I’m still recovering from the physical exhaustion and emotional intoxication after filming the enormous protest on 26 March which went off mostly peacefully. There were no major incidents on the day, apart from some damage by the anarchists and the kettling at Trafalgar Square. The big question is why did the kettling happen at Trafalgar Square?
I reached Embankment station at around 8am. There I interviewed a senior citizen who told me this was the first time he had joined a protest since the 1970s. He was really unhappy about the cuts, especially what they mean for the disabled people he worked with. At Embankment, I filmed several trade union volunteers who were carrying boxes, banners, balloons and placards, getting ready for the protesters. There were hundreds of volunteers all doing their bit to make sure things ran smoothly.
I joined the march in Mallet Street and followed the Scottish student group. I met Callum, a friend of Bryan. Bryan is one of our subjects in the film who being charged in a criminal case regarding his participation in the 2010 Millbank occupation. Callum expressed his dismay for his friend Bryan, who is denied the right to peaceful protest as part of his bail conditions. Callum told me that Bryan would be arrested if he set foot in London. I lost Callum as I interviewed a young masked protester who told me he had to cover his face because showing his face in a protest is not a chance he was willing to take. He said the police could photograph him and brand him as a rioter. He told me he was not a violent person but was just concerned for his safety and reputation.
In Blackfriars, thousands and thousands of protesters from all walks of life and ages gathered to start the march. I searched for Callum and his group but couldn’t find them. At Westminster, I received a text from Callum but it was sent 25 minutes earlier. I finally got reception at Parliament Street and I found Callum who was very excited about being part of the huge march. He felt great about protesting with what I estimated to be over 300,000 people.
At this point, a few hundred protesters left the main march route to Hyde Park and occupied Oxford Circus. My producer Sam, alerted me and I rushed to Oxford Circus. The street was closed off and traffic had been diverted. Some protesters built a large Trojan horse made of sticks and fiber sacks. They had carried the horse from Camden to Oxford Circus. They eventually burnt the horse unleashing huge flames and heat. Protesters gathered around and celebrated. A protester told me that having the power to protest and burn a horse in Oxford Circus made him feel liberated.
At Oxford Circus, I met Ethan, one of our subjects in the film who has been kettled, put in jail and criminalised by the police for participating in 9 December 2010 student protest. Ethan kept his face covered as he helped other protesters block police vans trying to kettle them. Ethan told me that he was not scared to protest, as it was his given right to do so. I followed Ethan up to Piccadilly Circus where he spoke of his satisfaction for having participated in a peaceful protest without kettling. He felt optimistic that kettling might be a thing of the past. We said our goodbyes, and my team and I went home.
At home, my muscles were complaining with every step after the long day. I had a shower and was having my dinner, watching the news when the programme was interrupted and the news that 200 protesters were being kettled in Trafalgar Square came on. I dropped my dinner, grabbed my camera and in an hour, I was back in Trafalgar Square at midnight. The whole situation had changed at Trafalgar Square. Over 200 protesters were being kettled on Nelson’s statue. Outside the kettle around 50 protesters blocked the streets and the police battled to move the protesters off the streets. There was pushing, screaming and kicking and resisting from all sides. I captured protesters struggling to continue their protest and the police faced with the task of protecting the public, keeping the traffic flowing and keeping order in the heart of the city.
I went back to the kettle and it dawned on me that the police were arresting the kettled protesters gradually. There, I interviewed the last protester taken, a young boy who was handcuffed and led to the police van. The boy told me with a scared but brave face that he did nothing violent and that he did not know why he was being arrested. At around 3am, the situation was contained, 201 arrested protesters were driven away, the traffic started to flow again and the police changed shifts. I sat there, still, observing around 15 remaining protesters hanging around the pavement, around 50 police officers waiting around in groups at various points in the square. Several police vans parked and waited around the square. It was a stand-off. An ambulance arrived and treated a bashed up protester. The atmosphere seemed surreal. Yet it was happening. I stood there and I could not move. I was overwhelmed by what I had just filmed, especially the innocent face of the boy. My mind was in deep thought. This is the heart of London, the square of freedom and yet no one is actually free to peacefully protest there late at night. Does freedom have a time? Is this a government’s effort to prevent demonstration in the square and avoid the likes of the protests in Tunisia and Tahrir Square in Egypt?
Kettling of the Voices - pivotal documentary film-making 