Kenmure Street, 2021
Protest! Protest! Protest! - Following on from my announcement of two days ago that I’m doing new zines ‘Save Our Pool, 2001’ and ‘No M77 Carhenge, 1994/95’, I’ve decided to add a further publication making a trilogy of zines of seminal protests from Glasgow Southside. This third zine will be ‘Kenmure Street, 2021’. All three zines will be on sale soon, please sign up for my newsletter to be the first to hear when they are released.
Kenmure Street, Glasgow, 2021.
I was returning from a photographic commission in the Scottish Borders, just arriving back in Glasgow, when a friend Alex called, “I think you should come to Kenmure Street, there’s a big protest happening.”
On the morning of Eid, May 13th, two Sikh men were seized from their Pollokshields home and detained by the Home Office, for alleged immigration violations. Neighbours observing the detention happening began surrounding the immigration enforcement vehicle, with one protestor lodging himself below it.
As word spread and the community gathered calling for the release off their two neighbours a stand off with the authorities began, resulting in Police Scotland being involved to maintain order.
In late afternoon with an ever-growing gathering of determined supporters surrounding the van, and after being held all day within it, the two men were escorted by Police Scotland to a nearby mosque, where they were released to cheers from the crowds.
The actions of the Home Office were roundly criticised, and the day’s events became widely known as a protest that made a difference in 2021.