Photographing Things That Matter

Ukrainians march on Whitehall to put pressure on the UK government to act.

And at the drop of a hat the world is turned upside down, a consensus that goes back decades is shattered whilst we stand there stunned. Needless to say, we are watching history unfold before our eyes. For some time now I’ve been inspired by Steve McCurry’s work for National Geographic where he would often go into dangerous parts the Middle East & Asia with his camera to show the world what was really happening amongst the chaos. His photo of the Afghan girl is perhaps one of the most famous photos in the world and his stories and photos from the Gulf War are as haunting as they are terrifying. With myself being far away from the front lines of this new conflict there was no way I could hope to emulate the impact his work had, but I thought that I could record a small piece of current events closer to home. Protests were quickly brewing in London (and in capitals across the West) and I decided to head down on the Friday, the day after the invasion.

The Ukrainian Embassy stood silently the day after the invasion.

The only signs that we weren’t in normal times were the few floral tributes left outside.

Putin’s actions resembling that of Hitler’s is a big talking point that has been doing the rounds both at protest and online.

Looking on, many people are wondering if there is anything they can do in such trying times.

The statue of Volodymyr also saw floral tributes left in support for Ukraine.

First of all, I headed to the Ukrainian Embassy to see if anything was happening there. Apart from a few floral tributes there was hardly a hint of activity. I could see a few people standing around inside, and I could only dread to think what they must have been discussing at that moment. Able to do little in the UK whilst their friends and relatives had to face the horrors of war hundreds of miles away. I believe there is more activity there now as people look to sign up as part of a foreign legion to fight for Ukraine, much like what happened during the Spanish Civil War. This war seemingly is just as much about ideology as it is about territory.

There were no signs of activity at the Belarussian embassy.

The Russian embassy remained in use as normal.

With many years of hostility between Russia and the West it is unsurprising that the Embassy is well defended structurally.

The small protest stood on the other side of the road opposite the embassy.

After a quick look at the statue of St. Volodymyr, which also had floral tributes at its base, I headed over to the Belarussian embassy but again was greeted by inactivity and it wasn’t long until I was headed to my next destination, the Russian embassy. Unsurprisingly this was where the small group of protestors were, having been made to stand on the other side of the road by the police so as not to block traffic. Business was carrying on as usual at the Embassy with people coming and going, although one man, who wasn’t Russian, was sworn out by someone standing outside leading to a short but heated argument in the street. Another man confronted the police on why the protestors were being forced onto the other side of the road. I spoke to the officers afterwards and they said there hadn’t been any real disruptions beyond a few eggs being thrown the day before.

Many signs talk specifically about Putin and not Russia generally.

Small scale TV broadcasters did show up from time to time. It’s interesting to see how these one man crews operate.

The protest was a mixture of British & Ukrainians protestors.

There were a couple of Russians who were also protesting to show their objections to the war.

The protestors were mostly a mixture of British and Ukrainians but there were a couple of Russians there as well to make their anti-war stance known. I spoke to one of them who was very visibly upset and said that both the expat community and the people she knew back home were bewildered and confused about the war and didn’t want it to happen. Interestingly when I asked her about Navalny (the main opposition figurehead) she said that he was a very divisive figure who she hadn’t personally supported due to his ‘extremism’. She said his willingness to work with virtually anyone as long as they were against Putin made him friends with some unsavoury characters, which in turn put a lot of people off. Whether more Russians will start to overlook this as this situation deteriorates remains to be seen, as ever things are never entirely clear cut.

A man confronts the police on forcing the protestors to be on the other side of the road to the embassy.

The protestors began to gather at Whitehall.

Many people were calling for stronger sanctions on Russia, this was before the decision on blocking Russia from using most aspects of SWIFT.

Some were even calling for stricter punishment on individual Russians.

On my way out I saw one British woman try to hand out Kitkats to the Ukrainians as a small way of showing solidarity, for many people it is difficult to see what they can otherwise personally contribute. The main protest however was to be outside of Downing Street in the evening where much larger numbers of people would gather to make their voices heard. Again, this was mostly Ukrainians but there were not only a notable number of British people but also Georgians and Lithuanians waving their flags in solidarity. Georgia and the Baltic States are also no strangers to Russian antagonism and so it was unsurprising to see their presence there.

Children were also present at the protest. Sadly this young boy might never be able to remember a world where his home nation is free and independent.

The Ukrainian flag was flying over Whitehall.

Sandwiches were being handed out to feed the many protestors.

A few media interviews were being carried out but there didn’t seem to be a big presence from the mainstream British press.

When I arrived at about 5pm the numbers of people there must have been in the hundreds but when I left two hours later it looked more like a couple of thousand. With much bigger numbers subsequently seen over the weekend, though I wasn’t there. The protest was well organised with Ukrainian marshals in high-vis jackets helping the police to direct people and keep the road clear for buses as they came through. At the centre of the protest was the microphone used for a continuous stream of speeches and chanting. Children were front and centre, trying to send a message to the world who would suffer the most in such a conflict.

Children were out front and centre at the focal point of the protest. The British flag is flown side-by-side with the Ukrainian flag in the background.

The protest continued to grow in size as the evening went on.

Another recurring theme was that this conflict would not end with Ukraine.

Some protestors were visibly upset, though many remained defiant.

I did also manage to speak to a Ukrainian man and his wife about the situation back home. His family lived out in the West away from the worst of the fighting whilst her family were stuck in Kyiv. They were still able to make contact, but the concern had been that the internet and phone lines could go down at any moment. When I asked him about the Ukrainian feeling towards Russia, he said he himself had served in the Soviet Army alongside many Russians and worked with others after his service ended. However, once the events of 2014 occurred and the annexation of Crimea, they all stopped talking to him (he made it clear it wasn’t the other way around). He concluded: ‘We can’t be friends anymore. If you kill my people, you are the enemy.’ Emblematic of the bitter sentiment that now exists between two peoples that were once very close.

Some also called for a no fly zone which continues to be a top request from Ukraine to NATO.

Painting their faces with Ukrainian colours. Something that people used to do for sports matches, now for protesting the full scale invasion of their nation.

Several Georgian flags were seen flying, they are also not strangers to Russian aggression.

There were cheers from the crowd as the London Eye was lit up with Ukrainian colours.

As with the lady who was handing out KitKats, I am left to wonder what I can really to do help the situation if anything at all. But as someone who spends most of his time taking pictures of cars for a living it was good to take the time to photograph something that really did matter. To record this small slither of history and show others the levels of support and solidarity the people of Ukraine are receiving across the Western World. Maybe it won’t amount to anything but at least with it being recorded it won’t be forgotten.

Protestors set about creating their banners.

There was a large Lithuanian presence at the protest.

Ukrainians will continue to protest and petition Western governments to do all they can to rescue their nation from Putin’s clutches.

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