– Ivan
Humble, Former Far Right Associate
About Ivan
Ivan Humble
is an anti-hate campaigner and vocal activist in tackling radicalisation and
extremism in the UK. He turned his life around by leaving the English Defence
League (EDL), to begin working tirelessly to influence others to do the same
and bridge severed relationships between communities and society. He now works
with people of all faiths, ethnicities and religions to tackle hatred.
Ivan was
born in Norfolk, and lives in Lowestoft, Suffolk where he has spent the
majority of his life. Frustrated with local issues, especially the treatment of
returning officers by extremist protest groups, he began to voice his issues
online and felt himself being slowly groomed into a far-right organisation.
Starting out as a foot soldier, he eventually became the Regional Organiser for
the EDL. Ivan lived in an area that was not very diverse, and had an epiphany
when he met a Muslim, at a local community centre. He confessed to being part
of the EDL and instead of backing away, engaged in a dialogue with him,
discussing their differences and their common ground.
From there,
he met Manwar Ali – a self-proclaimed former Jihadist from Ipswich and when
Ivan’s sister and Dad tragically died in 2012, it wasn’t his EDL family he
turned to, but Manwar. Two people from completely different backgrounds and
wouldn’t find in the same room usually, became friends. From there, he began to
realise his hate was misplaced and distorted. In 2013, when Lee Rigby was
killed, he spoke with Manwar who assured him the killers weren’t anything to do
with the Islamic faith and cemented his trust. Hate crimes began to increase
against Muslims and there was a larger support for the EDL, but for Ivan, he
knew it was time to get out.
Once known
for promoting hate, people turned their backs on him and Ivan struggled to find
his feet. But Ivan knew he was on the right path. Ivan reached out to the
Suffolk Hate Crime team about his experience, and his experience of being
radicalised. As a result he was offered a job running workshops on
anti-radicalisation and he began to turn his story into a positive one.
Eventually, he joined Me & You Education, an organisation dedicated to
building resilience and preventing radicalisation, as an associate trainer.
Ivan became active speaking and travelling to communities around the country,
and involved in campaigns against racism and hate crime. Under the banner Open
Your Eyes, he was really changing lives.
Ivan is
passionate about seeing people as humans, not labels and is vocal about the
dangers of the far-right. An example of this, was hosting an event at the
Peterborough Mosque in memory of Jo Cox, as part of the Great Get Together, a
campaign honouring Jo Cox and bringing communities together. In addition to
this, in his hometown, he helps run an offline and online peer group
#LiftLoudForDanny for people suffering with mental health issues. Ivan has gone
above and beyond to make a difference, taking part in conferences that bring
together mental health ambassadors and experts in tackling extremism, he’s
become a respected expert in this space.
His story is
about hope – the hope that people can change – and how important forgiveness
is. Ivan has empowered his personal story by using it to change other people’s
lives.
https://www.newdaystarts.co.uk/about-2/
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