Lynda Bowyer Photography Blog The pain of protest...

©Lynda Bowyer Regular readers to this, my business blog, will know that a large swathe of my time is taken in press photojournalism covering a whole host of socio-politico issues.Recently I attended a demonstration in Whitehall where pro-Morsi and pro-Sisi demonstrators were out in force, ahead of an impending visit to the Prime Minister's abode by the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. El-Sisi took power two years ago as part of a military coup in which he unseated the democratically elected Mohammed Morsi. This overthrowing of President Morsi was, as one can imagine, an extremely inflammatory affair. Tensions run deep, both in Egypt and also here in the UK where many pacifists were vehemently against the state visit to number 10.©Lynda Bowyer Pro-Morsi demonstrators daubed themselves in fake blood, wrapped makeshift nooses around their necks and laid prostrate at the gates of Downing Street, as pro-Sisi demonstrators continue to shout, chant and jeer. It was only a matter of time before something would happen - and shortly after 11am, Metropolitan Police Officers moved in to remove and arrest those blocking the entrance to the security gates at Downing Street. In spite of the rough handling of the demonstrators, what moved me more was the genuine sadness in the eyes of the demonstrators. They cried. Correction - they wept. Tears of sorrow ran down their faces as they continued to plead their case for demonstrating against the presence of what was deemed a military dictator here in the UK.In order to avoid such a confrontation, President El-Sisi, on the other hand, was whisked into Downing Street via a rear entrance via the Treasury and thus avoided the whole spectacle. How convenient for him. My photostories which were sent for press syndication are detailed here and here.©Lynda Bowyer More recently I attended Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre just north of Bedford. A protest had been arranged where a demonstration would take place to demand the closure of the facility. Yarl's Wood is deemed as a "detention centre for foreign nationals awaiting deportation to their country of origin". Others would call it a prison. Indeed Her Majesty's Inspection of Prisons is on record as having referred to the provision at the centre as "unsafe". In particular, there is a widening issue in relation to the wellbeing of female detainees at Yarl's Wood. Allegations of brutality, rape, sexual abuse and other forms of torture have been in the headlines for some time, and yet the facility remains in full use.©Lynda Bowyer In spite of a series of spectacular downpours, over 600 protestors convened at the detention centre, situated snugly and conveniently at the rear of an otherwise inconspicuous industrial estate north of Bedford. They marched over muddy fields and across swollen ditches to get to the rear of the industrial estate whereupon with compassion and fortitude they chanted, shouted, sang and made a whole cacophony of noise in solidarity at the atrocious condtions inside the Serco-run facility. Chain ladders were hoisted against the 20ft high perimeter fencing and a banner drop performed, in addition to a live phone-call over the PA system with detainees who described in painful detail the conditions in which they were being kept. Others waved t-shirts outside the very small slit in their room windows at the centre, emblazoned with the message "We Are Not Animals." More on this story can be found in my photostories which were sent for press syndication. They can be located here and here.Do you have a cause close to your heart? What does it mean to you? What would you do to defend that cause?