On Friday the 15th of February, I, along with thousands of other students and schoolchildren, took part in a nationwide strike to spread awareness of climate change.
Why students? Why bother?
The strike was inspired by Greta Thunberg and I would definitely suggest you look her up as she has such insight for a 16 year old. Greta’s name first hit the press around last September after she protested outside parliamentary buildings in her homeland of Sweden.
The reason that Greta’s concerns have spread to thousands of other children her age around Europe is how real their grounds are. The news is full of tragic stories about melting icecaps, skyrocketing CO2 levels and hundreds of species of plants and animals going extinct everyday. No wonder children are concerned about their futures.
Seeing the earth’s ability to sustain humanity decreasing is a sickening feeling. It is far worse when your entire generation are forced to sit in schools and sit by helpless while the politicians with the power to change things can sit back happily knowing they will not bear the brunt of their own mistakes.
Why did I go?
OK lets be honest here. Students? Striking? Possibly one of the most counter-productive things we could do? Nobody suffers from us not appearing in class except us, its hardly RMT causing public transport to grind to a halt. Also, think of the demographic. “Youth” strike is hardly inclusive, meaning a protest at full capacity will still be small, and includes an age of people notorious for their ‘despondency’ and ‘apathy towards politics.’
So it’s pointless right? In my opinion absolutely not! So what if local councillors aren’t going to listen? Without trying to sound like a socialist preacher, the opinion of the people is more important than the opinion of some politicians. The reason I went on the strike was solely for the sake of publicity. A nationwide strike of this size on such a topical issue that includes protesters as young as 7-8 is unprecedented. I joined this strike because I knew the press were going to be helpless but to give some form of report on it.
It was not merely that, for the Youth Strike I attended in Exeter resulted in a march from the County Hall through the streets into the town centre, causing general mayhem with road closures and raucous chanting of phrases such as “No more coal, no more oil, leave your carbon in the soil!” The instant effects of our protest were felt when passersby would cheer us on in support.
Hopes for the future
Personally, I got far more than I expected out of the experience. All I expected was to miss a couple of hours of lessons which would barely affect my overall education, as some cynical politicians seem to think. But on top of this loss of class-time I gained an almost indescribable sense of hope and empowerment. To see so many students of a similar age to me so engaged with the issue of climate change was very encouraging. In Exeter it seems around 1,000 people turned out for the event.
So personally I gained hope and lost very little, but as an entire generation? I think it is safe to say that those of us who attended gained some great respect from the adults that make the decisions in our country. Yes, we received abuse on every level from ministers of education, disapproving politicians etc. But overall it was the impact on the people which I think made a difference. I came because of publicity, and my expectations were confirmed as soon as I reached County Hall in Exeter around 10am on Friday. With just a small crowd gathering, I could already see a large professional camera pointed duly at the children and numerous other adults onlooking and documenting the event through use of their phones. Perhaps someone in charge will finally realise that if we don’t prepare for a sustainable future, those who have to live through it will suffer the consequences.
With limited years with which we can address the incredibly complex, multi-faceted issue of climate change, it is encouraging that the adults of tomorrow are aware of the danger we are currently facing. And this is merely another step in the process. More strikes around Europe are being carried out and this movement which was started by a 16 year old girl from Sweden may actually contribute to bringing the UK closer towards a carbon neutral future.
Why is English important?