Opinion: Weston-super-Mare must welcome everyone - no exception

by Paul Howe

I’ve just come back from watching a film at The Other Place on Meadow Street — a space where many groups meet and share their stories.

The film followed the lives of two Muslim women who grew up here in the UK, revealing what they and their families endured simply because of who they were. It hit me far harder than I expected; at one point, I found myself with tears in my eyes — and I’m not someone who cries easily.

Yet this film showed the painful reality that lies behind many of their smiles — the side too many of us never see. The reality of what so many have had to endure simply because of who they are.

One moment in the film stays with me.

A young woman recalled walking with her mother as a child when a stranger told them, “Why don’t you go back to your own country?” She remembered looking up, confused, and saying, “But this is our country.” No child should ever have to feel that. No mother should have to explain another person’s ignorance during something as simple as a walk. And sadly, this kind of thing still happens far too often today.

Over the last few years, I’ve watched people I once saw as sensible and fair-minded — even friends — shift in unsettling ways, as if a quiet fog of darkened thinking has settled over them. Some repeat myths and misinformation about Muslims being the cause of overcrowding, being “illegal immigrants,” or wrongly linking them to knife crime. These accusations not only lack truth — they reveal how easily fear replaces empathy when we’re not paying attention. And this can happen to any of us if we don’t question where our thoughts come from and whether they’re grounded in reality or in someone else’s prejudice.

For many years, I’ve been part of the Multicultural Friendship Association. On any fortnightly Tuesday afternoon, you’ll find Filipinos, Indonesians, Africans, South Asians, Europeans and British people chatting, laughing and sharing food together. It’s a room where real diversity comes alive — not as a slogan, but as genuine friendship, warmth and happiness.

Diversity works, and the success of this group proves it. If it can thrive in one small room on a Tuesday afternoon, then it can thrive across our whole town. Weston-super-Mare is, by and large, a lovely, welcoming place to live — but it should feel that way for everyone.

No resident should feel even a flicker of fear when stepping outside their home. No one should worry about walking down any of our streets, or through any of our parks, or into any of our shops. Why should even a small number of people feel anxious simply because they wear a hijab, speak another language with their family, or look a little different?

A community is only truly welcoming when every single person feels safe, valued and accepted. That must be the standard we set for ourselves.

People should never feel the need to “tone down” their identity just to avoid judgment. Women wearing hijabs should feel as confident walking down the High Street as anyone wearing a cross. Someone with darker skin shouldn’t have to brace themselves for suspicious looks. Everyone deserves the freedom to express their culture or faith without fear.

The real threat we face isn’t diversity — it’s misinformation. It’s the drip-feed of distorted headlines, sensationalist talk, and social media claims that people repeat without ever meeting those they’re told to distrust. But when you actually sit with people — when you share a meal, a story, a joke — the myths crumble. You realise we all want the same things: safety, dignity, belonging, and the chance to live a peaceful, ordinary life.

Weston-super-Mare prides itself on friendliness. Now is the time to make that real for everyone. Let’s challenge our assumptions. Let’s reject the easy lies of prejudice. Let’s refuse to let anyone in our town feel like an outsider.

Weston-super-Mare MUST welcome everyone.

Not just most. Not just many. Everyone.

And that begins with each of us choosing empathy over fear — and choosing to see people as human beings, not headlines.