German artists join Extinction Rebellion call to action
Stefan Dege eg
October 4, 2019
As Extinction Rebellion activists prepare for blockades in cities worldwide on Monday, many artists have signed their call to action to the German government.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Zinken
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The logo is an hourglass and the message is clear: We are running out of time. Extinction Rebellion fights for goals similar to Fridays for Future — but they are more radical than the student movement launched by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Extinction Rebellion — abbreviated XR — is "rebelling against extinction" through civil disobedience.
He's among the signatories of the letter: Filmmaker Fatih AkinImage: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel
An open letter to the German goverment calls for "immediate drastic measures against the deteriorating ecological crisis." The XR letter points out that "We face floods, wildfires, extreme weather, crop failure, mass displacement and the breakdown of society. "
Over 90 celebrities from the German arts and cultural scene have signed the letter, including filmmaker Fatih Akin, theater director Anna Bergmann, actors Peter Lohmeyer and Bjarne Mädel, cabaret artist Michael Feindler, as well as other directors, authors and musicians.
"Hopefully it will motivate politicians," film producer Iris Sommerlatte, a signatory of the letter, told DW. "When I was a kid, it still snowed in winter," recalls the 45-year-old. "Climate change is in plain sight today.
Climate actions starting October 7
In a new wave of "rebellion" actions starting October 7, Extinction Rebellion is planning on blocking Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Paris and New York through a "peaceful uprising," the activists' website states. "We will rebel together in streets and squares and remain there — peacefully, creatively and colorfully."
Spraying fake blood and staging funeral marches with coffins are some of the Extinction Rebellion actions.
The activists' promotional video for the Berlin actions states "This is an emergency" and shows images of worldwide environmental destruction, adding, "It's going to get worse, our civilization is threatened." The video issues a call to join actions on Monday.
Environmental activists in London and other cities have said they are ready to shift from disruption to dialogue. A look back at a week of loud and creative protests that brought parts of the UK capital to a standstill.
Image: Reuters/S. Dawson
Save Mother Earth!
Beginning April 15, protesters with Extinction Rebellion took to the streets of London and other cities to demand governments declare a climate and ecological emergency. They occupied key spots in the city, calling on those in charge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025, halt biodiversity loss and set up citizens' assemblies on climate and ecological justice.
Image: Reuters/P. Nicholls
Creative protests
Extinction Rebellion, founded last year by academics in the United Kingdom, is one of the world's fastest-growing environmental movements. Their aim is to protest climate change inaction in a creative and nonviolent way. Demonstrators say people are causing their own mass extinction, which is the basis of their "rebellion."
Image: Reuters/P. Nicholls
Royal support?
Harry and Meghan, the duke and duchess of Sussex, didn't exactly take part in the sit-in on London's Waterloo Bridge on April 18. The royals are expecting and protesters used the happy event in their demonstration, having the couple "thank" Extinction Rebellion for saving their child's future.
Image: Reuters/P. Nicholls
Stuck to the train
Activists have used a variety of unusual protest methods to draw maximum attention and get their point across. Throughout the week, they've blocked traffic, climbed atop buses and superglued themselves to buildings and, in the case of this young man at London's Canary Wharf station on April 17, trains.
Image: Reuters/H. Nicholls
Civil disobedience
The goal of the protests is to temporarily disrupt everyday life. As a result, police have arrested more than 800 people in London alone. Activists want to get the public on their side, but a YouGov survey showed that just 36% of more than 3,500 British polled support the protest, with 52% against.
Image: Reuters/H. Nicholls
Naked truth
Extinction Rebellion protesters first attracted global attention on April 1, during yet another heated Brexit debate in the British Parliament. A group of semi-naked activists revealed themselves in the visitor gallery with slogans including "SOS" and "Stop Wasting Time" written on their bodies, with some gluing their hands to a glass barrier. The scene was quickly broken up my security.
Image: Reuters/EXTINCTION REBELLION
Global movement
The Extinction Rebellion protests got their start in London, but the movement has also spread to other major cities around the world. On April 15, these activists on the Oberbaum Bridge in Berlin blocked traffic for hours.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Soeder
Switching tactics?
On April 21, organizers in London said they were willing to switch tactics and talk with the government. "We're giving them an opportunity now to come and speak to us," said spokesman James Fox. "If they refuse … then this is going to continue and this going to escalate in different, diverse and very creative ways."
