"We wouldn't get stuck"

Created: 08/12/2022, 18:35

By: Stefanie Zipfer

Michael Staniszewski © private

Michael Staniszewski and his colleagues from Fridays for Future are committed to taking decisive action against the climate crisis - without sticking around.

Dachau – The members of Fridays for Future (FFF) led the climate movement in the region almost three years ago.

There were climate camps, rallies and walks.

But now the activists of the last generation are dominating the headlines.

The spokesman for the Dachau FFF movement, Michael Staniszewski, is not really enthusiastic about it, as he reveals in the interview.

- Mr. Staniszewski, is this impression deceptive or has the Dachau FFF movement gone quiet?

Michael Staniszewski: No, the hype is by no means over!

We currently have 15 members who are all more or less active.

The problem is that Dachau is a city without a university.

This means that some of the 16 and 17 year olds who were there two years ago have moved away to study.

So there has been a shift in activities, just like mine...

- You have to explain that to me, please.

I'm now studying human ecology for a master's degree in Brussels, and I'm doing my activism on a European level on the side.

But of course I still keep in touch with Dachau via email and social media.

- Do you and your Dachau colleagues keep in touch with the last generation?

No, we have no contact with the last generation.

But of course we know what they're doing.

- And what do you think of what the last generation is doing?

We choose a different kind of protest and would not stick, for example.

I think this doesn't promote the discourse on the climate crisis as the actions hit ordinary citizens instead of those actually responsible.

On the other hand, we recognize that this form of action has its place in the spectrum of democratic forms of action.

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- That means you wouldn't do it, but don't think it's bad either?

What I find bad is the reporting about it, or how these people are labeled as terrorists.

This is disproportionate!

- Do you think that sticking to highways or runways can actually make a difference?

I recognize that people are at least talking about concrete measures again, such as the introduction of the 9-euro ticket or the speed limit.

And I can also understand the desperation of the last generation.

- As Fridays for Future, you always opted for a different type of protest.

How do you proceed now?

Right now, around the Christmas season, nothing is planned for the time being.

It's just harder to get people out on the streets for demonstrations in winter.

We want to use the next time to reorient ourselves in peace.

In the spring it will continue again with FFF in Dachau.