officers were banging on the door of the family’s accomodation just before they jumped to their deaths, and with this and further evidence of harrassment of families awaiting decisions on their status, along with the continuing shame of families, including young children, being kept in detention awaiting deportation or the results of appeals, a full and independent public inquiry into the current asylum policy along with its implementation by the UK Borders Agency, is called for.

On Tuesday a protest took place at the site of the tragedy by local residents, voluntary organisations, and concerned citizens. The following information from SACC (Scotland Against Criminalising Communities) provides a report of the protest on Tuesday, information regarding a further planned protest and march this Saturday, along with a letter from Robina Qureshi, director of Positive Action in Housing, to the YMCA over their treatment of an Afghan refugee who joined the protest.

FROM SACC

For pictures of Tuesday’s protests over the suicide at Red Road flats, Glasgow of a mother, father and son who had been seeking asylum, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncanbrown/sets/72157623464369683/

Also in this email
*** Treatment of asylum seekers at YMCA accommodation *** Red Road Residents March and Rally, Sat 13 March

Following the protests, Positive Action in Housing circulated a letter addressed to the YMCA regarding the treatment of aslyum seekers in Glasgow. PAIH says the letter “is self explanatory and causes sufficient concern for us to share these concerns so that they may be brought out in the open and addressed.” The text of the letter follows:

10th March 2010
FAO Joe Connolly
YMCA Glasgow
William Harthouse
25 Daba Street
Glasgow G51 2JA

Dear Mr. Connelly,

TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS AT YMCA ACCOMMODATION

Last night, while attending a candlelit vigil in memory of the Serkhi family alongside over 200 residents of the Red road flats, myself and representatives from the Scottish Afghan Association, Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees were approached by a young Afghan man, Saeed. He explained that he had left his YMCA flat on the 21st floor to join the other residents at the vigil. After about an hour, he returned to the flat whereupon he found that his room completely cleared of his belongings and was told by the YMCA staff cleaning out his room that his stuff was gone and he couldn’t return to the flat because the room was “for someone else” He asked us for help and was clearly distressed. When we were approached by the young man, a crowd of people gathered round around 25 to 30 who were clearly distressed and upset and angry for the young man. There was a small police presence of around three officers and we were in a potentially flammatory situation.

We took him aside and went with him to his flat. It was empty as if he had never been there. The cleaners hoover and cleaning materials were in the flat. He looked in cupboards, drawers, all his things were gone. We witnessed this first hand and were quite shocked and went with him to speak to your staff at reception. Saeed was casually told that his belongings were in the bin. Saeed was stood before us at eight o clock in the evening with a set of keys he could no longer use, the clothes he was wearing, and a letter from the YMCA telling him to leave. All his papers and personal belongings were ‘probably in the bin’. He had no money, papers, clothes and no means to support himself. This man was treated worse than an animal. For someone to just come into his flat and throw out all his personal belongings while he steps out for a few minutes displays a complete lack of respect, compassion or humanity, and particularly at such a sensitive time in the Red Road community.

It is my understanding that Strathclyde Police deliberately reduced the numbers of police officers to ease tensions within the community and particularly amongst vulnerable people in the depths of despair about their asylum cases. If this is the YMCA’s standard practice when treating asylum seekers, then it is nothing short of flammatory to the Red road community and a disgrace to civilized society.

On a separate note, we would be grateful to know the following:

1. What level of cooperation does the YMCA afford to the UKBA enforcement removal team seeking to remove asylum seekers from the YMCA flats?

2. How much money does the YMCA receive per asylum seeker for its UKBA contract at the Red Road flats?

3. We suspect many asylum seekers are being driven to desperation by the combination of inhumane practices being perpetrated by the UKBA and the YMCA to the point they have said firsthand that they fully understand why the Serkhi family threw themselves from the 15th floor of one of your flats. Will the YMCA be evicting any more asylum seekers during this troubled time at the Red Road when so many people are in the depths of despair and hopelessness?

I would be extremely grateful for an immediate response.

Yours sincerely, Robina Qureshi
DIRECTOR

——————————————————————————–

RED ROAD RESIDENTS MARCH AND RALLY
11 AM SATURDAY 13 MARCH 2010

STARTING AT RED ROAD FLATS, 63 PETERSHILL DRIVE, SPRINGBURN GLASGOW

PLEASE BRING BANNERS AND FLOWERS
ALL WELCOME

Please join residents of the Red Road flats, Charities, churches, faith groups, Quaker groups and trade unions at 11 am on Saturday 13th March from the Red Road flats in Springburn, Glasgow to a rally in George Square.

The march, organised by Red road Residents, the Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees and the Unity Centre, will begin at the exact spot of upturned grass where a family of three asylum seekers, the Serykh family, fell to their deaths on Sunday 7 March.

The purpose of the march and rally is to:
a) Remember the Serykh family and call for an immediate end to any further enforced removals of refugee families in the Red road area by the UK Borders Agency (UKBA) ; and

b) Call for the immediate return of Stephanie Ovranah and her twin six year old sons, Joshua and Joel, to their friends, neighbours and local church in Glasgow’s Cranhill where they have lived for past five five years. (The family were detained at Brand Street reporting centre without warning last Friday with the children still in their school uniforms. They are currently in Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre and the children are understood to be terrified of being returned to Africa which they do not know or remember).

Messages of support to home@paih.org

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A new book with a radical approach to Christian engagement with Islam is being launched at the Queens Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education on Monday 15th March 2010 at 6pm

A Heart Broken Open – Radical Faith in an Age of Fear is the moving and insightful reflection by an Christian Minister of his grassroots engagement with Islam through relationships built from inner-city parish ministry in Leeds to the streets of Karbala, Iraq at a time of rising Islamophobia and the ’war on terror’.

The author offers a way of witnessing to Christ’s peace whilst entering into the faith of ‘the other’ with humility and love, allowing the way of Islam and the practice of Muslims to touch, challenge and inspire his Christian faith and feed his hunger for God. In so doing he offers us inspiration in finding our own ways to walk with confidence in Christ’s love amongst neighbours of many faiths and none.

Ray Gaston was in parish ministry in inner city Leeds for 12 years. He is now Inter Faith Studies Tutor and Enabler with The Queens Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education and The Birmingham District of the Methodist Church. He lives with his family in Sparkhill, Birmingham.
Praise for A Heart Broken Open

“This book is deeply personal and moving … I recommend it as of real value at grassroots level where the real action lies. It counters Islamophobia on behalf of radical Christianity ”
Revd Dr Frank Whaling, emeritus Professor in Religious Studies, Edinburgh University

A tour de force of radical spirituality
Revd Donald Reeves, Director, Soul of Europe.

Ray’s story is a profound and uplifting one … By acting as an agent of change and at the same time being open to change himself, Ray exemplifies a powerful alternative to the polarizing discourse which views difference as a threat
Salma Yaqoob, Chair, Birmingham Stop The War Coalition and Birmingham City Councillor. Leader of The Respect Party and Parliamentary Candidate for Hall Green, Birmingham

As Christians we need to be in the marginal, unexpected and controversial places so that our witness can be heard clearly and the heart put into our interfaith efforts. This is a book of love for God and our Muslim sisters and brothers; witness is the light shining from Ray’s heart which has been opened so powerfully.
Julian Bond, Executive Director Christian-Muslim Forum

This book is a beautifully written spiritual adventure that will resonate with all those who are seekers of a spiritual path, and at the same time it is scholarly, courageous, honest and deeply earnest in asking the questions most will not ask and in sharing the journey of a heart seeking peace.
Firdaws Khan, Community Activist

Ray’s journey alongside Muslims is an exhilarating read. It is a journey of vulnerability that risks the discovery of God beyond the confines of the church, is shaped by Christian worship and scriptural reflection, and is politically engaged. In short, it is a testimony of discipleship for our times.
Richard Sudworth, author of Distinctly Welcoming – Christian Presence in a Multi Faith Society

To see extracts of the book follow this link http://www.ionabooks.com/New-recenttitles/9781905010615-A-Heart-Broken-Open.html 
A Heart Broken Open - Radical faith in an age of fear
Ray Gaston
ISBN 978 1 905010 61 5