Fridays For Future demonstration in Barcelona
A waiting room capable of uniting the sick
People of different origins, ages and circumstances gathered in the march against climate change
Scientists, activists, members of PACMA and ERC and other participants give their views on this fight
Migui raises his fist as a sign of revolution during the demonstration (Gabriel Izcovich)
Gabriel Izcovich / Barcelona
Planet Earth is sick. This is how many banners seen throughout the demonstrations called by Fridays For Future read, and this is evidenced by numerous scientific studies. Therefore, the human race suffers the consequences of this disorder. And a hospital patient usually has two options to deal with this type of setback: stay in bed mired in sadness or go out to the waiting room to join the other patients.
Surely the demonstrations held worldwide this Friday, September 27, to claim the fight against climate change, will appear in the history books of our great-grandchildren. The initiative led by Greta Thunberg is a phenomenon with few precedents in terms of simultaneity and cooperation across the globe. According to the young Norwegian, a whopping 170 countries had at least one demonstration last week.
Among them, Spain; and in it, Barcelona, the city of demonstrations par excellence. The Guardia Urbana estimates that 20,000 people gathered between the Jardinets de Gràcia and Plaça Catalunya on this 27-S. Thousands of people with very different backgrounds. People happy to get together with their friends, people happy to belong to a movement so rich in values, people proud to join the cause ...
"I would leave politicians in the forest to starve and have to look for life"
But at the same time, the feeling of anger appeared like a cloud in the sky of many people. This is the case of Migui, a man who "would leave politicians in the forest to starve and have to look for life." Cutting. After all, it is a voice authorized to speak in a demonstration whose soundtrack included the word 'veganism' in many of its pieces. Well, he is a vegetarian, but he is still a heroic quality, which he has been doing for 25 years.
"I try to consume the least amount of products possible, because I believe that consumerism is what affects the most." Vegetarian and also humble, emphasizing that this condition is insufficient, thinks that "if you want to be more environmentally friendly, you should stop eating meat." He said all that before raising his fist, in the purest Che Guevara style and being indispensable in a revolution.
A mass bath and an activism bath. Because while some try to save animals, others watch over their ecosystems. Josep Maria Riba is a member and founder of the ZEO (Zero Emissions Objectives), and he dedicates part of his free time to "reducing the carbon footprint that we all have". Riba, who celebrates the appearance of the figure of Greta Thunberg and congratulates Fridays For Future for their work, recalls that he and many others have long been "preaching with [his company's] clients and friends."
"Companies and energy companies are not shaken enough"
And it is that among the tasks of its platform are the "Trobades ZEO", through which they clean forests and beaches. They are not satisfied with recycling, unlike, according to Riba, what most do. "It is not enough. We have to look at emissions, which is the difficult thing: change cars, stop using fossil fuels ...".
Josep Maria Riba (left) holds a sign with the inscription "Erase your carbon footprint. Be #ZEO" (Gabriel Izcovich)
In addition, he regrets that "it is very difficult for people to understand that they can do something to fight climate change, and that those who can really do something great, companies and energy companies, are not shaken enough."
Much knowledge was gathered in the streets of Barcelona. Because when we talk about climate change, what better than to go to an expert in the field? Running into Scientists For Future is like going to a film festival and meeting a group of film directors. Said platform he is the "intellectual bodyguard" of Fridays For Future by giving them "scientific backing," according to DW .
"Scientists have the tools to understand what is happening at a biological and physical level"
A member of the Center for Genomic Regulation, a center for biomedical research, and also of the aforementioned Scientists For Future, Marcos has a lot to say about climate change. "We have to combat the catastrophic changes that we are experiencing especially from science, because we have the tools to understand what is happening at the biological and physical level," he argues, assuming the "different" responsibility that scientists have.
Marcos (right) holds a Scientists For Future banner with a fellow platform member (Gabriel Izcovich)
As for daily habits, it is clear that it is essential "to reduce the consumption of meats, plastics and avoid all types of transport that include polluting gases." That as a person. As a scientist, he always tries to "seek the most environmental and sustainable background of our research." A way of life and a way of working.
Like someone asking the Magi for gifts in a letter, Marcos asks politicians "to take into account the voice of the people and to include sustainable and environmental policies." Some politicians who have been in the center of the bullseye.
"We would start by trying to introduce vegetarian and vegan food in school canteens"
Well, actually in this section there is a game that plays with an advantage. It is about PACMA, which, how could it be otherwise, was present at the march. It had a dozen members and militants, led by the party coordinator in Barcelona, Álex Cuesta.
The also spokesman for the animalist party in Catalonia wants society to reduce meat consumption, and explains that, if they enter Parliament in the next elections in November, they would ensure "introducing vegetarian and vegan food in school dining rooms, above all, for the new youth ".
Álex Cuesta (right) and a delegation of members and militants of PACMA, during the demonstration (Gabriel Izcovich)
A good shot of optimism. Well, consider that "even if we say that it is late, it is never too late to start making changes" - alluding to the "problem that is upon us" -, and wishes that Greta Thunberg "does not turn off" and "that even replicas appear like her".
"Our goal in the fight against climate change is to be more ambitious and go further"
Match by match, what Cholo Simeone would say. In this case, turn to ERC. It is not a party known for pursuing green policies. However, Jordi Soler, a member of the Republican party, states that "it is a struggle and a demand that affects us all, we are all citizens of this planet and we [Esquerra] are part of this movement, which wants to reverse the climate emergency" .
In addition, Soler acknowledges that "the objectives set at the world level and the European Union in the fight for climate change are not being met." Therefore, it exposes that the objective of the party is "not only to fulfill them, but to be more and more ambitious and to go further".
The ERC militant Jordi Soler (with gray polo shirt) holds the banner of his party, along with his counterparts (Gabriel Izcovich)
"The descendants of politicians will also live in this world"
Scientists, activists, politicians ... many legitimate but insufficient opinions without an outside vision. That is Silvina's, a woman who sees no differences between activism in Spain and that carried out in her native Argentina, beyond the change in "the cultural way we have to mobilize", since, according to her, across the pond "people are more boisterous and noisy."
With her mate and her thermos, making her nationality recognizable from meters away, Silvina continues in the line of Jordi Soler, reminding world leaders that "no matter how much they believe they live in another place, their descendants will also live in this world and therefore we all have to take care of it ".
Silvina, with a companion, during the demonstration (Gabriel Izcovich)
"The international community has to intervene in Bolivia because Evo Morales is a dictator"
More nationalities to the room. Bolivia had an appearance, this being the darkest part of the late evening. A group of Bolivians agreed to the demonstration to, in the same context, protest against the government of Evo Morales. As Yamile explained, with difficulties speaking after breaking down in tears, the Chiquitania, Bolivian part of the Amazon, has been on fire for more than two months because the South American president signed a decree authorizing it.
This Bolivian woman believes that a possible solution would be for the international community to intervene "because this man is a dictator," although the people who support him "relight the fires that the volunteers put out," and disconsolately reviewed some data that is being recorded : "Four million hectares burned, millions of animals died and our fauna and flora are ending."
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Banner held by Yamile, where he expresses the reason for his protest (Gabriel Izcovich)
Desolate people, hopeful people, dogs who do not enjoy going for a walk at 40º, boys and girls learning to demonstrate before walking and elderly people who yearn to leave a better world than the one they found. Outside the strictly political landscape, there are more and more signs of general consensus. There is union. 20,000 people in Barcelona, and many more in other cities around the world.
For the purposes of nature, as Migui points out, going outside "doesn't change much." But who knows if these protest days will be the definitive turning point for governments and companies to realize the damage and impact they are causing to the planet. So that before blowing out the birthday candles they ask for health instead of money. What has become clear is that the population increasingly prioritizes the well-being of the Earth. You can no longer look the other way, because the hospital patients unite, progressivism lurks and excuses run out.
More images of the demonstration
