Tens of thousands of protesters swarmed the streets of London Saturday for an anti-racism march pitted against rising xenophobia and the increasing prominence of right-wing populism across Europe and the U.S.
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Up to 30,000 people were reported to have joined in the “Stand Up to Racism” march through the center of the capital which went from Regent Street to Parliament Square. Many were seen with placards including “Stop the Scapegoating,” “Refugees Welcome” and “Stamp out Islamophobia.”
Many took aim at rising populist politics around the world, including Brexit, Donald Trump and France’s far-right presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen. Protesters say that this type of populism has helped to stoke racism and intolerance and is a threat to immigrants and refugees.
“We’ve had the election of Donald Trump, with his Muslim ban and the wall with Mexico. We’ve had the EU referendum, where we’ve seen the highest increase in reported hate crimes in the country, showing that the scapegoating of migrants gave confidence to racists,” rally organizer Zakariya Cochrane told The Independent.
“Migrants, Muslim women and anyone considered to be ‘foreign’ are being attacked on a daily basis and refugees are being abandoned by Britain and Europe to destitution, drowning and exploitation,” the event's website read.
“This week Nigel Farage met Marine Le Pen and we are sending a message that we don’t want that kind of fascism and xenophobia across our planet and in our country,” Labour MP for Tottenham, David Lammy said, according to the Guardian. Lammy also criticized a small group of far-right counter-protesters believed to be from the English Defense League.
Former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Mozzam Begg from Birmingham was a guest speaker at the rally and said that Trump should be one of the “bad dudes” that is sent to the prison camp.
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This year's march was the fourth in a row that has been organized to coincide with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21. Similar demonstrations also took place across the UK and Europe, including in Cardiff and Glasgow, as well as in Berlin, Vienna and Athens.
A number of artists including Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Greenday got behind the anti-racism campaign by sharing photos of “Love Music, Hate Racism” t-shirts via their social media.