A PHOTOGRAPHER said he has “never felt less safe anywhere in the world” than he did at a protest in Glasgow’s George Square this weekend.
Tommy Ga-Ken Wan photographed the rally in the city, which had been organised to “protect” statues and monuments from vandalism by anti-racism protesters.
A handful of monuments in the square had been identified as part of the Topple the Racists campaign, which seeks the removal of statues with links to the slave trade. The campaign was launched following the toppling of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol last week.
In a Facebook post the photographer, a Scottish-Chinese man, claimed he was not able to do his job properly after being punched in the head and surrounded by protesters.
He wrote: "I have never felt less safe anywhere in the world as I did yesterday, in the very centre of the city that I love and that I call home.
"For the first time in my life, I heard the N-word said with feeling.
"There was a menace in the air that I've never, ever felt before."
The photographer said he felt he was a “target for violence” due to his best, cycling cap and colourful trainers which set him apart from others in attendance.
Ga-Ken Wan claimed police officers had to step in to protect him from people who were shouting racial slur at him.
He alleged one said: "C***** wi the cameras! Get him!"
Following that he said he was attacked by thugs who punched him on the head until an officer intervened.
The post has now been shared on Facebook nearly 6000 times.
He concluded: "I cycled to meet my sister, and she bought me a beer.
"It might be argued that the police treated me with respect, and I actually came away from the interaction feeling like that. I left because the officer was right to say that I was making things worse, and I can't imagine what good it would have done anyone for me to stay there.
"But as I recovered from the shock - when my hands stopped shaking - I replayed the events in my head, I see it like this: A large group of men called me a c*****, tried to take my cameras from me, and punched me in the head; the sole response of police officers who witnessed this was to ask me to leave the area."
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said the force could not verify the claims “at this time”.
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