Sangeeta Waldron speaks with Chandra Bhatia, chief executive of Enfield Racial Equality Council

What drew you to work with EREC?

My journey began with my own experience as an immigrant. I arrived in the UK at age eleven, with little English. There was no special support and I faced hostility, not just from children but also adults. I remember being pulled out of public phone boxes, which we had at the time. Adults would yank me out and ask: “Why are you here?”

It was the late 1960s and 70s, and during the elections the racism I experienced was worse. As I got older, I heard about ‘Paki bashing’. My mother was terrified, and while we did not live anywhere near a football ground, my mother would ask me not go out on a Saturday, because of all the awful things you heard happening.

We were living in Ilford at this time. As I grew up, I became politically aware. My father was active in politics, and I studied public administration to understand how policies affect individuals. I volunteered for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, where I learned about the real impact of institutional policies.

I wanted to address injustice at both the individual and structural level. By chance, I secured a job at the Community Relations Council in Redbridge. It was eye-opening, challenging, and rewarding. Later, I applied to work in Enfield, where I found committed individuals such as Les Dubow, Christine Heath and Roger Hallam laying the groundwork for EREC, despite the scepticism from the local authority, in the 1980s, when they thought there was no need for this work. Resources were limited and there was no decent premises.

What is the core mission and how has it evolved?

Our mission remains to eliminate racial discrimination and promote equality and community cohesion.

Initially, it was about bringing communities together at events, but then that seemed to become a cliché of ‘samosas and steel drums’. We soon realised that you cannot achieve cohesiveness unless you have equality and equal opportunities. There’s no point talking about these things, if people are being discriminated against in other aspects of their lives.

Today, EREC still fosters dialogue between communities and works with policymakers to embed inclusion. We’ve come full circle: community cohesion is again seen as vital with regards to equalities policy, because what we are trying to do is enable the community to work collaboratively and understand each other.

What challenges does the organisation face today and do you think the community recognise the value of EREC?

We have achieved a lot, from ethnic monitoring by the council, to a racial harassment panel and making changes to equal opportunities policies – but now resources are limited.

Internally our challenge is about renewing our leadership. This is important because, like many other organisations, we’re still living in the past with regards to the people who were very active then, but now they’re older, they can’t actually carry the fight forward, yet they still have a lot to contribute.

Our external challenges are that race has slipped down the agenda and the issues from the past have returned. We are still fighting the same fight. We need to ensure that the next generation takes up the baton.

The community often assumes we will always be here, but our limited funding has reduced our capacity to help as we once did. Sadly, this has depleted the value of EREC.

What are your recent successes?

EREC’s biggest win is community cohesion, which gives me hope. Our United for All Seasons project brings diverse communities together through storytelling, poetry, and music, finding shared values. While our heritage project draws from our past, passing on our achievements to inspire young people to continue the work.

This is critical with regard to equalities work in general, specifically on race as there are people who want to get rid of it. This is happening in America, and it will happen in this country too. Look at all the awful things that are taking place, from the riots last summer, to the protests outside asylum seeker hotels.

We need to be aware that the right wing is active with young people. This is actually the biggest challenge, but it’s also our biggest strength, because we have the people who can speak to the young and say, ‘look, this is what we achieved, this is your legacy, now go forward’.

What legacy do you hope for EREC?

Our true legacy is all the people and organisations we’ve empowered. Even if EREC changes or disappears, the work must continue. Sometimes when an organisation disappears, somebody else has to reinvent it in a different way, doing what we do in a more suited way for the next generation. Therefore, our biggest legacy will be our transition and someone else picking up the baton.

For more information about EREC:
Visit enfieldrec.org.uk

This article is published with support from LocalMotion Enfield – part of a UK-wide movement for community-led change

No news is bad news 

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts. 

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less. 

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation. 

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit 

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.  

More information on supporting us monthly or yearly 

More Information about donations