Rallies for change

On a cloudy bank holiday morning I strode down the strangely quiet streets of central London on my way to a rally for turning Strangers into Citizens in the UK. I have a particular interest in this issue, since I am an immigrant in process myself.

I was also a bit sceptical. As a newcomer in London, I have only been to one other march/rally so far: the G20 march on the Saturday before the summit. That event had a heavy air, with people trudging rather than marching, carrying signs like “This is our last chance.” One even read, “It’s already too late.” The atmosphere was a bit like that. I noticed also that marchers were not very representative of the population at large, as they were mostly a collection of unions and fringe leftist groups. The experience left me a bit downhearted about marches.

Fortunately, Strangers into Citizens was there to restore my faith in popular protest! The 20,000-strong march, almost as big as the G20 march and loads more festive, kicked off after smaller services bringing together faith groups and ethnic groups from all over the UK and the world. Then at 11:30 we converged on Tothill Street in front of Barclay’s Bank (the bank was untouched) and started marching, or shall I say grooving, towards Trafalgar Square, led by a Bangladeshi drumming core. They set the stage for a multicultural display of music, singing and dancing, as the Salvation Army brass band was followed by Latino salsa rhythms, then Brazilian samba beats, Filipinos singing hymns, and two Congolese contingents dancing and singing their way past the Houses of Parliament. Tourists happily lined the streets taking pictures as if it were a London show scheduled for their benefit. What a way to make a statement of the beauty of London’s diversity due to immigration!

We filed slowly into Trafalgar Square and the inspiring speeches began. Unlike the G20, this was a real coalition: religious leaders of all stripes, refugees and immigrants from all over the world, unions, leftists, and average British families were all taking part. Oh, and a Japanese immigrant led us in a stirring rendition of “God Save the Queen”. I was impressed that politicians were also represented by a Labour and a Lib Dem MP, plus representatives of conservative MPs. And Boris Johnson endorsed the event. This seemed like a coalition that could actually make a difference.

Still, as I stood there in the crowd listening to speaker after speaker pump up the crowd with Jesse Jackson’s famous “I am somebody”, and call for immigrants to be recognized as citizens, the event seemed to lose its momentum. The transition from a dynamic march, where every person was somebody, with a task and a voice, shifted into passive mode with a few speakers and an audience who could only cheer, jeer or stare blankly on. Yes, being there en masse was a statement in itself. But after getting people out on a rainy bank holiday, what were we meant to do? One action point was the ability to donate to the campaign by text, but that only took 30 seconds. Speakers called on the audience to put pressure on local MPs to support immigration legislation, but there was no way given to immediately and effectively put this idea into practice.

People often criticize demonstrations by saying that they aren’t effective. Cue the 1 million plus demonstration against the war in Iraq in 2003. Maybe one of the problems is that people aren’t helped to transfer their desires for change into actions that will make a difference AFTER the rally is over.

I left happy that I could be a part of the inspiring rally, but with this nagging question: How can people who want to make a difference in their societies turn rallies and demonstrations into concrete actions for change?