IT IS hard to go through a day nowadays without seeing the English flag used as a way of threatening minority groups. The St George’s Cross is being used to vandalise roundabouts; it is being hung on lampposts and bridges, and littered across broadcasts of far-Right demonstrations (most recently at the “Unite the Kingdom” march in London last weekend). It can sometimes feel as though the country is descending into fascism.

When I heard that members of the far Right were targeting a hotel near by that houses asylum-seekers, and were set on intimidating those seeking sanctuary, I knew that, as a Christian, I was called to respond. Proverbs 31.8 tells us to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute”. Christ was a refugee himself, having to flee from Judea into Egypt to escape persecution from King Herod.

I decided that I wanted to go to the hotel and hold a simple sign alongside the far-Right group, saying “Refugees Welcome”, just so that the asylum-seekers knew that there were still people who wanted them safe. I found out that the group Stand Up to Racism was encouraging people to do this, and so I set out with my sign, made from marker pen and a salvaged bit of cardboard.

On the journey there, I was terrified. I imagined intimidating thugs screaming in my face, or, worse, physically attacking me. I had images of being outnumbered, surrounded, and unable to escape. And I was sure that this was just a small shadow of what the asylum-seekers must be feeling.

The news has painted such a bleak picture of our country that I wasn’t expecting what happened next. When I turned up, the counter-protest was so overflowing with people that there were too many of us to fit on the pavement, and we spilled out across the street. There was chanting and joyfulness; and people in the hotel could be seen at the windows.

Some members of the far Right did turn up, but they were so far outnumbered by the counter-protest that they left immediately. Since telling this story to others, I have heard that similar things are happening in other parts of the country. The far Right is being outnumbered and subdued.

This story will not make the national news, but it is important that it is told, because it shows that our country is not beyond hope, and that it is still filled with people who are yearning to love their neighbours.

Yes, it is dangerous that racist narratives are becoming mainstream in our politics, and, yes, it is terrifying that there are groups being incited to violence. But, that day, outside that humble hotel, I saw, in practice, the Christian principle that love casts out fear. When the far Right came to sow hatred, they were met with a wall of love, which drove them away.

I am not saying that this is happening everywhere: there are places where the far Right threat has not been subdued; we all need to look after ourselves and each other. But also, where possible, there is a great opportunity to be the love and hope that we need to see in the world right now.

Holly Anna-Petersen is a co-founder of Christian Climate Action.

Paul Vallely is away.