Occupy London protesters want positive change

Interns from OBV recently visited the Occupy London protest at St Paul's Cathedral, which began more than three weeks ago. They spoke to demonstrators to find out more about their reasons to protest and what they, along with thousands around the world, hope to achieve by staging protests in major cities around the world. Here, Ijeoma Mbubaegbu gives us her experience of the protest and those who were demonstrating. Photo journalist Ahmed Sule also visited the site to capture the atmosphere of the protest. His images are published in this article.

The protestors at St. Paul’s were urging Londoners to support their campaign for anti-capitalism and socialism instead of capitalism and also instead of communism. Some of them were protesting because they feared that the greed of bankers and other wealthy people in the West was plundering from the free world that we all share and from the world that at its creation provided everything that we need.

The peaceful protest was a campaign, according to one demonstrator, in the name of love and for the generation of children whose future survival looks bleak. She took leave from work as a security guard to support the cause and raise awareness for the plight of the next generation who she felt were 'destined to live in poverty' and for the animals that she believed were becoming extinct.

A few of the women that we spoke to had strong maternal beliefs and were of the opinion that their children and grandchildren, let alone themselves, would be left in poverty because the more wealthy amongst us were exacerbating world debt and the financial crises that we are now facing in the West. Some though believe it is the system rather than the people which is at fault and the capitalist system has failed to support the world.

There were some with more extreme views, with one protestor believing that the only way to improve Britain’s economy was to dissolved all constituencies in Parliament, remove the Queen and bring in the army. Blaming foreign influence on the banking institution in Britain, he believed that Bill Cooper, a soldier, should become world leader and that he supported the British Constitution Group. His view boarded on anarchy whilst others said that they were not anarchist but would not be moved until forced by the police.

The protestors thanked the clergy for their support of a peaceful protest. Clergy as with Rt Rev Graeme Knowles, a Dean at St. Paul’s, canon chancellor of St Paul's, Giles Fraser, and the part-time chaplain Fraser Dyer resigned because of their belief that a forced eviction, though legal, would damage the reputation of the Church of England.

The protestors said that there was no leader for the movement, however they were united by the support they had for one another and by the belief that the system needed changing. Also, they encouraged people to come and join them and they would be supported by the other protestors already at the campaign.

Ijeoma Mbubaegbu

View more of Ahmed Sule's images from the Occupy London protest by clicking here.