11 Die-ins across Brighton
11 ‘die-ins’ around the city on Saturday 27th April – with around 300 people lying down on the ground to symbolise both the mass extinction of wildlife we are already witnessing and humanity’s own looming extinction.
From The Argus:
" ACTIVISTS staged a series of “die-ins” to continue the battle against climate change.
The Brighton branch of international group Extinction Rebellion, which has dominated the headlines with protests in London, paraded through the streets of Brighton on Saturday.
They lay down, as if dead, in different locations across the city and then held a minute’s silence in each place.
Member Claudia Fisher said: “We are doing 11 die-ins to represent the mere 11 years we have left before climate change destruction reaches its next level.
“We have so many new members in the group since the activists demonstrated across London.
“Since our last meeting just over a week ago we have more than quadrupled in size.”
The Brighton group had 276 people at its last weekly meeting at the Community Base in Queen’s Road – so many they did not all fit in the building.
The group is determined to organise more action and recruit many more new members to “create a movement so big it cannot be ignored”.
Penny Bay, 65, of Poets Corner in Hove, was arrested on London’s Waterloo Bridge on April 18 for obstructing the road.
She said: “I feel completely fine and justified about my arrest, given the state of the climate emergency we are facing.
“The experience was made so much easier by the kindness and support of all the other Extinction Rebellion people around me.
“The atmosphere was just amazing.
“Overall, with the London actions over Easter I believe we did what we set out to achieve. The incredible turnout and enthusiasm in London have allowed me to believe that change really is possible.”
She said nearly every passer-by she spoke to during the protests in London were in favour of the group’s actions.
She said: “This is just the start of our movement. I urge everyone to get involved because climate affects us all. The time to act is now.”
The “die-ins” protest came in the wake of Extinction Rebellion’s International Rebellion, which took place during the Easter holidays in 33 countries worldwide.
In London, Oxford Circus, Parliament Square, Marble Arch, Waterloo Bridge and Piccadilly Circus were held by activists for up to ten days.
More than 200 people from Brighton were involved in these actions, with more than 20 of them being arrested.
The “die-ins” were held between noon and 3pm at Jubilee Square, New Road, in front of the Royal Pavilion, in front of and on the Palace Pier, the beach, East Street, Brighton Town Hall, outside Churchill Square, the i360 and Hove Lawns."
Read more @ The Argus
Read more @ Brighton and Hove Independent