Friends in XR ‘April Rebellion’ witness
‘We don’t want to be here. Our present is grave: war in Europe, a cost of living crisis and the remnants of a cruel pandemic. But our future under climate will be even worse.'
Quakers were among those hanging banners across the UK this month to raise awareness of the climate crisis and the need to end investment in fossil fuels. Banners could be seen on motorways, bridges and outside places of worship.
The banners were created ahead of the April Rebellion – an Extinction Rebellion (XR) climate protest which happened last week in London (9-17 April).
On 9 April, Friends joined many thousands of people at Hyde Park. Later in the week around sixty activists forced the closure of the insurance market Lloyd’s of London, after using superglue, chains and bicycle locks to block entrances to the building. XR supporters also blocked Tower Bridge in London days earlier, causing it to be closed for several hours.
XR issued a statement saying: ‘We don’t want to be here. Our present is grave: war in Europe, a cost of living crisis and the remnants of a cruel pandemic. But our future under climate will be even worse. The latest IPCC report estimates that we’ll reach the crucial 1.5C so-called “safe limit” of heating within a decade, and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has stated that any further “delay means death”.’
Julian Rees, a frequent activist from Loughborough Meeting, (pictured fourth from left), said: ‘The global South is disproportionately suffering the effects of climate catastrophes while we go on fuelling the crisis. We have to give up our wasteful lifestyles and it must start with our addiction to fossil fuels.’
Friends were also among those who shared their personal testimonies in preparation for ‘the rebellion’. The gathering via ‘the Empathy Cafe’ allowed the protestors to clarify their thoughts and feelings ready to prepare testimony if they should go to court.
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