Chelmsford & Marikana – On 18th August 2012 I travelled out of London to Chelmsford the place an excessive proper march was protesting in opposition to the constructing of a mosque, with a reasonably bigger protest opposing them. I travelled again into London the place a protest had been organized at brief discover in opposition to the capturing of putting miners by police in South Africa.
EDL Outnumbered in Chelmsford – Essex
I feel this was my first go to to Chelmsford, the county city of Essex though it’s only round 30 miles northeast of London and the journey from Liverpool Road station takes simply over half an hour. However I didn’t a lot take pleasure in my time there and although I’m positive its an fascinating place I’ve not been again since.
My day began tremendous as I walked from the station to the Unite In opposition to Fascism rally in the course of town and mingled with the gang there taking footage. Everybody was pleasant and I had no issues taking images.
However then I went to the pub the place the English Defence League (EDL) wer gathering for the beginning of their march, the place I used to be met with abuse and threats and one man complained to the police about my taking footage. Some others extra fortunately posed for me, making V indicators however I used to be happy the pub railings have been between them and me, and when the police, who had instructed the complainant that I used to be inside my rights to take images, politely requested me if I’d transfer away to to keep away from additional upsetting the EDL I used to be happy to take action.
I crossed again to the alternative facet of the highway the place over photographers and TV crews have been standing, and photographed the EDL Essex Division spokesman Paul Pitt who was being interviewed, well mannered and smiling for the digicam, denying that the EDL have been racist and promising “there might be no violence from us.“
Because the march shaped up behind a number of banners I stayed in entrance of them with the opposite photographers, not getting as shut as I often love to do to keep away from any additional bother. Regardless of Pitt’s claims the marchers have been singing a few of their traditional Islamophobic EDL songs, and because the march moved off a reasonably giant and fats marcher got here in direction of me as I used to be taking footage and mentioned: “I hope all your loved ones die of most cancers.“
I left the EDL march because it was the road resulting in the place they have been to carry their rally and returned to the UAF rally, passing an enormous police presence with numerous fences and cordons throughout roads to make sure the 2 teams have been saved aside.
The UAF have been in the course of the busy buying space and as quickly because the police had sealed off the road the place the EDL have been holding their rally the UAF have been allowed to march, going across the outdoors of that space.
The ambiance on the UAF march was very totally different. It was a number of occasions as giant with many extra placards and banners and far louder, with virtually steady chanting calling for an finish to the racist provocations of the EDL, although often reasonably much less politely. And the folks have been actually way more pleasant.
Two EDL supporters appeared at one level and started to loudly shout ‘EDL!, EDL!’ however police rapidly moved them away and held them till the march had handed, warning them to not intervene with it once more.
Extra concerning the march and lots of extra footage on My London Diary at EDL Outnumbered in Chelmsford.
Solidarity with Marikana Miners
I went again to the station and caught the practice again to London after which obtained on the tube to Hyde Park Nook the place, near the station, a small group of protesters had gathered outdoors constructing the place Lonmin, the homeowners of the Marikana mine, then had places of work.
The killing of the 34 miners at Marikana in South Africa two days earlier had appalled many all over the world and this emergency protest had been known as because the information broke. But it surely was too brief discover to attract a big crowd.
Lonmin, beforehand much more notorious as Lonrho, solely occupied a small suite on the highest flooring of this not too long ago refurbished workplace constructing. The constructing appeared empty and was firmly locked when the protesters arrived and there was nothing on the skin or seen by the glass doorways of the foyer to point that this was the bottom of one of many world’s bigger platinum mining firms, listed on the London Inventory Change, with a income in 2014 of US$ 965 million.
After protesting outdoors the places of work for round an hour the group determined to stroll to South Africa Home in Trafalgar Sq. and maintain a rally there.
A speaker on the pavement in entrance of South African Home instructed us how the bloodbath at Marikana fitted in to the sample of exploitation and oppression that has characterised the mining trade in Africa. Circumstances in most of the mines are horrible, with little or no consideration to well being and questions of safety, and miners are on low wages.
One in all Lonmin’s board members on the time of the bloodbath was Cyril Ramaphosa, who a number of months later grew to become Deputy President of South Africa and in 2018 President. Many blamed his emails placing strain on the police to intervene for the capturing.
The older South African Nationwide Union of Mineworkers, a member of the Congress of South African Commerce Unions COSATU which has robust hyperlinks to the governing African Nationwide Congress (ANC) is seen by many employees to have executed little or nothing to enhance pay and circumstances within the mines. Many miners together with these at Marikana had joined the breakaway Affiliation of Mineworkers and Building Union (AMCU) which represented over 70% of the Lonmin employees and had led the strike.
Solidarity with Marikana Miners
Tags: AMCU, ANC, Chelmsford, COSATU, Cyril Ramaphosa, EDL, Essex, Essex Infidels, Islamophobia, London, Lonmin, Lonrho, march, marikana, Marikana massacare, miners, miners killed, miners shot, mosque, NUM, Paul Pitt, peter Marshall, platinum mine, police, police killing, police capturing, protest, racis EDL, racism, solidarity, South Africa, South Africa Home, stand as much as racism, UAF, Unite In opposition to Fascism, Weyman Bennett
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