Protest | Westminster World

Dec32018 by Zhenyi LuNo Comments

Psychology of hate crime bystanders: Indifference or self-protection?

Breaking News, crime, Culture, Media, News, ReportingWeek1

Onlookers “filmed on phones”, while a South Korean student was undertaking an alleged racist attack on London Oxford Street. Yeon Jeong Lee, 22, a student at the university in Canterbury, was beaten by up to 10 thugs while she was doing shopping in central London. What she felt disappointed was the reaction of the passers-by. “It was only two people who were trying to help me out and the rest would just be filming the scene ”, she said. She also mentioned the slow reaction of the police: "I filed the case over the phone, but they kept repeating the same response and didn’t show up". Source: Change.org Link: https://www.change.org/p/sadiq-khan-raise-the-awareness-of-hate-crime-in-oxford-street Psychology of passers-by Why in this case few people are willing to help? What's

Dec112017 by Jasmine ZhaoNo Comments

Hundreds of protesters joined the Anti-Slavery March against the Libyan Slave Trade

International, Politics, slavery

Hundreds of protesters descended on the Libyan embassy in London on Saturday to demand the end of slave auctions in Libya. Demonstrators gathered outside the embassy in Knightsbridge around midday, brandishing placards emblazoned with the words “do not sell slaves” and then marched to Parliament Square. Protesters joining the march think slavery is contrary to African humanity. They hope they can raise the public’s awareness of the crime, as well as call on the UK government to put pressure on Libyan leaders to stop the illegal markets. [Video: Jasmine Zhao] UK-based NGO African Lives Matter have organized protests across different cities in the UK. The petition calling on the government to ‘put pressure on Libya to stop enslavement of Black Africans’ has got over 262,000 signature

Dec102017 by Sreelakshmi Vachaspathy No Comments

40 years and counting, women stand together to ‘Reclaim the Night’

Gender, London

Hundreds of women marched through London to ‘Reclaim the night’ in an annual protest. The movement began in front of Trafalgar Square with women joining in from various age groups addressing the issue of violence against women. Reclaim the night 2017, which has been done over the past forty years witnessed discussions made, talking about the current issues on gender discrimination. The demonstrators showed their participation by holding placards, chanting slogans and with music that created a lively atmosphere. As I arrived at Trafalgar Square, women and a few men from various nationalities had started to gather with posters and flags showing their contribution to the movement. https://youtu.be/NhVqRu9J-34 Protesting against violence. Video C

Thousands of pro-Palestinians marched in London to demand “equal rights”

London, Politics

Today thousands of people have marched through the center of London in a national rally for Palestine. The demonstration has taken place exactly one century after the Balfour Declaration, the British pledge that supported the creation of State of Israel. Many people have come from all over the UK to demand justice for Palestine. Among them there was also the English director Ken Loach. The march started from Grosvenor Square, in front of the US Embassy. Two hours after, some pro-Israeli protestors tried to counter the demonstration in Oxford Street, and they marched in front of the pro-Palestine protest until the meeting point in Parliament Square. Fortunately, there have been no clashes. In front of the Parliament, many speakers have been expressing their views. For t...

“People are in fear”: mental health activists on benefit reforms

Uncategorized

Imagine that you have both a mental health condition and a physical disability. With government reforms to the benefit system, you lost your claim to assistance. You can no longer afford food, travel, electricity or gas. Finally, one day, your power is cut off and you’re left sitting in the dark by yourself. One benefit claimant, who experienced this, felt so isolated, scared and stressed, that she attempted to take her own life. Many have had similar experiences. Up to 90 people a month die after being declared fit for work. Others are barely able to survive. Roy Bard from campaign group the Mental Health Resistance Network (MHRN) described to Westminster World how disabled people are running short of money half a week before their next payment. “People are often going without electricit

Power to the People: Do petitions really work?

DontUse

A petition banning Donald Trump from making a state visit to the UK has garnered more than 1 million signatures in the past 24 hours. The petition, made on the UK Parliament website, required only 100,000 signatures to be considered for debate in the Houses of Parliament. In response, Prime Minister Theresa May has said that she will not be withdrawing the invitation extended to US President Trump, part of the “special relationship” she wants to create between the US and UK with impending Brexit. In a statement, she said the visit remains “substantially in the national interest.” The situation is reminiscent of last year, when, following the Brexit referendum, a petition was created on the UK Parliament website, signed by four million people, asking for a second EU referendum. In r

Feb282016 by Giovanni PratiNo Comments

6000 people rallied against Trident. Corbyn: “We are the majority.”

DontUse, News, Politics, Specials

Thousands of people gathered and rallied to oppose the renewal of Trident in Central London on Saturday. More than 6000 demonstrators, according to both the Met Police and the organisers, took the streets to join the Stop Trident National Demo. People came from all over the UK, with many buses arriving from Scotland. The protest was led by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Stop the War Coalition and other groups supporting refugees, NHS, social housing and climate change. The march started from Marble Arch at 1 pm and ended in Trafalgar Square. Numerous front rank politicians joined the rally, among which Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, Leanne Wood, the leader of the Welsh party Plaid Cymru, Caroline Lucas, a Green Party's MP and the MPs against the Trid...

Feb12016 by Romana BekkaiNo Comments

Housing Bill said to increase number of homeless in London

News, Politics

Londoners face the risk of losing their homes if the new Housing and Planning Bill is passed, the Lambeth Housing Activists warned hundreds of protestors on Saturday. The march against the new bill and the damage it may bring upon Londoners, began in the borough of Lambeth and ended outside 10 Downing Street on Saturday 30 January. Through the new Housing bill recently discussed in the Parliament, the government aims to increase home owners by privatising the sector. Leaders of the Green Party and Revolutionary Communists were present at the rally organised by the Lambeth Housing Activists, as well as some Labour and LibDem members. Crowd gathering at Imperial War Museum for march against dreadful #HousingBill This pretty much sums it up... pic.twitter.com/ehy1CPbbsv — Helen

Mar232015 by Tara MearsheimerNo Comments

Million Women Rise March addresses the issue of violence against women

Culture, International, News

Violence against women is still an ongoing issue in today’s world. On March 7th from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, over 3,000 women from all over the country took part in the annual Million Women Rise march in hopes of promoting awareness that women are still being abused. By Tara Mearsheimer and Qiwei Wang Founded by Sabrina Qureshi, the march highlights the main issues women face and how very little is done to address these problems. “With the decimation of the women’s voluntary sector, many of us already feel that we don’t have much more to lose. But we won’t be silenced. We become diamonds under the pressure; we don't break and we will continue to protest peacefully,” says Sabrina. Femi Otitoju, presenter of MWR explains what the group does in order to inspire women. “These w