MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY
Edinburgh July 2 2005
Biggest demonstration Scotland has ever seen
By John Stevenson, Branch Secretary
Organisers and police said there were 225,000
there. Old demonstration hands put it at nearer 300,000. There
were certainly lots of us with the trade union contingent marching
off five hours after the first of the continuous line set off
to circle the city centre.
UNISON banners were there from Aberdeen to Hounslow
via Edinburgh, Nottinghamshire and Bristol. UNISON members from
across the country were dotted around the march.
This was the political demonstration, as
Billy Bragg said. This was people coming to give a clear unambiguous
message, not to see rock stars. While Live 8 concerts are a
welcome addition to the campaign, it is sad that they took the
media eye away from the hundreds of thousands who came to Edinburgh
to make their voices heard - and who will go on doing so long
after the marches and concerts are finished.
Eddie Izzard, who flew in from Los Angeles for
the event, couldn't have put it better. "I felt this was
the place to be. It's where the activists are, the people who
are in it for the long haul".
The patience of old and young who had to stand
for hours in the Meadows waiting to set off was a testament
to how deeply they felt about the issue - and how determined
they were to be part of making history, making poverty history.
Some from further afield had to leave before they
even got on the march because of travel arrangements. But even
they took part and if they had been counted, the 225,000 estimate
would have been even higher. They were part of the sea of white
that covered the Meadows. Almost everyone responded to the organisers'
request to wear white to create a band around the city.
They were there for the unforgettable minute's
silence at 3pm which brought an unprecedented hush to an almost
traffic-free city. Unforgettable too was the cacophony of applause,
cheers and whistles from all around the city centre which followed
it.
They were there from trade unions, campaigning
organisations, churches and a host of other groups. They were
months old and in their 80's. The friendship, patience and willingness
to help each other was yet another indication of the common
purpose - to demand that world leaders take this historic opportunity
to stop building our wealth on Africa's poverty.
Almost 300,000 people and only one arrest. No-one
on this huge demonstration of the will of people to make their
leaders listen, wanted anything to detract from the message.
Although, a tiny few were more interested in their
own agenda. A group of anarchists in black wanted their own
show but they were soon controlled by a careful police operation.
And what possessed the Scottish Socialist Party
to turn up in red when we were meant to be creating a white
band around Edinburgh? Collectivism?
Yet some of the press did their usual and the
handful of those choosing to run their own show got a ridiculously
matching share of the picture coverage as opposed to the hundreds
of thousands who came together, from widely different beliefs
and backgrounds, to give out the common message.
Broadcaster Jonatahan Dimbleby summed it up to
the crowd, "I'm here because like you I know it is an obscenity
that 50,000 die every day unnecessarily as a consequence of
poverty."
Even the police seemed to come from around the
country, some sporting English bobby helmets. Despite the delays,
the organisation from police and stewards was excellent - over
200,000 people and no crush.
The stewards, many of them from UNISON who provided
the jackets, had a long hot day and did a wonderful job. Largely
too, the police who were a model of professionalism and joined
in the carnival atmosphere, even the two black clad figures
on top of the Royal Scottish Acedemy!
We wait now to see if the G8 can afford to ignore
this massive show of will. If they do, they put the very essence
of democracy at risk.
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