Like many, I’m devastated by the news of John’s passing.

John encapsulated for many of us what it was to be a revolutionary socialist. A titan of Marxism theory and one that grounded this theory in organising ordinary people to change the world. This is what made him the fantastic activist he was.

The first time I met John was almost coincidently the first protest I helped to organise around refugees in 2015. For anyone that knows John, though, this is no coincidence. His passion for refugees knows no bounds and has existed right up to his untimely passing.

I thought I’d share the speech he gave at that rally, the context at the time of the brutal war in Syria is mirrored in the wars we see in Ukraine, Yemen and throughout the world. La lutte continue John Molyneux.

“We have the resources to house the Syrian refugees, to house the travellers, to house the homeless. The problem is how those resources are distributed, who controls them, and the fact that the whole system works on the priority of profit and not on human need. We stand in solidarity with the refugees and in solidarity with the homeless. The terrible catastrophe of the civil war in Syria has displaced 7 million people… this is not a problem that is going to go away. The question of how we respond to refugees is one of the key questions – do we live in a decent society that puts human needs first, or do we live in a vicious barbaric society that turns their backs on people. Solidarity with the refugees – they should be welcome here.”