Make Noise 4 Climate Justice

On Saturday December 3, Ali and I joined thousands of people marching through the streets of Durban, calling for action on the issue of climate change.  As the climate summit enters its second week, little progress has been made.  With Kyoto scheduled to expire next year, there is a sense of urgency over reaching an agreement in Durban. 

On Saturday morning demonstrators took to the streets to make their voices heard.  Though many civil society groups had their own agendas in joining the "Global Day of Action" march, there was a sense of solidarity and common purpose. 

When we arrived at the gathering point, the first thing we saw was the South African police in full riot gear, prepared for the protest.  I must admit, I did briefly second-guess my decision to join the march. 

As we awaited the beginning of the march, more and more people continued to arrive and gather into their groups.  We quickly got into the swing of things - we bought t-shirts that read "Make Noise 4 Climate Justice" and got posters from Oxfam.

The mixture of people this event had brought together was fascinating - farmers, communists, journalists, artists, women, young activists, gawkers, socialists, musicians, environmentalists, delegates, faith leaders, human rights lawyers, people from all walks of life.  Many different civil society groups had joined the march - some to make their voices heard, some to show solidarity, some to bring awareness to other pressing issues, and some to cause a little bit of trouble.  Each group was carrying its own banners, wearing its own t-shirts, shouting its own slogans and singing its own songs.

There was even a clown on a uni-cycle whose message was loud and clear.

As Canada has largely been the villain at these climate talks, Canadians were not afraid to speak out.

Soon the large crowd began its march towards the International Convention Centre, where the talks are being held.  The atmosphere was almost carnival-like - complete with music, dance and giant balloons being tossed around.

As we moved along the streets of Durban, the police lined the roads on both sides, keeping a close watch on the demonstrators.  Overall, however the march was peaceful with only few reported scuffles.

We decided to march with Oxfam, mainly because they were carrying really cool puppets.  Though we did not make it into a single newspaper photo or television clip (as we had strategized), it was also a great way to find each other in case we got lost in the crowd.  Of course in the three hours it took us to get to the ICC, both Ali and I helped carry the 15kg puppets (though we weren't doing much of the heavy-lifting). 

Although this demonstration may not have been enough to force world leaders to the negotiations table, the people definitely did make noise 4 climate justice.  Only time will tell whether anyone was listening.