‘We are from the slums of London, yeah,’ a young man says to camera, the lower part of his face covered by a scarf, which he pulls up to keep it from falling down. It’s 9 December 2010, and tensions are high in the centre of the city.
Later that day, during student protests against a hike in university tuition fees, I will twice be pulled out of my wheelchair by police officers intent on violence. The second time they did it, it was caught on mobile phone and subsequently beamed to millions of people across the country, thanks to the person who filmed it. I and a group of others were right outside the Houses of Parliament at the time, as the elected (and non-elected) members inside voted to triple fees to £9,000 ($14,200) per year.
