Pakistanis answer call to march against climate change in vast global protest – World

On Friday, an initiative led by the citizens of a climate march was organized, organized by Climate Action Now, throughout Pakistan, joining climate strikes in other countries to help stop global warming.

More than 26 cities and towns participated in the march across the country, including Mardan, Mithi, Thatta, Kasur, Kotli, Chagai, Killa Abdullah, Peshawar, Chitral, Gilgit, etc.

read more: Fearing for their future, Karachi youth march against climate change

Meherbano Raja, a climate activist and part of the organizing committee, said Lahore participants were asked to meet at the Lahore Press Club at 3pm.

"It will be led by young people because they are the most affected generation and, therefore, will lead from the front," he said, before the march. "This will also include the students of the school."

In Karachi, protesters gathered at Frere Hall at 4 p.m. Artist and teacher Yasir Husain along with Zehra Zaidi from Karachi Citizen Lab started the event.

Cultural activist Sheema Kermani, addressing a group of accused people, said everyone should participate in the event "because (climate change) is going to affect us all."

She said the aim of the march was to bring climate change to the knowledge of the government, since they are responsible for environmental emergencies.

As the crowds began to swell, protesters began to sing: “What do we want? Climate Justice!

Rimsha, 15, of SMB Fatima Jinnah, also addressed the meeting, drawing attention to the fact that people can no longer breathe fresh air.

"If people love their families and their country, they must understand their responsibilities [towards the environment]," she said.

Celebrities and leaders, including Senator Sherry Rehman, asked people to participate in the climate march.

More than 5,000 events were planned around the world for what was one of the largest collective calls to action in a movement driven by social networks under the hashtag #climatestrike.

In New York, 1.1 million students in some 1,800 public schools were allowed to skip school.

Nicknamed the "Friday for the Future" movement, the campaign wants children around the world to take a more active role in persuading adults to deal with climate change more seriously.

They demand that politicians and companies take the drastic measures necessary to stop global warming, which scientists warn will lead to an environmental catastrophe under current trends.

Afghanistan

In the Afghan capital, Kabul, where people die every day in horrible bomb attacks, a young generation, worried that if war does not kill them, climate change will participate in the global climate attack.

Around 100 young people, with several young women in the front carrying a banner with "Friday for the future", marched through the center of Kabul, following behind an armored personnel carrier deployed for protection, as well as half a dozen soldiers with scattered automatic rifles. behind them and along the route.

Fardeen Barakzai, one of the organizers and head of the local climate-saving group called Oxygen said "we want to do our part." We, as young people of our country, know the problem of climate change. We know that war can kill a group of people … the problem in Afghanistan is that our leaders are fighting for power, but real power is in nature. "

Australia

Some of the first demonstrations began in the largest city in Australia, Sydney, and in the national capital, Canberra. Australian protesters called for their nation, which is the world's largest exporter of coal and liquid natural gas, to take more drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Organizers estimated that more than 300,000 protesters took the Australian streets.

The acting Prime Minister of Australia described the ongoing climate events as "just an interruption" that should have taken place over a weekend to avoid disturbance to the communities.

Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the students would learn more in school than in protests.

Germany

In Germany, which has seen large-scale weather events for more than a year, police said 17,000 people had gathered in the southwestern city of Freiburg, one of the country's 500 cities where protests were planned.

In the capital, Berlin and in the financial center of Frankfurt, Germany, some protesters organized brief roadblocks to highlight their demands for a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the country, to which transport is an important contributor .

Under pressure from protests in recent months, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government plans to announce a package of measures to reduce Germany's greenhouse gas emissions later today.

India

Demonstrations were held in the cities of India, including Mumbai and New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world.

Dozens of students and environmental activists chanted "We want climate action" and "I want to breathe clean" in a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

They carried banners with some messages that showed "There is no land B".

Philippines

Thousands protested in the Philippines, which experts say face threats of rising sea levels and increasingly violent storms.

"There are many people here who can already feel the effects of climate change, for example with typhoons," said Yanna Palo, 23. AFP at a rally in the capital, Manila.

"I don't know if we are in the front line of the fight against climate change, but I hope so."

Thailand

More than 200 young people in Thailand broke into the ministry of the environment and fell to the ground faking death by demanding government action on climate change.

The young strikers sang "Save our Earth" as they marched to the government complex, before lying on the ground to be killed.

"This is what will happen if we don't act on climate change now," said one of the strike leaders, Nanticha Ocharoenchai, 21.

An official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment supported the student action.

"This is how young people express their concerns, which we consider a good sign and not a nuisance," said Adisorn Noochdumrong, permanent undersecretary of the ministry. Reuters.

United Kingdom

Thousands of school students and their adult followers gathered in front of the British Parliament in London to demand "climate justice" and stronger action to combat global warming.

A large crowd filled the government district of London, and there were also demonstrations in cities in the United Kingdom, such as Birmingham, Glasgow and Belfast, as part of a "global climate strike."

Some protesters made homemade banners with slogans that included "Don't be a silly fossil" and "Get our planet back to being Greta," referring to activist Greta Thunberg, 17, who caused the global climate strike movement.

The British government said it supported the protestors' message, but did not tolerate missing school.

Jessica Ahmed, a 16-year-old London student, said that "if politicians took the appropriate measures we need and had been taking these measures a long time ago when it was recognized that the world was changing negatively, then it would not have to be skipping school. I would be doing the math test for which I studied. "