7-day hunger strikers target political parties for climate justice

Reported by Bella Huang

Edited by Karen Kwok

LONDON - It’s at 5°C in central London. Passers-by have put on their thick down coat to keep themselves warm in this cold weather. However, 83-year-old La Pethick has been fasting and protesting in front of the Headquarter of the Labor Party for a whole week since November 18.

“I’m very weepy. Terribly emotional. Anybody says something nice to me, I just cry,” said Mrs. Pethick, “I’m willing to do nearly anything (for climate) because I get grandchildren and I feel a sense of responsibility of my generation”

La Pethick ’s daughter is also an environmental activist, who inspired her to be an activist.

Mrs. Pethick’s action is part of the Global Climate Hunger Strike movement initiated by the Extinction Rebellion, aiming to raise social awareness of human’s vulnerability to food supply and urge political parties to meet with them on the climate and ecological emergency.

According to the organiser, more than 450 people from 27 countries worldwide, including the US, the UK, Australia, and Pakistan, have signed up to join this movement.

When asked what kind of future she expects the future generation could have, La cried, “That’s where I get very emotional... I don’t know. I’d like them to have a better one, but I’m so scared (that they might not have one).”

Extinction Rebellion is an international movement that uses non-violent ways of civil disobedience to declare an ecological emergency and ask for immediate action to protect the environment. In the last two weeks of September, Extinction Rebellion organised an international climate protest, during which more than 30,000 people participated in London, with 1,832 arrested and 154 charged.

Rupert Read, the national spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion and a Green Party campaigner, also a reader in philosophy at the University of East Anglia, said,

“Hunger strike is a very, very strong statement - that we are vulnerable, that we care, that we are determined, and that we are willing to stick around and make sacrifices until change comes.”

There are different types of hunger strike. Those outside political party headquarters are mostly on a one-week constant strike, during which they wouldn’t consume any food, but could take plenty of water and daily vitamins as well as minerals.

There are also Rolling Hunger Strike (24 hours) and Solidarity Hunger Strike for a day or more, which isn’t constant. For participants under 18, there is a strict 24 hours limit for them out of health and safety consideration.

Extinction Rebellion activists who are not on hunger strike come and support the protesters.

Angus Rose, a 50-year-old software developer originally from South Africa, has been protesting at the Headquarter of the Liberal Democrats. He said that the hunger strike is a valuable tactic and has been proved to be effective for non-violent movements,

“The police can’t take us away. No one can take us away. If we were arrested... there’ll still be hunger strike.”

Amy Khan, a 32-year-old passer-by who was attracted by their hunger strike, “I admire them sacrificing themselves...but it’s sad to see not many passers-by pay attention to them.” Mrs. Khan said she has been now more concerned about climate issues since the Extinction Rebellion October Movement.

Extinction Rebellion has taken a series of disruptive actions in London because they argue that all the peaceful appeals in the past several decades have been ignored.

Before the strike, Extinction Rebellion has delivered letters to each political party in the UK on November 14, requesting a filmed meeting with party leaders for the support of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (Three Demands Bill). The bill calls for the parties to declare a climate emergency, act to stop biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2025, as well as create a Citizens’ Assembly on ecological justice.

The Green Party has already agreed to meet and agreed on the first two demands. Liberal Democrats President Sal Brinton met with Rupert Read and Larch Maxey. John McDonnell, member of the Parliament and a member of the Labor Party, also said he’ll look into setting up a meeting.

On the Facebook of Extinction Rebellion, it writes “This time we choose the sacrifice, the individual sacrifice. We stop eating. Our bodies are now the alarm.”

Marko Stepanov, a 57-year-old retired artist, who was outside the Conservative Party Headquarter, is disappointed about the government and hopes the movement can bring changes, “These people in the building, even the prime minister, are not going to do anything. They are bound by their own interests...[the security guards] are protecting them from me, who are trying to save them as well as their children.”

Marko Stepanov is protesting with Harry Steinhardt, 22, a mechanic, who thinks that self-sacrifice brings people over to their opinion easier than disruptive actions.

Going further beyond the goal of this Global Climate Hunger Strike, Mr. Stepanov said that he would go fast until December 12, the date of the General Election this year. The General Election was originally proposed by Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the UK, aiming to regain seats in the Parliament to win support for his Brexit bill.

The hunger strike also marks the launch of what Extinction Rebellion calls the “Election Rebellion”, which aims to put climate and ecological emergency at the top of the agenda in this election. On its website, Extinction Rebellion said that they would take a series of disruptive actions till the election.

Mr. Read said that after their series of movements, “the world is a different place” and that they would keep using different methods to bring changes because “this is the struggle of our lives. This is the struggle for our lives.”