Mothers' Climate March
Yesterday (6 Nov. 2023) I joined in with the Mum’s Just Stop Oil March and photographed throughout the unfolding day. It was incredibly moving. 25 women got arrested for walking on the road. Why?
Because these mothers are refusing to stand by while our government’s policies lead to more pollution, destruction and subsequently the deaths of millions.
These same policies are also driven to protect the interest of a few, rather than the protection of everyone and the planet.“ We're all here to demand a future for our children...
We're running out of time and our government's putting fuel on the flames.” as one mum puts it. Isn’t it crazy that it has to come to this?
How come that something as essential as protecting the very basics for our and our children’s survival needs to be fought for in this way?
At the end of the day I felt blessed to have spent my day surrounded by these wonderful, real, determined, graceful women, who are brave enough, not just to acknowledge the extend to which our environment has been polluted, but also courageous enough to step in with their bodies.
I felt it. It was a collision with the force, here in the form of police who stepped up as their place holders. These women stepped up and stepped in the way of the daily flow.
Thus creating the platform where these urgent discussions about how we collectively could engage with these life-threatening consequences to our current way of living, can happen.
And yes, some of us get angry at these protests, some of us don’t understand it and disagree or get scared and some of us are grateful for their action, but hopefully we all get lifted out of our tracks long enough to engage with this enormous topic and chip away at it.
I am very aware that engaging in this physical confrontational way, often resulting in arrest, requires privilege. Not everyone can do this, and there are many other very meaningful ways to participate in the same cause.
Why mothers? As parent I have experienced that we are all interconnected. We are in this together. I have learned that my child’s needs require to be respected & made space for. I have the desire to nurture her, to support her. I have also realised that I am finite, and if my striving for individual achievement is partly replaced by striving for a collective change for the better, I will last for much longer.
Who better to walk with, than with amazing women & mothers.
If you want to find out more about how to join, go to Just Stop Oil or find your local Extinction Rebellion Group.
