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Fighting for our planet

Our correspondent
Fighting for our planet

Tens of thousands of young people skipped school across the globe on 15th March on an international day of protests, calling for action on climate change.

Our Briefing reporter asked children for their recollections which we publish here

 

A DAY I WON’T FORGET

Archie Hurwitz aged 14

Today I went on the School Strike for Climate march in London.

 I went with my mum, brother, three cousins, my two aunts and my grandad. This was my first time on a school strike. I enjoyed it a lot because there were so many people there and they were all here for the same reason, so no one felt as if they were alone.

 It was interesting reading everyone's banners because they had very good quotes and writings. Some were funny and some were serious. We had two banners and everyone seemed to like them.

 One said, “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children”. The other said, “It’s getting hot in here”. Even when we were on the train to Westminster, we got lots of people saying we were doing a good deed and saying our banners were really good.

 When we arrived it didn't seem like that many people were there: there was just a bunch of people chanting and waving their banners. After about 20 minutes a massive group of people showed up and started blocking the roads; and then there was a big group of people chanting and marching; and there were cars beeping and honking their cars to cheer us on and high-fiving us.

 It was really fun and I learned a lot from today, and especially from hearing other people's opinions and reading their banners. I think it's really good to come on these climate strikes, I've probably learned more there than at school anyway. It's definitely a day I won't forget.

 THE ISSUE IS NOT EVIDENCE BUT ACTION

 Vera-Lily Palacio aged 14

I went on the Climate Change march, in hopes that I might do something to change my future and the safety of my future children. Because that’s what this is about - children. We will be the ones who are affected, because by the time climate change becomes irreversible, the older generations will be gone. So why should those old, rich people in government care about what happens to the planet later? Why should they secure a future when they can profit from the present?

 But we care. Enough that we’ll skip school, fight for our futures, and ignore the leaders who tell us education is the way to solve this issue. We’ve been educated, we know what’s going to happen. The issue is not evidence but action. And that’s what we need now.

 THE POWER I FELT WHEN I WAS BLOCKING THE ROADS

 Manu Palacio aged 12

 It was a fun day because we got to make our point. In a fun way we blocked the streets, and marched all over town. Even though it was not as crazy as the first one I went to, it was still a joy, and being there with my cousins made it all the more fun. The power I felt when I was blocking the roads with my fellow comrades was great and was all the more fun when we started running and singing.

 IT’S NOW OR NEVER!

 Sonny Hurwitz aged 11

 I went on the climate strike to help show the MPs what needs doing. They need to take action, because we’re running out of time to do so. The privilege of having time was wasted, and now we no longer have that privilege. Unfortunately, we are the first generation that knows what’s going on, but we are also the last ones who can do anything about it.

It’s now or never!

 Photos: Chris Knight

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