The National March for Palestine on 18th May 2024, to commemorate the Nakba. The first part of the recording is before the demonstration started moving, near a group of medical workers, with a young woman speaking on a megaphone about Nakba and the current situation in Gaza, then mostly soundscapes as the demonstration moved towards Whitehall. The only aggression I’ve seen on any of the marches has been from counter protests, there was a smaller counter demonstration today, (some images are included in the galleries below), with placards accusing the demonstrators on the Palestine march of being ISIS and rape supporters. In the context that the Palestine march includes a large number of Muslim people, I’d say that comparing it to proscribed terrorist groups or acts (the Manchester bombing on one sign) is racist and a hate crime.
The demonstration finished in Whitehall, although many sat in Trafalgar Square, where there was an event by the Sri Lankan Tamil community, commemorating 15 years since the end of the civil war and also the genocide committed there. Coincidentally as with the Palestine situation, there are also connections to the British Empire. As always the march was hugely diverse, with a sizeable Jewish Bloc, and people from many backgrounds representing the UK (69% now want an immediate cease fire)
Voices from the Protests 