Anti Climate Change Protests in Johannesburg
A global protest action campaign against the climate crisis and corruption in the mining sector was launched in Johannesburg on Tuesday morning. The aim of the 2016 Break-Free Campaign is to get affected South African communities to step-up action aimed at disrupting the fossil-fuel industry. Amongst the events that will take place between 12 and 14 May is a march to the Gupta family's compound in Saxonwold, in Johannesburg, and peaceful pickets outside coal power stations. "The fossil fuel industry is killing our planet, and its inhabitants." That was the message at the breakfast briefing at Wits University where the 2016 Break Free campaign was launched. NGO 350 Africa's Ferrial Adam highlights the importance of this protest campaign. “I think for me the reality is that we have to create this movement that will get people's voices heard because until then governments are going to continue doing that. And for as long as we as ordinary citizens open the tap and water flows out and we can drink it, we are not going to make a noise around it. But if you look, more and more in South Africa there are areas that cannot use the water that's coming out of the taps. And as that increases, then people are going to start connecting the dots, and say actually, it’s because of these industries that we have to stop this kind of behaviour.”
Paul Saad