After the Recent Attacks in Leith: Solidarity and Action
Download the PDF of this statement
In the wake of the deeply-disturbing attacks that recently took place in Edinburgh, the Regenerative Futures Fund team wishes to share this public statement of solidarity, as well as a note of the action and support we are offering. We took our time to issue this public response because we wanted to first ensure that we offered genuine, practical support to our communities.
“Edinburgh must be a city where everyone can live safely, participate fully, belong, and thrive.” Photo by Lewis Houghton.
These attacks left five people injured and are being investigated as suspected anti-Muslim hate crimes. These attacks do not exist in isolation. Across Scotland and the UK, we are witnessing increasingly hostile rhetoric towards migrants, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, Black communities, people of colour, refugees, people seeking asylum, and other communities who are too often positioned as targets of fear, blame and division. Recent Scottish Government data shows that race-related hate crimes account for the majority of recorded hate crimes in Scotland, and that Edinburgh has one of the highest rates of recorded hate crimes among local authority areas in the country.
Beyond the statistics, we know that many communities are not feeling safe. We know that fear is not only created through physical violence, but through the cumulative impact of hostile rhetoric, racism, discrimination, threats, online abuse, and the normalisation of far-right and fascist narratives. While these trends are being observed across the UK and internationally, we recognise that they are present here in Scotland too, and that they are affecting the communities with whom we live and work.
At this moment, we want to express our solidarity with Muslim communities who may be feeling afraid, vulnerable, or targeted. We share solidarity, too, with Black communities, communities of colour, migrants, refugees, and all those experiencing racism, threats, exclusion, or violence. Edinburgh must be a city where everyone can live safely, participate fully, belong, and thrive. We remain committed to that vision.
Offer of Support
As a fund and as partners to groups in Edinburgh, we don't want to assume what support is needed. We know that the organisations and community leaders working closest to people are best placed to understand both the challenges and the opportunities in this moment.
We want to ensure that any action we take is informed, designed, and led by those closest to communities. We acknowledge that such experience, relationships, and expertise in communities is invaluable, and we have told our partners that we welcome any ideas, reflections, or suggestions for actions we can take as a funder and partner.
To anyone supporting communities affected by this violence, to our colleagues in our network, and to those beyond—thank you for the work you continue to do in supporting communities across Edinburgh. We know many of you are already holding and responding to the impacts of this moment, and we are grateful for your leadership.