(A quick followup to the last post!) I wish so much that I had been able to join everyone at the events in Port Alberni on Friday to support the students there. It looks like it was a fantastic time. Thank you so much to those who were able to attend!
I had to be in Vancouver for union meetings (health and safety stuff). My own Federation of unions’ (FPSE) role in addressing the climate crisis was a frequent and lengthy topic of discussion. I’ll share some pictures of the protest here, but I also wanted to share a story.
I got to witness thousands of people in the streets of downtown Vancouver as I arrived there just after the huge march wrapped up. The number of people, especially school kids, was stunning.
The best part of it for me though was one very brief moment, when I saw a group of 4 girls, no more than 12 years old each, walking together down the middle of a street that had, by then, partially emptied and was otherwise relatively quiet.
They were wearing bright clothes and each was carrying a handmade sign. They were singing and chanting – just the 4 of them – with their own message of action. They were just as loud as they could possibly be and they were proud.
Every one of them had the most determined and joyful look on their faces.
The moment passed in a second without a picture, but that moment, more than all the thousands gathered at stages and lying in the street, impacted me and made me smile because I knew that all around the world there were hundreds, perhaps thousands of groups of children just like them.
Let’s not let them down.
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