'We were there': Salvationists on YouTube

A very fine short video recalling 4 May by the Salvation Army on YouTube containing moving comments by Col. Bill Cochrane, second in command of the Army in the UK. Hat tip again to tireless SiC supporter Capt. Nick Coke.

'We were there': the Anglican Franciscans

Members of the Society of St Francis (SSF) recall 4 May on their website:

Migrants to our country have long been on the edge of society, and often work for less than the minimum wage. SSF has long befriended them. In Plaistow and Hilfield we have room for one or two men in such a situation - some who have lived here for over 14 years, but with no right to work, or claim state benefits. They have blessed our communities in many ways, both in work and worship.

Brothers have been supporting the Strangers into Citizens campaign which calls for these long term migrants to be allowed to become citizens, and have attended the annual May Day rally for several years.

Yesterday, Bank Holiday Monday, Br Hugh SSF and Caroline Ugbo TO attended the service in St Margaret’s (next to Westminster Abbey) with a wonderful choir from Zimbabwe. Others attended Mass in the RC Cathedral or Muslim worship, before processing up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square where Vaughan, a postulant, and Tobias, a volunteer at Hilfield, joined them. It was a very well organised and festive day, a celebration more than a demonstration, as is to be expected from everything organised by London Citizens, the UK’s largest civic alliance. The parish in Plaistow in which the brothers are involved is a London Citizens founding parish.

It was great to be surrounded by people from all over the world, most living in London but with delegations from Birmingham and beyond. We heard Imams, MPs, Bishops and representatives from many countries – all calling for an earned amnesty for those who speak English and who have been here for at least 6 years.

'We were there': the Steward

Sho Konno was a steward on 4 May -- one of those who made sure things ran smoothly on the day. He has written about it on an e-magazine called Ctrl+Alt+Shift - "a community for passionate and outspoken individuals, joined in the fight against poverty and injustice" -- and posted some shots.

'We were there': Clifton diocese

Catholics from the parish of 'St Nicks' in inner-city Bristol were there.

'We were there': the Salvation Army

Graeme Smith, a Salvation Army leader from Godalming, Surrey, was there.

There were around 80 people connected to The Salvation Army marching amongst the marchers and several people spoke to those around me saying how good it was to see the Army supporting them in this campaign. This is, of course, part of our heritage that we’ve forgotten so it’s great to see the Army out there where it really matters supporting some of the most marginalised people in our society! Let’s hope we keep it up and if anything increase our support for this and other campaigns that are about lifting the mantle of oppression from the lives of individuals and communities.

(Photo: Adam Scott)

'We were there': east London Muslims

A nice message of congratulations from the East London Mosque, member of the east London branch of London Citizens, TELCO.

'We were there': the passer-by

I think the group was called Strangers into Citizens. We stayed to watch it for maybe 20-25 minutes. The speakers were immense. I totally had tears.

'We were there': the Latin-American

In these 12 years of Calvary I have lived through, yesterday I felt for the first time hopeful and happy about the future. Thank you for a wonderful day of faith.

'We were there': the Socialist (II)

Liam's blog is admiring, despite his "strong instinct to run away very quickly from large groups of people carrying union jacks". Money quote:

For my money this demo is the highlight of the political calendar. Once a year the voiceless and invisible hyper-exploited workers of London take to the streets and make themselves heard. They are a multitude drawn from every corner of the planet and maybe, just maybe, they are starting to get a sense of their power and numbers.

'We were there': the Muslim

I went to this strangers into citizens rally yesterday, it was really amazing mashallah.

(Pictured: Dr Bari of the MCB)

Milton Keynes was there

Specifically, Citizens: MK, part of COF. Snaps and videos here.

'We were there' (4): the Anglican

Give yourself a huge pat on the back for a wonderful rally of people on Monday! ..... We did the bike ride, one of the masses, the march, Trafalgar Square and then Pizza Express! ... Nice piece of work and thank you for leading the way. Very prophetic.

'We were there' (3): the Catholic

"I was deeply moved by the Mass in westminister Cathedral and the demonstration, well done all for the excellent organisation. I am an Irish emigrant.God bless the campaign."

'We were there' (2): the Green socialist

At 'The Daily', JimJay, a "socialist in the Green Party", tries to come to terms with things he disliked on Monday -- the Union Jack, the national anthem, religion -- and does:

Slight feelings of alienation aside I thought it was a fantastic event and one of the few demonstrations I actually enjoy going on. Mainly organised through religious groups and London Citizens (who are often spoken of in glowing terms) with refugee groups and anti-deportations thrown in for good measure you get a real feeling of what a progressive movement feels like.

Not that all churchgoers are progressive, of course, but the power of civil society organisations to build movements can't be underestimated or disregarded because of their lack of full and perfect political programme.

'We were there' (1): the disgruntled left

Oh dear. Not everyone who came on Monday was impressed. Turns out we were 'infiltrated' by some ideologically committed people who held a counter-demonstration. Reports the author of this post at something called 'The Commune':

An alternative rally was held on the steps at the back of Trafalgar Square, with several dozen people listening to militant speeches by activists such as the Mitie/Willis cleaners and a speaker from the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees. The Coordinadora had produced a Spanish-language leaflet “Amnesty for some, or papers for all?”, criticising the tepid politics of London Citizens and its claim that some immigration controls are “necessary”.

"Several dozen", eh? Not enough for anyone to notice -- apart from the several dozen, of course -- but just enough to make it hard for some people to hear some of the speeches. Presumably that's how some people think you change the world?

According to 'Commune', London Citizens "have an extremely conservative stance similar to that of Mayor Boris Johnson".

Hence the backing from the Morning Star, of course!