Kindness of one cafe owner spreads message of unity and hope after the disorder

By Charlotte Lillywhite, Local Democracy Reporter

A café owner has said his passion for bringing the community together keeps him going, as he called for unity following far-right riots across the country.

Kazim Doleker, 56, has dedicated himself being part of the fabric of his local area at Café Parisienne in Battersea since 1999.

Mr Doleker, who moved to London from Istanbul in 1991, says he wants to spread his message of hope, love and kindness as far as possible after far-right riots in parts of England and Northern Ireland.

The disorder has been fuelled in part by misinformation over the identity of the suspect in the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport.

Thousands of people gathered in London, and across the UK, last Wednesday evening in places rumoured to be far-right targets to protect their communities and stand against hatred. Anti-racist campaigners held banners and signs declaring ‘refugees welcome’, ‘more love, less hate’ and ‘we stand together as a community’.

Mr Doleker said: “Hope can make the wound recover very quick. It’s very, very important. What happened recently, all those riots. We can always make things better.”

“I am proud of being in this country as an immigrant. I love this country.”

The dad-of-one turned his café into a hub for people to connect with each other after arriving in London in 1991 with one suitcase and £350 in his pocket. He studied and worked in different jobs for years before opening the business in 1999.

Reviews on TripAdvisor speak volumes of the kindness he shows to people who enter his café, described by one customer as ‘part of the fabric of the neighbourhood’. One reviewer wrote: “Kazim is a fresh breath in a city where life is hard, lonely and often brutal… hope in humankind restored.”

Another added: “My experience in London honestly changed the moment I met the lovely owner of this café. His kindness and positivity will make your day.”

Mr Doleker described how the community rallied around him when he was assaulted in the café in 2020. He said a man punched him in the chest, causing him to fall backwards onto glass, while the business was open to key workers for takeaways in the first lockdown.

He was rushed to hospital five weeks later and told he had a bleed on the brain, before undergoing emergency surgery. He credited the NHS with saving his life.

He is warmed by the love he was shown by customers during his recovery. He said: “We are human, simple. I see [this] everyday in my little place. It’s very, very important. Even my dad used to tell me: ‘My son, if somebody throws you stones, throw back bread.’ Treat others how you would like to be treated.”

A homeless man came into the café and Mr Doleker gave him some money. “They all have their stories to be like this,” he said. “We all could be like that.

“I now work seven days a week, because I don’t want to close this place. I would be upset but my customers would be more upset than me.

“I believe in respect, I believe in love and that will keep me going.”

Pictured top: Mr Doleker – proud owner of the Café Parisienne (Picture: Charlotte Lillywhite)