Activism

As students across the United Kingdom prepare to join the global “climate strike” movement later this week by walking out of class, the nation’s union of headteachers—representing principals, headmasters, and other school leaders—has endorsed the coordinated actions as a demonstration to be “applauded.” #climatestrike #climatecrises

“I am just a messenger, and yet I get all this hate,” writes Thunberg. “I am not saying anything new, I am just saying what scientists have repeatedly said for decades. And I agree with you, I’m too young to do this. We children shouldn’t have to do this. But since almost no one is doing anything, and our very future is at risk, we feel like we have to continue.” #gretathunberg #climatecrisis

35,000 people participated in a march in Berlin to protest against the current system of disbursement of EU farm subsidies in Germany. Activists complained that large-scale farms receive too much and that the system needs to better fund farmers pursuing environment and climate-friendly farming methods. The protest also featured a procession of 170 farmers driving tractors. #farming

The French #yellowvest protesters could carry a liberating lesson for us: To achieve real democracy and basic fairness requires that we, too, claim our dignity. We can reject any notion that there is shame in announcing that we are struggling to get by in America’s brutal form of capitalism. Why should we feel shame when the scales of our economy are so titled? Within a market driven by corporate America’s one-rule obsession (i.e. do what brings highest return to existing wealth), sadly we end up with more extreme inequality than in roughly 120 countries, including—believe it or not—India and Mali.

Jodie Evans:December was the month #CODEPINK: Growing a Local Peace Economy was dedicating our outreach and organizing to being an ally for the asylum seekers who had just arrived in and around Tijuana below the U.S. San Diego border. CODEPINK’s Local Peace Economy was created to focus on the disasters that will occur as a result of global inequality, climate change, constant war.

A new study shows the “terrible tragedy” in its full scale: 67 percent of Yemen’s population needs “urgent action to save lives and livelihoods.” That means that 20 million Yemenis are vulnerable to death. A quarter of a million of these Yemenis are “on the brink of starvation.” The study points out that “armed conflict remains the main driver of food insecurity in Yemen.” That’s an obvious point, but it needs to be made. The war on Yemen has to end to prevent the near-death of the Yemeni people. #yemencantwait

Caravan participants I met expressed so much faith — both in God and the idea that United States is a place that embraces those fleeing violence and poverty. What else can they do in the face of such an existential threat but hope and pray for a chance for their families to live? In the season when many celebrate the birth of a child whose family had to flee to another country to keep him alive, what does our shared humanity demand from parents making the same difficult choice today? #standwithmigrants

Watch this inspirational video in which Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi is interviewed by Jay Shetty. Satyarthi’s mission is to liberate every child from slavery. His story was captured in this phenomenal new documentary, The Price of Free (see below), which follows Satyarthi and his team of activists around the world on secret raid and rescue missions as they hunt for missing children and work to reunite them with their families.

Follow the thrilling story of Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s journey to liberate every child from slavery. THE PRICE OF FREE follows Satyarthi and his team of activists around the world on secret raid and rescue missions as they hunt for missing children and work to reunite them with their families. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize, US Documentary, Sundance 2018.