Unison workers in support of Phoenix creche and nursery, under risk of closure. Photo © Josh Jones / Photography Without Borders 2010

6th March, 2010: Workers, students and young people of Brighton gathered today to March for Jobs. The aptly named protest opposed public sector cuts and job losses. The demonstration marched Brighton city centre for one hour, with chants such as ‘Students, and workers, unite and fight.’

The protest comes in the wake of two student occupations at Sussex University, proposed public sector job cuts in Brighton, and promises by both the major political parties to make nationwide cut-backs in public services.

Workers, students and children marching by the Clock Tower in Brighton centre. Photo © Josh Jones / Photography Without Borders 2010

'Organise, occupy, fight for the right to work': chants on the day supported militant action against opposed public sector cutbacks. Photo © Josh Jones / Photography Without Borders 2010

Photo © Josh Jones / Photography Without Borders 2010

'Remember Gaza', 'Blood on your hands' - the protest marches along Lewes Road outside Moulsecoomb. Photo © Josh Jones 2010

Monday 18th January, 2010: Hundreds gathered in Brighton today to protest the presence of EDO, an arms firm that develops weapons parts used in the assault on Gaza last year. Police responded with force, and scuffles outside the EDO/ITT weapons factory on Home Farm Road led to several injuries. In Brighton city centre, protestors were kettled by police for up to an hour, and several arrests were made, including one medic.

The Smash EDO campaign has been calling for the closure of the Brighton-based arms manufacturer for six years, and claims EDO/ITT corp. is complicit in war crimes.

Mounted police find a picturesque position to await the protest. Photo © Josh Jones 2010.

Avoiding a police blockade on Lewes Road viaduct, protesters storm up the hill towards the EDO/ITT weapons factory. Photo © Josh Jones 2010.

Defiant, one protester faces police as they attempt to protect the EDO/ITT arms factory. Photo © Josh Jones 2010.

Police in riot gear form a line outside the weapons manufacturer. Photo © Josh Jones 2010.

Protesters attempt to force their way through police lines. Photo © Josh Jones 2010.

In town, Brighton and Hove bus drivers look on as the protest passes. Photo © Josh Jones 2010.

In Brighton, demonstrators resist all efforts to kettle or curb the march's progress. Photo © Josh Jones 2010.

Local citizens show their support as the protest passes Brighton University. Photo © Josh Jones 2010.

A group of 50 protesters were 'kettled' by police in the North Laine for one hour, including the present photographer. Photo © Josh Jones 2010.

1417: London remembers the dead. Photo © Josh Jones 2010

16th Jan, 2010: People from all over the United Kingdom came to London today to remember the 1417 Palestinians who died in Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip one year ago.

‘This is not only to remember the dead’, one speaker announced, ‘but also to protest at Israel’s ongoing policy of occupation.’

The planned ‘die-in’ protest at Trafalgar Square was instead held as a minute’s silence, due to wet weather. Each attendee held up the name of one person who died in the assault, to emphasise that the victims were individuals and not just part of a statistic. Of the 1417 Palestinians killed, up to 1181 are thought to have been civillians.

Photo © Josh Jones 2010

Photo © Josh Jones

Photo © Josh Jones

Photo © Josh Jones

Photo © Josh Jones

The boycott referendum was in one of the best attended and closest contested in Sussex Student Union’s history, and the final result mandates the Union to remove all Israeli food produce from its stores.

The decision has received support from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, the grassroots Palestinian committee formed out of the campaign to boycott Israel in 2007. Speaking on behalf of its 23 member organisations, a spokesperson said that Sussex’s decision was significant as part of the international movement:

‘The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) salutes Sussex University students for their decision to boycott Israeli goods.

‘Student movements played a key role in ending Apartheid in South Africa. Today, we call on students across the globe to boycott Israeli products and divest from Israel until it complies with fundamental human rights principles and international law.’

Sussex students campaigning on campus. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

Elsewhere, the boycott at Sussex has come under fire, with the Jewish Chronicle lamenting it as an assault on ‘the Jewish state’. The result has also sparked an online backlash on Facebook from some pro-Israel and non-affiliated students at Sussex.

Meanwhile, Jewish and Israeli academics critical of the occupation of Palestine have shown their support. The scholar Norman G. Finkelstein commented,

It is heartening that Sussex students are actively engaged in ending the inhuman and illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. I consider this a victory not for Palestinians but for truth and justice.

Let us hope it transmits the message to Israel that it should end the occupation so that Palestinians can lead a decent life and amicable relations can be restored between Israelis and other peoples.

Dr Ronit Lentin, Senior Lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, also sent her support to Sussex students:

As a citizen of the State of Israel, and as an oppositionist Jew, I believe that boycotting is the most efficient non-violent strategy to motivate the Israeli state and Israeli citizens to re-think the occupation policy.

Non-governmental organisations campaigning for Human Rights have shown a similar response to the Sussex boycott. The UK charity War on Want sent its congratulations, with Yasmin Khan, Senior Campaigns Officer (Economic Justice), stating:

Palestinians have suffered under the Israeli repression for 61 years, during which time governments all over the world have allowed Israel to act with impunity. It is time for this to change.

The Boycott movement could be just the thing to finally bring justice to Palestine.

Messages of support were also received from the Palestinian grassroots organisation Stop the Wall, and the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, in Bethlehem.

Students of Sussex Palestine Society and Stop The War Coalition. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

The referendum result mandates the Students’ Union to remove all Israeli produce from its stores, and review its sources for food outlets. This makes Sussex Students’ Union the first in the UK to implement a full boycott of Israeli goods through referendum. The vote was one of the largest and closest contested in the Union’s history, with 562 votes for and 450 against the boycott.

The referendum received messages of support and thanks from Jewish and Israeli academics and non-governmental organisations that oppose Israel’s policy of occupation in Palestine. Author and scholar Norman G. Finkelstein described the referendum result as ‘a victory, not for Palestinians but for truth and justice’.

He continued by saying, ‘Let us hope the boycott transmits the message to Israel that it should end the occupation, so that Palestinians can lead a decent life and amicable relations can be restored between Israelis and other peoples.‘

UK charity War On Want and the Palestinian grassroots campaign Stop The Wall also sent messages of support.

Debates over the boycott were often tense, with the Friends of Palestine Society leading the ‘Yes’ campaign, and the ‘No’ campaign running under the slogan ‘Build Bridges Not Boycotts’. Martha Baker, a member of Palestine Society and speaker at one of the events, said that the biggest challenge for the pro-Boycott team was not, however, the pro-Israeli campaigners.

‘Our biggest challenge was ignorance: most students are not aware of the situation facing Palestinians living under occupation. Much of our work involved actually telling people what was happening in Palestine. The more we spoke to people, the more they understood the reasons for boycotting Israel.’

The 30-strong ‘Yes’ campaign team aimed to talk to as many students as possible in person. Syed Bokhari, one of the campaigners, pointed out that door-knocking on campus and talking to people face-to-face proved invaluable to the final outcome. In addition, a benefit club night featuring Lowkey helped raise awareness about the occupation of Palestine.

Pro-Boycott students also made extensive use of social networking sites to raise awareness about the campaign. Messages of support from NGOs and academics were shared almost instantly across Facebook, and pro-Boycott talks were recorded and published on the Palestine Society’s YouTube channel.

Senior Palestine Society member Bushra Khalidi says that the society will now focus its efforts on gaining scholarships for Palestinian students, and lobbying the Union to sell Palestinian West Bank produce.

Please distribute this text (and photo) widely, and provide a link back to this original.

'Stop the War - Troops Out of Afghanistan'. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

24th Oct, 2009: ‘Bring the Troops Home’ was the demand of tens of thousands of anti-war protesters in London today. The demonstration was called by Stop the War, CND and the British Muslim Institute. Trafalgar Square heard speeches against against the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with speakers as diverse as refusing soldier Lance Cpl Joe Glenton and Guantanamo survivor Omar Deghayes.

The protest was led by war vetarans and the families of solidiers who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pictured: Pat Arrowsmith, veteran CND campaigner. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

Speakers accused Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of playing to American imperialist desires. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

Students and young people from accross the country came to join in the protest against the war. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

Student protesters charge down Regent Street, London. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

Speakers and protesters aired their anger at US President Obama for sending more troops into Afghanistan. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

'Jobs, Education, Peace' - the demands set by the protest. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

27th Sep, 2009: While Labour began its Party conference, Brighton seafront hosted thousands of people calling for ‘Jobs, Education and Peace’. The national protest, supported by major trade unions and left-wing parties, also ran under the banner ‘Rage Against New Labour’. The protest passed without interference from police, and caused minimal disruption to the city.

In solidarity with Visteon, Vestas, and other workers' occupations this year. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

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Tax the rich and give welfare to all, speakers demanded. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

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Police outside the Labour Party Conference, at the Brighton Centre. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

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Speakers from Unite Against Fascism drew the link between Labours' public spending cuts and the rise of the BNP. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

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Two photographers run from the charging protest. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

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Protestors charge across Brighton seafront. Photo © Josh Jones 2009

'The BNP is a Nazi Party!' Anti-fascist protesters stand up. Photo @ Josh Jones 2009

15th Aug, 2009: Thousands of British citizens came together today to disrupt the BNP’s annual ‘Red, White and Blue’ festival. The opening day of the British National Party’s propaganda event in Derbyshire was widely disrupted as protesters blocked roads, physically stopping BNP members and potential recruits from reaching the festival. The day passed with minimal violence, and nine reported arrests.

A human barricade stops BNP members from getting through. Photo @ Josh Jones 2009

Coaches left from all over Britain early this morning, to reach Codnor in time to blockade roads leading into the site of the BNP’s festival. Word spread fast that protesters had surrounded the car of French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, preventing him from speaking at the event.

While the largest anti-BNP protest took place in the centre of Codnor, smaller groups of two to three hundred protesters occupied roads leading to the festival, making travel there impossible. The festival is reported to have been seriously disrupted, with BNP leader Nick Griffin having made a complaint to the police that his followers could not make it there.

Many potential attacks were averted by the sheer number of anti-fascist protesters present, with BNP supporters vastly outnumbered and being forced to retreat from confrontation. Protesters were well-disciplined, and linked arms when confronted with the risk of attack by fascists or the police.

Residents appaud protesters. Photo @ Josh Jones 2009

Reception from townsfolk was mixed. Many local residents cheered and clapped the passing protesters, with one woman thanking the group for ‘keeping that scum off our streets’. Others were unsympathetic to the protest, and frustrated by the disruption caused. One resident summarizsd the scenario to me by saying: ‘Having the BNP over there is like having a paedophile that lives across the road.

‘You know they’re going to cause trouble if you bother them, so you keep you kids away and leave em alone. That’s what we do. But every year, the protest comes here and causes us all a nuisance.’

Protesters described the day as an unmitigated success. ‘It was the best we could have hoped for’, said Mark, a social worker from London. ‘We ruined a big day for Britain’s openly racist and fascist party.

‘It was truly empowering to see these racists running scared from black, white and Asian British people, who were linking arms and making their voices heard peacefully.’

Standing together, in Codnor town centre. Photo @ Josh Jones 2009

If you feel the garden should remain open, please sign the petition, or send a message of support to lewesroadcommunitygarden@gmail.com.

Relaxing in the Garden last Sunday. Photo © Josh Jones

]]> http://photographywithoutborders.org/2009/06/lewes-road-community-garden-close-petition/feed/ 4 http://photographywithoutborders.org/2009/05/brighton-lewes-road-community-garden/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://photographywithoutborders.org/2009/05/brighton-lewes-road-community-garden/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 21:39:53 +0000 Josh Jones http://photographywithoutborders.org/?p=440 May 2009: Residents in the Lewes Road area of Brighton have reclaimed a derelict plot and are turning it into a community garden. The project is entirely run by volunteers and supported by donations of soil, plants, and turfing. The plot, formerly a petrol station, is privately owned but has been derelict for over four years.

Digging. Photo © Josh Jones

I spent one Sunday working on the garden and saw dozens and dozens of people come and help out, donate materials, or just offer their thanks. The volunteers, who live within the locality, seem to be of all ages and walks of life. On the day, we re-turfed land, created plant features from used car tires, painted signs and decorations, and erected a marquee for food and drink. I was warmed by the simple willingness to help out that every individual shared, and the collective determination to make the garden successful.

Turfing. Photo © Josh Jones

Drilling holes in the tyres, to bind together and make large plant containers. Photo © Josh Jones

‘There’s something pleasant about the symbolism of turning a petrol station into a garden,’ says Duncan, one of the residents to start the project. ‘And it’s wonderful to see how people have responded. It’s as though everyone was waiting for something like this to happen.’

Painting together. Photo © Josh Jones

As the sun went down, the gardeners put away tools and sat on the grass to chat and relax. Food and drink was shared as children showed their inexhaustible energy by continuing to run around. The garden will host a work session and evening party at the first Sunday of every month, but Duncan reckons these will only be the start. ‘I can see people wanting to come here every weekend. Maybe every day.’

Meeting in the shade to prepare for the day. Photo © Josh Jones

26th May, 2009: Students at Sussex University have set up camp outside management offices to show their dissatisfaction with controversial new tactics, this week. ‘Camp Against Cuts’, which pitched its first tent last Thursday, now comprises half a dozen well-kept tents festooned with banners. It comes as Sussex management continue to pursue their plans of dropping Linguistics as a course, a decision which raised the anger of thousands of students and staff as well as famous linguists such as Noam Chomsky.

Set amidst tall trees and long grass, the protest’s relaxed attitude befits its pleasant surrounds. ‘This isn’t about pushing for specific demands’, said Raz Meldau, one of the protesters and an officer in the Student’s Union. ‘It’s about letting management know that there is still opposition to their rash decisions, even in the middle of exam season.’ Issues which the camp hopes to raise include the closure of Linguistics, but also include Sussex management’s apparent disregard for decision-making procedures. ‘Above all, we want this to be a place where students across campus can come together and plan opposition for the next academic year.’

Gwen Wilkinson, a student at the University, said that the campus security services had been ‘wonderful’. Relationships with management have been less sunny – after several days of silence, protesters received their first invitation of dialogue only today. ‘We are happy to talk with them but we have no plans to leave in a hurry,’ Wilkinson continued. Asked how long the camp was planned to last, she said its lifespan was ‘indefinite’.

My first experience at the camp was taking part in a ‘laughter workshop’. Twenty minutes later, desperate for breath, I was reminded of how protest can take unusual and entertaining forms. While small, the camp is steadily growing, and there are hopes to use it as a free teaching space on a regular basis. It remains to be seen whether the camp will grow or shrink as students finish their exams. Wilkinson remains optimistic. ‘This should appeal to a lot of students, as it isn’t just about getting angry. It’s about creating a positive space for sharing skills – and having fun.’

Protesters meet at midday. Photo © Josh Jones.

May Day, 4th May 2009: Hundreds of people from all over the country met in Brighton today to protest against the war, capitalism, and the arms trade. Organised by the Smash EDO movement, which for years has been campaigning against the EDO/ITT weapons factory based in Brighton, the protest started off very peacefully and remained generally positive throughout the day.

The Chinese Dragon makes its way around. Photo © Josh Jones.

After meeting by the Palace Pier, the protest moved through the centre of Brighton cheering and chanting. Four young anarchists climbed to the top of the Barclays building, where they hung a banner reading “Arms Dealers Out Of Brighton’. Barclays is notorious for being one of the banks most complicit in the international arms trade. The people responsible for the banner were welcomed into the crowd as heroes, and avoided arrest.

'Arms Dealers Out Of Brighton': Barclays Bank. Photo © Josh Jones.

Through North Laine. Photo © Josh Jones.

After passing peacefully past the Clock tower, down Queens Road and through North Laine, the protest clashed with police on London Road. A heavy police presence blocked part of the road outside McDonalds, and minor scuffles quickly escalated as mounted and riot police forced through crowds to protect the building. A smoke-bomb lit by protesters, combined with a push forward from mounted police, frightened shoppers and nearly split the protest in two.

Mounted Police push protesters away from McDonalds, London Road. Photo © Josh Jones.

Police manhandle a boy away from McDonalds. Photo © Josh Jones.

From then on, the protest became a game of cat-and-mouse – although it was sometimes hard to tell who was the cat and who the mouse. Protesters managed to force back mounted police several times, while police hastily re-grouped around the protest as it moved into residential districts and through Preston Park. However, neither protesters nor police seemed to have a plan as such, and after much walking and a few minor scuffles – including the arrest of one man by riot police – the protest moved back into the town centre.

Outmaneuvering the riot police, in Preston Park. Photo © Josh Jones.

On the seafront, for the first time in the day the police attempted to ‘kettle’ protesters by surrounding them on all sides. However, protesters quickly skirted down onto the beach and back onto the road behind police lines. The protest moved on peacefully and, after more skirting through narrow lanes and moving around police lines, settled on the grass outside St. Peter’s Church to dance and relax.

Stuck outside the police 'kettle'. "Where is the BBC?", the father asked me. "Where is Sky? Do they think nothing is happening?"