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International Brigade Glasgow Commemoration
Join us on Saturday 10th October 2026 at 11.00am for the annual Glasgow Commemoration of the International Brigade and their fight against fascism in Spain from 1936-1939. The commemoration, held at the La Pasionaria memorial on the Clyde will feature speakers, poetry and wreath laying. This is the 10th year that West of Scotland AFTUN (formerly Glasgow HOPE not Hate) have held the commemoration in association with the International Brigade Memorial Trust, who this year, are holding their AGM in the city over the weekend of 9th-11th October. More details on the weekend's events can be found HERE
Speakers will include:
Alison Campbell Glass, great-granddaughter of International Brigader George Drever.
Dave Moxham, Deputy General Secretary of the Scottish TUC.
IBMT Secretary Megan Dobney.
IBMT Scotland Secretary Mike Arnott.
IBMT Trustee Dolores Long, who will read the farewell speech to the International Brigades given by Dolores Ibárruri (La Pasionaria) on 28 October 1938.
West of Scotland AFTUN has released the following statement on recent fascist activity within the Glasgow area.
West of Scotland AFTUN has released the following statement on recent fascist activity within the Glasgow area.
West of Scotland Anti Fascist Trade Union Network expresses serious concerns regarding the rise in far right activity across Scotland but particularly in the city of Glasgow.
Recent events instigated and carried out by known fascists and other groups operating under the far-right umbrella often involve violence and aggression and put innocent members of the public and police officers at risk.
Recent vigilante groups in areas of Glasgow such as Castlemilk, Possilpark, Royston and the Gorbals has witnessed intimidation and violence towards people of colour and the Police. These instances have occurred under the guise of 'Protecting our Women and Children' where the far-right are deliberately spreading misinformation and lies about refugees being sex offenders living in the area which has resulted in groups of seasoned far-right agitators leading locals in driving people out of their homes by use of intimidation and violence which has the knock-on effect of creating distrust and division within our communities. The far-right are not protecting any women and children and are instead using the topic as a political football to meet their own hate driven agenda.
It should be noted that the far-right have a long history of misogyny, domestic abuse, sexual abuse and paedophilia towards women and children. A recent report by historian Louise Raw suggests that the far-right within the UK may contain more than 5000 sexual abusers equating to 1 in 10 for every male far-right activist. On top of this there are many more who have recently been exposed as domestic abusers of women; usually their partners. It is quite clear that the far-right are not protecting communities as they falsely claim but it is communities that need protecting from them.
Our Network notes with concern the evidence that Nazi salutes and aggression towards the police and some members of the public have been a factor at a number of the anti immigration protests and we call for these matters to be fully investigated and perpetrators dealt with through the courts in particular we strongly condemn the actions of the far-right in Glasgow on 25th July which saw around 500 fascists descend on Glasgow Green which resulted in various incidents of race hate, intimidation of anti-fascists and people of colour and the use of violence.
Such scenes are a national disgrace and act as an outlet for emboldening the far-right. We are also very concerned about the messaging at a number of these gatherings blaming asylum seekers and refugees for things like lack of affordable housing and reduced public services. These myths are perpetuated by the far-right's political allies such as Reform UK where Glasgow City Councillor Audrey Dempsey was addressing the crowd at Glasgow Green, which later, Glasgow City Councillor and MSP Stephen Kerr failed to condone Dempsey appearance at the far-right rally which saw many known Ne-Nazi's, far-right activists and even Ulster Loyalists who had served time for a sectarian murder and bank robberies.
The current lack of affordable public housing and reduced public services is due to the lack of investment and support for these areas of the economy over a number of years and certainly not the fault of asylum seekers or refugees as the far-right and Reform UK claim.
It is a matter of record that successive Tory and New Labour sold off massive amounts of Council housing and did not build enough Council homes to replace the properties which were sold off .
The network also notes that Scottish Government indicate that there are substantial numbers of empty homes in Scotland- and that urgent action is required to bring these properties into use .
Additionally, AFTUN supports policies put forward by the Scottish Trade Union Congress to raise revenue in support of public services, in particular the proposal by the STUC for a 2 per cent tax on assets over 10 million pounds as well as replacing Council Tax with a Proportional Tax system could raise £2.6billion per year. We also commend STUC proposals for a tax on private jets which would raise an estimated £25 million per year.
Such progressive policies are required in order to defeat the politics of hate peddled by the likes of Reform UK and the far-right, who have no interest in bettering the lives of working people, only using them to help achieve the racist and divisive aims of themselves and their capitalist big business backers.
In conclusion our Network calls for all organisations who say that they represent working class people and ordinary members of the public to develop a unified approach to work on issues such as lack of affordable housing, cost of living pressures and the development of a well funded health service.
We call for an end to scapegoating and division and calls for urgent and unified action to improve the quality of life of all of Scotland’s communities.
Unity is Strength.
West of Scotland AFTUN Committee
Black History Month Event
We will be showing the film 'Invisible Heroes' on Thursday October 29th as part of Black History Month which details the role of black African-Americans in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War and after, where many became centrally involved in the American Civil Rights Movement.
In 1936 2,800 North Americans volunteered to defend the Republic of Spain, joining their struggle to around 50,000 other volunteers coming from 54 countries across the world. But what most do not know is that among the American volunteers there were 85 African Americans who also answered the call, fighting Spain against racism and for the civil rights that were denied to them in their own country. This is their story, an unknown page of the USA's and Spain's history. This documentary presents the deeds of these invisible heroes who fought for their freedom in a far away war. Based on interviews with the veteran African American volunteer James Yates and the participation of other veterans of the Lincoln Brigade, the documentary also includes interviews with historians and experts from Spain and the US. Seldom seen archival footage and new recordings produced in the historical sites in Mississippi, Chicago, New York and several locations in Spain are included in the documentary.
The film will commence at 6.45pm and runs for 75 minutes followed by a short discussion. Entry is free but you can register for tickets from Eventbrite at:
Please also have a look at the Black History Month website to see what other events are being held near you: https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/
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