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Tell them "we appreciate Poles," says UK Pastor in Warsaw

by Hannah Tooley

Reports of racism and hate crime have risen since the UK decided to leave the European Union on Friday.

Revd David Brown is the head of Res Sacra Miser Chapel, part of the Church of England in Poland, and is married to a Polish woman.

He lives and works in Warsaw and told Premier's News Hour people feel unwanted.

He said: "As individual Christians, we need to tell them ...that we appreciate them being here and that the country is better for their presence in it.

"We recognise that they do contribute to our society in it in many ways, and we've very grateful to have them.

"And I think that it's something that perhaps, as Christians, we don't do often enough to everybody, our family and our friends, but this time we most especially need to do it to immigrants in our country, not only Polish but from every country."

Revd David Brown said Poles are worried: "They feel insecure, and perhaps they shouldn't but they do.

"Certainty, the posters and the talk during the campaign made them feel that they were not wanted."

The statistics: 

- Increase between 2012/13 and 2014/15 was 20%
- Estimated 222,000 hate crimes on average per year from 2012 to 2015, of which 106,000 were race hate crimes
- Just under 300 race hate crimes a day (Crime Survey for England and Wales)
- 2014-15 there were 52,528 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales - 82% of these (42,930) were race hate crimes - around 120 a day

A victim support service has claimed that there has been a huge rise in the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes across the UK.

'Tell Mama' says there was a 300% increase of cases in 2015, compared to the year before.

Revd David Brown told Premier believers need to unite and support migrants from all over the world.

He said: "We've got to pray that people will increase in their love for each other and recognise that people are God's children, from whatever race they come from."

In recent days, people have begun wearing safety pins to show their support for anyone experiencing racism following the UK's decision to leave the EU, thanks to a social media campaign.

The #SafetyPin campaign has been launched because of the reported rise in the number of hate crimes reported to the police since the referendum.

Listen to Premier's Hannah Tooley speak to Revd David Brown here:

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