My role in a special day of action for Greenpeace.
Why do i feel differently today from yesterday? Perhaps I am a little more optimistic about the future of humanity. The demonstration on Sunday that saw thousands of people march happily behind the world’s largest polar bear, Aurora, was an inspiration. The event was the culmination of a super human effort from people worldwide.
I joined Greenpeace very recently and in my first voluntary action i have met people who have invested untold hours of their time, voluntarily, to make all the parts of the demonstration come together. And all the while, I was thanked for my own generous contribution of a few hours help. On the sunday I was a crowd steward and I proudly fulfilled my role with dignity, pride and a beautifully painted polar bear on my forehead. I was a very small cog and yet i know the whole day would not have been the same without my presence.
Sunday morning arrived full of promise, blue skies and small group of quietly anxious Greenpeacers dressed in snowy costumes on Victoria Tower Gardens. My first port of call, of course, was the elite group of face painters perched on boxes in a small circle. Mine was the first baldy forehead to bear the promise of a successful march. People started to trickle into the park as we stewards were given our orders. As Big Ben ticked closer to our departure time the clouds turned a grizzly grey but by the time we felt the first few drops of rain people had started to flood onto Victoria Tower Gardens clad in polar bear masks, waving blue and white flags. There were shouts of recognition between friends reunited for a common purpose and as every individual added their number to our ranks, the lazy hum of excitement started to buzz. The first shrieks and wails went up as the Arctic Ice Ride groups flew into the park, and then we were off, trundling over Lambeth Bridge to finally meet the world’s largest polar bear. Aurora is a wonderful beast, part ship, part bear, her captain stands at the helm and carefully steers whilst 15 puppeteers move legs, head and mouth in unison. Apart from the occasional red light we were an unstoppable force finally coming to a halt outside the Shell headquarters. Standing atop Aurora, buffeted by the wind, First Nation people Besha Blondin and Kiera Kolson spoke passionately about the consequences of drilling in the Arctic. We received their powerful words with applause and together with Aurora, roared defiance into the rain.
It saddens me greatly to think this worldwide show of solidarity may not be enough to prevent oil companies like ESSO and Gazprom from drilling in the Arctic. Nonetheless, it was Greenpeace’s biggest day of global action, with similar demonstrations happening in over 106 cities in 36 countries across the world. This is an amazing achievement in itself and hopefully it will inspire people to use their power as a consumer. Perhaps it will increase the coverage of brave feats like this.
Why do i feel differently today from yesterday? I am at least a little more hopeful for a brighter future. The Arctic Ice Ride on Sunday saw thousands of people come together, some happy, some sad, some zombified with exhaustion, all for similar reasons. For a while now, when asked what it is i want to do with my life, I have answered ‘i’m going to save the world’, sometimes jokingly, sometimes more seriously. I don’t know if i will achieve this with Greenpeace, but it seems to be a great place to start.
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