On this last day of the COP as meetings and side events wind down I found myself wandering around the convention center looking for something to do. I headed over to the main hall of the blue zone where there is a giant spider statue that kind of creeps me out. Under the spider a huge crowd of people was gathered around and a multitude of cameras and phones were pointed at the center of the crowd. I got closer to investigate and noticed about a handful of young people from around the world gathered together in demonstration. Each individual had taped a red circle over there mouths to symbolize climate justice and the suffering of people around the world. They then removed their circles and began to sing a song urging the negotiators to come together and agree on terms before it was too late. After the song they continued their protests with chants yelling "Don't back down!" Unfortunately before long they were surrounded by UN security and told to disband. Not looking to cause any trouble just make their message heard the group broke up and the crowd disbanded. This protest was just one example of the strong youth presence at this and previous COPs.
Throughout the week that we have been here we have observed a number of demonstrations and actions held by different international youth organizations. These actions range from holding up signs in protest to chanting and singing. Just yesterday two Arabic youth were detained and deported from the country after they held up a sign urging the leaders of Qatar to step up and demand action. I saw the video of the detainment and am at a loss for why they were treated with such inhumanity and disrespect. They were not being violent or even loud. They were just standing under the spider holding a sign and for that they were deported from the country! It amazes me that the people of this country allow such injustices and authoritarian rule. I guess I never truly appreciated the basic rights given to me as an American that so many other people around the world do not have. I applaud the bravery of those individuals that stand up to tyranny and injustice and am grateful that I do not have to be as brave.
I remember hearing about protest similar to today's under the spider at last year's COP. The youth of the world are not satisfied with the sluggishness of these international negotiations and they should be. We will be the ones to inherit the problems created by today's leaders. We will be the ones who suffer from the lack of urgency taking place. So they will continue to hold demonstrations and form protests because it is the only way that they can be heard at these meetings. I am sure there will continue to be a large youth presence at these meetings in the future and I hope that they are not going unnoticed by the people who have the power to stand up and do something.
RSS Feed