Exclusive:Palestinian performers 'shocked' as racist graffiti defaces Fringe posters

Crew behind The Bridge, by Palestinian theatre-maker Alaa Shehada, which won a Fringe First award on Friday, had posters defaced in the Meadows and in other locations around the city centre.

The attacks come days after another performer, who is Cuban American, warned he had experienced a string of racist incidents since arriving in the city.

Producer Qasim Salam said the advertising hoardings had been graffitied with phrases including “deport them” and “F-you foreigners”.

“I’ve been doing this a long time at the Fringe and it was quite jarring to see it happen here which is such a safe space for so many artists - so it really threw us,” said Mr Salam. “But it is happening everywhere.

“For that to encroach here is a sign of times changing and how people are feeling emboldened to say things they wouldn’t have done ten years ago, to be more public with their bigotry and hatred.

“What was noticeable was that no other posters around us had the same graffiti, it was very targeted.”

He added: “It’s because so many public figures are telling us now that it’s OK to act that way.”

He said performer Mr Shehada, who is from Palestine, had been “angry and upset”.

“Growing up in Palestine, he hasn’t been exposed to a white community and he was quite shocked by it,” he said. “It was shocking for all of us, because we’re not used to this kind of thing happening in this usually welcoming space.”

He said The Bridge, which traces the history of the British in Palestine, tries to portray the building blocks of community and unity.

“The most important thing is sharing it, through hope and memory and experience,” he said. “These are the things that are being rubbed out in Palestine and through other genocides throughout the world, but we’re also at risk, albeit not in the same way.”

He said watching people be “energised” by The Bridge gave the performers hope.

He said: “It is something that feels like it makes a difference and helps us pull together in the right direction. It is a minority of people, there are a lot of uneducated people out there who just need a little bit of shared humanity and to realise the reality of the situation.”

Earlier this week, Julian Hernandez, a Cuban-American clown, warned it is “disheartening” to see Edinburgh “fall prey to the same sentiments flooding America” after experiencing a string of racist incidents.

Mr Hernandez, who plays a character based on his own grandfather in his show Wisard, said people had mocked his character's Cuban accent and asked him “why are you here?" while he was out flyering.

Meanwhile, a theatre company performing a show about the immigrant crisis in America told how they have faced online anti-immigrant hate. Peregrinations, which is performing at Assembly Roxy, received a string of abusive messages from UK-based far right groups in response to their social media posts.