Pictures and Experiences from Christ Church members, Nigel Panter and his children
Rosie, Reuben and Christopher who attended the 'Wake Up to Trade Justice' Vigil
in Central London on April 15th-16th. Reuben and Christopher were particularly
keen to wake up Tony Blair in the early hours of the morning!
Image 1 from the main organiser's website Trade Justice Movement: www.tjm.org.uk
10pm : Outside Westminster Abbey where the
Event kick-off included many celebrities including Ronan Keating. It was so
full that having just arrived, we stood no chance of getting in. We learned
later that people had been queueing since 6pm to get seats. Even the overflow
St Martins in the Field was full by 10pm. The square and gardens outside the
two churches just kept on filling up, with enthusiastic groups with banners
and candles from all across the country.
(picture from https://www3.indymedia.org.uk)
As some of the youngest people at the event
Reuben and Christopher attracted some attention in front of our banner.
(picture from https://www3.indymedia.org.uk)
11.15pm - Thousands of people from all across the country make their way slowly and noisly to fill Whitehall with candle light and chants drawing attention to the Trade Justice message. Note: this and the following images are taken on a camera-mobile phone with one hand holding the banner....
Rosie was at the other end of our banner and held it superbly in the crowds. It will surely be appearing on many photos from people across the land.
Just prior to a minutes silence at midnight which was such an incredible contrast from the whistles and chants and cheers and shouting from the thousands of people who lined Whitehall completely taking over one side of the street which was closed off for the event.
12.30am Thousands of candles left throughout the whole night along the route of Whitehall. Snapped our our way back along Whitehall towards the Methodist Hall to try and join in some of the activities there.
2.40am After queuing for a while to get into the Methodist Hall which was already full, the children needing the toilet was sufficient excuse to get us that far. Once inside we had a midnight feast in the corridor. Tired children settled for a rest, and after being moved on from having a kip in one corridor, we found a nice spot at the back of Room 2 in the Methodist Hall. There were many activities, entertainment and workshops going on in lots of rooms and in venues across the capital. Room 2 had Seminars on the Trade Justice issues and Corporate Trade Issues which were interesting while the children recharged, were then followed by a rather more noisy activity..... 'Motitiv8 for the the G8'
3.10am .... otherwise known as Aerobics at 3 in the morning !!! But it was a good way to keep going and stay awake (Christopher slept through it entirely somehow!) After a cup of Fair Trade coffee, and a gentle wake up, it was time to head on out for our second trip along Whitehall. This time we were met at the door (almost as if it were planned) by two from a team of Rickshaw riders who gave us a ride to Whitehall in style. Little tired people were very pleased with this and it really was a great experience.
4.00am - Once in Whitehall we made our way through the thousands to join in the chants once more.
4.30am - "Heeeey! Hey Tony, Oo! Ah! I wanna
kno-o-o-o o-o-o if you'll make Trade Fair"
"What do we want? - TRADE JUSTICE! When do we want it? NOW!"
6.00am - Time for the major march on Whitehall to really wake London to trade justice - especially PM Tony Blair. Around 25,000 people joined the march. This is a pair on stilts holding their giant pink banner. There were a tremendous variety of banners, some made with great imagination (the one on the stick is a head made from papier mache with bank notes), an Alarm clock (indicating the time to wake up to Trade Justice), banners of all shapes and sizes and some ingeneous costumes also - The Emporer's New Clothes being one of them!
Going around Parliament Square in good song. A couple from Cambridge helped on the other end of the banner this time, sparing Rosie's arms.
630am - Approaching The Houses of Parliament with the sun rising behind Big Ben
6.45am - Fully awake Christopher with his whistle making plenty of noise to wake Tony up to Trade Justice...
And Reuben was not to be outdone setting the rhythm many times along the way.
6.40am - Taking the long route to Downing Street up beside Westminster Tube. Rosie's hair in the foreground! When we went past Downing Street the volume level increased dramatically, although Tony did not come out to greet us - "Probably cos he is still in his pyjamas" surmises Christopher. We hope he got the message - he certainly can't have missed the impact of the occasion.
News
from BBC Web site
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4450737.stm
Make Poverty History
KS2, KS3 RESOURCES
This resource pack includes stories, worksheets, and
assemblies introducing the core themes of the Make Poverty History campaign
- debt, aid, and trade
KS2
KS3 SCHOOLS RESOURCE PACK ON POVERTY ISSUES CLICK HERE
http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/education.html
PLEASE NOTE: 24th APRIL IS WORLD POVERTY DAY
More on the event and how you can VOTE FOR TRADE JUSTICE here