The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Fridays for Future in Glasgow: "It feels like we're the real world leaders"

2021-11-06T09:25:06.731Z


Posters are ready too late, the bus doesn't come and where is Gabriella? Leonie Bremer supports the climate strike in Glasgow and hardly ever comes to demonstrate. But she has accomplished her mission.


Read the video transcript here

Friday was the so-called "Youth Day" in Glasgow.

Almost 20,000 people take to the streets to protect the climate that day.

Organized by the "Fridays for Future" movement.

Leonie Bremer has been one of the faces of the German delegation from Fridays for Future for two years.

The 24-year-old climate protection activist prepares posters for the demo in the morning.

Bremer looks after activists mainly from Latin America, the young women set out in groups of seven;

she has a big day ahead of her.

Leonie Bremer, Fridays for Future Germany


"But I'm rather stressed because we're too late as always ..."

How much organization and preparation a mega-strike needs in the background halfway through a world climate conference is often overlooked.

Like Leonie Bremer, activists from all over the world are working in Glasgow today.

Leonie Bremer, Fridays for Future Germany


“And for us that means that we have security concepts, that we have a good organization, that we find all the people who make the speeches, for example, because the strike is going to be big and it's difficult then just to say: Hey, now it's the turn of this person.

That means everything has to be well coordinated where the people are, so that people know when it's their turn. "

Good organization leaves a lot to be desired.

The bus comes and does not come - numerous trips are simply canceled.

Time is running out.

A solution is needed.

They turn a blind eye to the good cause; in the absence of e-taxis, this time it can be a combustion engine.

After all, the activists care about the big picture.

Leonie Bremer, Fridays for Future Germany


»We are on strike because no nation has a plan.

We are on strike because we have to go to a COP for the 26th time, to a world climate conference, because people in positions of power just can't get it to do their job. "

When it comes to climate justice, the focus of this demo is primarily on the so-called MAPA, the Most Affected People and Areas.

Bremer is responsible for coordinating some of this group.

Leonie Bremer, Fridays for Future Germany:


"My goal is that I pass all press inquiries on to people affected by the climate crisis as best I can."

The voice of the MAPA has hardly received any attention so far, but this year it is different.

This is progress at a UN world climate conference, the other progress of which has so far been rather poor.

The demo train finally starts, with a delay.

While thousands of people are chanting their demands and slogans around her, Bremer taps her cell phone once more - work is calling, all the time.

Leonie Bremer, Fridays for Future Germany


»I'm here to protest with people.

I have my sign with me and of course I'll be shouting slogans right away.

So I do it the same way, only in the background I have to coordinate a lot.

But otherwise there wouldn't even be a strike so that people can really take to the streets. "

Aside from organizing, there is still an opportunity to throw the poster in the air, but the engagement as a demonstrator is short, because everything is still not going well, for example:

Leonie Bremer, Fridays for Future Germany:


“That not all people are where they need to be.

That not all people know who to speak to and in what situations.

But in itself everything is definitely good.

And the main thing is that everyone is here and we protest and strike. "

This is how it continues on the mobile phone when you are out and about.

It helps that Bremer does not move in the loudest section of the protest march.

Leonie Bremer, Fridays for Future Germany:


“I'm glad I'm here, where it's a little more relaxed.

It looks different in front. "

For the first time at a European climate summit, people who are really directly affected by climate change are at the forefront, such as Bremer's flatmates in Glasgow.

Adriana Calderon Hernandez, climate activist from Mexico


“It's great.

I've met so many people from Latin America.

It’s the first time that we’re all together.

So it's really nice.

There is such a solid environmental movement in Europe as Fridays for Future, but there is no such thing in Latin America.

We're trying to achieve something like that now. "

Adriani da Silva Maffioletti, climate activist from Brazil


»It feels like we are the real world leaders.

We are the true leadership because global leaders don't know what they're talking about.

They know they think they're talking about the climate crisis, but they don't even know what that means. "

Sofia Gutiérrez, climate activist from Colombia


»We have no seasons, we have three months of drought and then it rains for three months.

Houses like mine are constantly flooded.

If you live in a precarious neighborhood in Bogotá, you lose your home. "

It's getting hectic again for Bremer.

Because the time is pressing, and soon the speakers from the affected areas are expected on the stage.

Leonie Bremer, Fridays for Future Germany:


“We need Precious, Laura and… Gabriella.

Can you go and get her? "

The fellow activists will speak where the movement's founder appears: Greta Thunberg.

The mission for more visibility has been successfully achieved.

Leonie Bremer, Fridays for Future Germany:


“It was definitely very exhausting for me, but also because the days before or the weeks before - really for three months - were simply very exhausting.

And it's overwhelming to hear this sound here alone.

But for me personally, I'm also looking forward to a little break. "

But the break is still a bit long in coming.

The next film team is ready: a prominent television presenter, doctor and climate clarifier briefly discusses with Leonie Bremer in front of the cameras.

The media pace will hardly slacken by the end of the World Climate Conference.

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2021-11-06

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-10T20:13:22.527Z

Trends 24h

Tech/Game 2024-03-27T18:05:36.686Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.