Windmills, worship and warmongers at the world's largest arms fair

In the last two days I have seen an armoured vehicle being chased away by a group of protestors; a funeral for the victims of the arms trade while blood was spilled across the road; a Quaker meeting for worship blocking a line of lorries destined for the Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair and heard moving testimonies from Gaza by people who have been impacted by Israeli weapons, read out by activists standing on a piece of military equipment.

And that was only the beginning.

Yesterday was the faith-based day of action, 'No Faith in War'. Catholic Workers, the Quakers, Put Down the Sword, Student Christian Movement and Pax Christi were among the groups involved in the day. After blocking the road and causing a tailback of eight HGVs, different forms of worship took place, including the reading of a Litany of Resistance and the singing of hymns.

Today, climate activists gathered outside the Excel exhibition centre to block the road with a line of wind turbines, calling on the Government to shift its priorities and invest in renewable energy technology, not weapons. Fuel Poverty Action and Global Justice Now held a workshop on energy democracy and the alternatives to the extreme energy extraction methods like fracking that the Government seems intent on pursuing.

One of the world's biggest arms fairs is currently being set up here in London, and thousands of people want to stop it. The week of action against the arms fair which started on Monday, is highlighting a different aspect of the problems with the arms trade each day, with different groups organising creative and colourful protests.

Protestors use fake blood on road outside Excel to signify victims of the arms trade

DSEI brings together some of the biggest arms companies and some of the most abusive governments, with the sole aim of selling as many weapons as possible. We know that one of the armoured vehicles we blockaded on Tuesday has been deployed in Afghanistan. How many of the lorries we turned away held equipment that would be going to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Pakistan, Egypt or any of the other despotic regimes the UK arms?

Stopping an armoured vehicle in the road is quite a scary thing to do, but not as scary as thinking about how these weapons will be used. It is incredibly empowering to put your body in the way of military equipment, which fuels violence and repression.

The week of action against the DSEI arms fair is bringing together a wide range of groups and making the links between different issues. From highlighting the links between the current refugee crisis and conflict; to calling for a two-way arms embargo on Israel, momentum to shut down the fair is growing.

Sarah Reader is a coordinator for Campaign Against Arms Trade