Marching Through Warsaw

Yesterday afternoon, Saturday November 16^th, over a thousand people from all corners of the globe participated in a march through Warsaw city. Although the sky was grey and the air bitterly cold, enthusiasm and excitement were at an all-time high as young and old raised their voices and demanded climate justice at COP19.

The march brought the crowds into a public park very close to the COP stadium, where they took their seats in a large outdoor auditorium. Speakers from some of the signatory states to the UNFCCC spoke on what they wanted from the COP, including one from The Philippines who posed the question – how many people need to die at the hands of climate change before action is taken by the Global North?

Although some have expressed disappointment in the planning and execution of the march, as a young person sitting in the stands of the auditorium it was difficult to feel anything other than exhilarated in the face of such large numbers of enraged citizen standing up for Climate Justice.

It is at events such as this when the barriers between peoples are truly broken down and we can feel for a brief moment that we are one people with one goal. Although there has been some questioning of the usefulness of events like this march, for which several key speakers decided not to show up, I believe it would be difficult to deny its ability to unite, empower and mobilise.

And when we unite, empower and mobilise people – we can do anything.