The people of Thetford deserve empathy
From our UK edition
Over the last four nights, unrest has broken out in the small Norfolk town of Thetford over the housing of migrants in HMOs within the local estates. Depending on your choice of media, you will see a range of reactions to the unrest, ranging from the rare ‘mostly peaceful protest’, to the more common ‘thuggery’, ‘violence’, and ‘rioting’. I am hesitant to take either side, and so for the time being will continue to refer to it as precisely that – ‘unrest’. As a Thetfordian myself, though, having seen the responses of some of those involved and watched local footage, some of the reports about the unrest are exaggerated.
