My epic bus journey to Rostock ended at 9 o'clock this morning when I arrived with a collection of other European activists to join the growing protest against the G8-summit being held here over the following week.
With a couple of hours until the start of the international "Another World is Possible!" demonstration, I headed off to get an idea of the city, which was eerily quiet, and in the church in the main square, stumbled across an eye-opening art installation depicting significant statistics using rice grains. The population of Germany (82.5 million) with one grain for each person, was a half full cereal bowl. By this measure, the number of child soldiers in the world would have overflowed from a dinner plate, the number of Iraqi civilians kiled since 2003 would have been easily filled the cereal bowl, while the US troops killed in Iraq in the same time would have fitted in a small saucer. I was also interested in the expected number of demonstrtors expected in Rostock this week (another large dinner plate full) and the anticipated number of police (at least a side plate)!
Back at the station, activists were gathering for what turned out to be a huge and colourful protest. After music and speakers we got under way, but we were in fact only half the demonstration, as others started from another location with the two demonstrations meeting near the end of the route to march together down to the harbour which will form the centre of many of the activities over the next few days. The demo attracted a diverse group, with school kids and seasoned protestors, wheelchairs and pushchairs, puppets, costumes, flags and balloons, united to voice criticism of the G8 and all it represents. There were hundreds of organisations represented, from the big international NGOs to local grassroots movements. Jubilee Germany was especially visible with hundreds of big red balloons that were set free throughout the march.
Down at the harbour there were speeches and music to fill the rest of the day, with a speaker from Focus on the Global South making a particularly good point. The spirit at Rostock is the spirit of Genoa, he said, not the spirit of Gleneagles: we are here without the rich and famous, not to make the G8 feel good about themselves, but to denounce them. The promises they make come to nothing, and we are here to hold them to account.
With a couple of hours until the start of the international "Another World is Possible!" demonstration, I headed off to get an idea of the city, which was eerily quiet, and in the church in the main square, stumbled across an eye-opening art installation depicting significant statistics using rice grains. The population of Germany (82.5 million) with one grain for each person, was a half full cereal bowl. By this measure, the number of child soldiers in the world would have overflowed from a dinner plate, the number of Iraqi civilians kiled since 2003 would have been easily filled the cereal bowl, while the US troops killed in Iraq in the same time would have fitted in a small saucer. I was also interested in the expected number of demonstrtors expected in Rostock this week (another large dinner plate full) and the anticipated number of police (at least a side plate)!
Back at the station, activists were gathering for what turned out to be a huge and colourful protest. After music and speakers we got under way, but we were in fact only half the demonstration, as others started from another location with the two demonstrations meeting near the end of the route to march together down to the harbour which will form the centre of many of the activities over the next few days. The demo attracted a diverse group, with school kids and seasoned protestors, wheelchairs and pushchairs, puppets, costumes, flags and balloons, united to voice criticism of the G8 and all it represents. There were hundreds of organisations represented, from the big international NGOs to local grassroots movements. Jubilee Germany was especially visible with hundreds of big red balloons that were set free throughout the march.
Down at the harbour there were speeches and music to fill the rest of the day, with a speaker from Focus on the Global South making a particularly good point. The spirit at Rostock is the spirit of Genoa, he said, not the spirit of Gleneagles: we are here without the rich and famous, not to make the G8 feel good about themselves, but to denounce them. The promises they make come to nothing, and we are here to hold them to account.
No comments:
Post a Comment