R.I.P Brian Haw

Brian Haw, the veteran peace campaigner died on the 18^th June in Germany at the age of 62 after a long battle against lung cancer and ten years of peaceful campaign constantly around the clock with his camp becoming a tourist attraction in itself and a pilgrimage for other protesters. His family announced that he died peacefully in his sleep.

Brian Haw was well known from June 2001 where he set up his protests and camp outside the Houses of Parliament initially to protests against the US and Britain’s bombings and economic sanctions on Iraq and then rose up in profile and changed partially once the 9/11 attacks had finished and especially after the announcement of the war in Iraq to incorporate that into his individual protest. In 2007 he was voted to be the Most Politically Inspiring Figure of the Year in the Channel 4 Political Awards.Despite laws to the government put up to curtail our right to protest outside of the Houses of Parliament, Brian Haw never once gave up and became a familiar site outside the Houses of Parliament, with his many placards depicting scenes of horror and slogans spreading the message of anti-war and peace with artists such as Banksy contributing artwork and banners to the site. Over the years, different legislations were passed to stop his protests which he all but overcame however finally in March of this year, 2011, Boris Johnson Mayor of London won an order to evict Mr Haw and other campaigners out of Parliament Square Gardens which then forced him onto the streets.

Brian Haw was an inspiration to many, and even after his death shall continue to be just that. With his prolific campaigning getting right to the heart of the matter and gaining the public’s attention with his thought provoking messages and constant camping and vigil receiving attention from campaigner’s and politician’s worldwide, such as winning the support and backing of Labour politician MP Tony Benn. Haw showed us what never has there been a man so dedicated and passionate to a cause in recent years, and was an irritating reminder to the establishment on a daily basis of the many innocent lives they were cutting short. Not only did he document and protest against Bush and Blair he also documented the birth defects which occurred after the Gulf War as a result of depleted uranium. He lived at his camp for ten years, with supporters bringing him food when he needed it and built a home for himself as a camp of tents and of horrific war pictures and anti-war slogans to spread his message of peace and against the patriotism of war that England seems to instil to justify the effects of going to war on what was based upon a lie. As Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn wrote: “He stood and camped in Parliament Square for ten years, challenged law and above all reminded MPs daily of the consequences of their decisions, easily made in the warm glow of moral superiority and jingoism, have consequences for our civil liberties and the lives of thousands of innocent people and generations that follow.” Fellow protesters carry on continuing to attempt to spread the messages and retain the camp