Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:49 pm on 17 November 2020.
Thank you very much, Laura Anne Jones, for those very positive comments and contributions, acknowledging the importance of Interfaith Week. I'm glad you mentioned the fact that Interfaith Week actually coincides and starts with Remembrance Day, and in fact I was very privileged, and I'm sure that everyone was aware of the fact that Race Council Cymru, for the second year running, organised a memorial service in Alexandra gardens in Cathays for ethnic minority servicemen and women. We laid wreaths on that Saturday. It was the second year, and we were particularly pleased that we had very socially distanced representation there across all the faiths who attended. So, wreaths were laid by the Muslim Council of Wales, the Hindu Council of Wales, the Jewish community, the Christian community—they were all there expressing their faith and their support for Remembrance Day. And people can see that all-important plaque that was placed there last year, supported by the Royal British Legion as well.
I also feel that it's very important that you recognise that attitudes are changing, and you see that through the surveys in terms of the views of the people of Wales, through our national surveys, but we know that we can't take that for granted.
Now, I mentioned the virtual event that I attended on Thursday that the Interfaith Council for Wales organised, and what was very interesting, again, were the views that came from all of the different faiths represented. One participant from the Hindu faith said that people of faith are right out at the front in terms of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. The temple closing was such a shock—these were two young Hindus who used to meet every week—but they said, 'We've now learnt new skills to keep our faith alive online, and also to look out to the community to see how we could share. We closed our doors, but this led to the opening of our hearts. We grow a lot and we've grown closer together'. Of course, that also is very connected with the Sikh participant at the event who said, 'Faith has taught me to trust. I taught myself to put others before myself. We are all one'. And there were many other expressions of that kind at that event, which, of course, I would have liked many more to have been part of that. It was very revealing in terms of that commitment.
I think we also have to face the fact that there is hate crime. Only a few weeks ago, we had the Hate Crime Awareness Week, and it was very important that we looked at the statistics. I had a statement here today in the Chamber, and, following the statement that I made, I met with ambassadors of Victim Support Cymru who launched their hate crime charter, focusing on the rights of victims of hate crime. We signed up, as a Welsh Government, to the charter, showing our commitment to playing our part in tackling hate crime, also recognising that we looked at statistics from the past year and there was actually a decrease in religious hate crime. But we know that it is also about people coming forward, feeling that they're confident to report. I made the point that no person in Wales should have to tolerate prejudice or hate crime, and everyone has the right to respect and should be able to go through their lives without being insulted, harassed or attacked.
So, we have to use Interfaith Week as an opportunity to really share and embrace how people are working together, coming together and learning together, and the project in Pill, I'm sure, will be just one of the many examples we could give today.