in procession to ask for a stop to fossil fuels and war

Few but convinced people responded to the call: the activists of Fridays for future crossed the city center on Friday 19 April to ask for a stop to fossil fuels and denounce their effects on the climate crisis.

They were not alone: ​​with them also the representatives of the organizations that support the Palestinian cause and call for a ceasefire, such as the Young Palestinians movement and the “Healthcare for Gaza” group. Two different but related causesexplain the organizers of the demonstration, “from the fact that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide but also an ecocide” because war, they reiterate, also destroys the climate: «Israel emits thousands of tons of CO2 every day through the use of military vehicles.

Also more than 800 thousand olive trees have been uprooted and harsh restrictions have been imposed that prevent free access to water in Palestinian areas since the beginning of the occupation» explains Marian Ahmad, the Brescia representative in the group. «The land has dried up, only at the end of the war, if it ever comes, will we realize the real damage that has been done. As young citizens of the world – he adds – we ask for justice and we also ask the Italian government to accept our requests”.

«We cannot talk about climate without talking about Palestine – adds Michele Ghidini, spokesperson for Fridays for future – because often the systemic cause is the same, an economic cause supported by multinationals who profit from war. It is the hunger for power and money that connects these two events: let’s take the example of Eni, an Italian company that has signed an agreement with Israel to carry out new extractions off the coast of Gaza. A choice supported by the Italian denialist government, which in the meantime promulgates laws against activists.”

That departure yesterday from Piazzale Arnaldo to arrive in Piazza Mercato, with around 150 participants, was a preview of the event scheduled today in Milan, where thousands of young people from different cities are expected. A global strike against «government denial: the last 10 months – underlines the movement – have been the hottest in history. The choices made in the coming years will be decisive in solving this problem.” The time factor, the activists reiterate, is fundamental: “They too thought they had time”, reads the sign held in the hands of a “dinosaur”.