Remembrance for Migrants & State Violence in Chile: On Saturday 9th Nov 2019 Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants held a ceremony in Whitehall to remember all the refugees who had died fleeing violence over the past year. I then photographed a Funeral march from the Chilean Embassy to Parliament Square against state violence against protesters after a state of emergency was declared against massive demonstrations and riots in Santiago and other cities.
Remember migrants who have died
Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants hosted a ceremony at the Ministry of Defence with other groups the day before Remembrance Sunday to remember all who died to seek refuge in the past year.
The event began outside the Ministry of Defence where there were a number of speeches and a short silence and people held up posters with the names of the 39 Vietnamese people found dead in a container on a lorry trailer in Grays, Essex on October 23, 2019 – 28 men, 8 women, and 3 children.
People holding the names of the Vietnamese dead then covered their faces with purple gauze and picked up orange wreaths for a slow procession to the Cenotaph to lay the wreaths to remember those who died seeking sanctuary.
Remember migrants who have died
Funeral March for Chile Protesters
The ‘estallido social‘ (Social Unrest) in Chile began in October 2019 as a protest against fare rises on the Santiago Metro and other cost of living increases and continued until March 2020.
Over 36 people were killed and thousands injured, in particular many blinded after being hit in the eye by rubber pellets fired by security forces. As Wikipedia states, “Bandaged eyes had become so common that they become a symbol for protesters.” Human rights organisations reported cases of excessive violence and torture, sexual abuse and rape of protesters.
Many of those taking part in the protest wore gauze pads on one eye and at the front of the protest three people carried black coffins.
The march made the short distance to Parliament Square where they stopped for a rally.
A group of women dressed in black performed in protest against the sexual abuses, smearing fake blood on pairs of white pants which they then removed and held above their heads.
It had been raining steadily all afternoon and I was beginning to get rather wet and cold and I left before the rest of the rally.
Funeral March for Chile Protesters
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