2023-09-10 19:49:01
The first images of Extinction Rebellion in 2018, demonstrators blocking a series of bridges in the heart of London, made a big impression on Paul and Sandra. Shortly afterwards, Hendriksen went to the first meeting of the Dutch branch of this new climate movement.
“Those images in England showed ‘ordinary’ people. That stimulated me to delve further into the movement. The first meeting was in a modest hall complex in The Hague. With about a hundred people, mainly young people and students, we sat at conference tables and started arranging everything,” says Hendriksen.
Because she had to be in the hospital for a while, Van Eerden was unable to attend that first meeting are. As soon as her health allowed it again, she registered. Soon after, she helped organize a campaign. “My first XR actions were the swarm blockades in Amsterdam. There we blocked intersections with small groups for a few minutes. I already had previous action experience at other demonstrations, but this was the first time I organized something. Exciting, but very educational.”
Arrests
Since then, both have organized numerous actions and participated in even more. Van Eerden estimates her contribution to more than fifty actions, although she admits that she has lost count. Hendriksen guesses around forty actions. They often have a ‘non-arrestable role’, as an organizer for example, but the inside of a police van is no longer unknown to either of them.
“I was arrested for the first time during a demonstration in The Hague. I thought that was super exciting. They didn’t have enough cells, so we were all put in a communal cell. That wasn’t that bad, it was a nice introduction to the police,” laughs Hendriksen. “If you told me before that demonstration that I would be arrested twenty times within a few years, I would laugh in your face. Now that’s just part of my life.”
Despite having contributed to many actions, Van Eerden responds modestly. “I wouldn’t call myself part of the hard core, more of an veteran. Our organization is flat, it doesn’t matter how long you have been with us. During your first time you can contribute just as much as someone who has been participating for a while.”
The number of people participating is increasing. ‘Growing fits’, Hendriksen calls it. According to him, the ‘pivotal moment’ when the movement gained more attention is due to the people who threw soup on a Van Gogh painting. “That wasn’t us, that was Just Stop Oil. Then we noticed that they were looking for a Dutch climate movement on talk shows and other media that was comparable in terms of radicality in actions. Then they came to us and we were suddenly invited very often.”
Exhaustion
The permanent demonstration is not going to be an easy one. Both go there with healthy excitement. Hendriksen: “I am going to demonstrate together with my family. My children are the main motivation for doing this. To save what can be saved.”
“It’s going to be very exhausting,” Van Eerden expects. She says that she will be there at the weekend anyway, but during the week she says it will be a bit more difficult because she is also expected to be at work. “I’m going to see if I can get a day off during the week. If it takes a long time, I even want to see if I can take more vacation days for that.”
Mixed feelings
Van Eerden and Hendriksen look at the growing movement with hope, but also with ‘reluctance and sadness’. “The idea that if something changes that we have contributed to it is fantastic. On the other hand, it is frustrating. There are so many of us and we have been demonstrating for so long, but it is going very slowly,” says Sandra. Paul agrees. “This is not my hobby. I want to pick up my old life again, do the things I did before. But doing nothing is not an option.”
Coincidentally, the same demonstration always stays with both of them. On June 11, 2019, approximately ten demonstrators took a seat in the public gallery in the House of Representatives. A number of PvdD motions about declaring a state of emergency for the climate and biodiversity have just been voted down.
The XR members unfurled banners that they smuggled in by wearing them like skirts and started reciting speeches. “The action did not receive much media attention, but at that moment we had the full attention of all politicians in the House of Representatives. They had heard of us, but now they really couldn’t ignore us anymore,” Van Eerden proudly recalls.
Also read:
Directors struggle with Extinction Rebellion actions. Will they intervene harder?
The A12 in The Hague is expected to be blocked every day from next weekend. Mayor Van Zanen is at a loss.
How Extinction Rebellion’s green uprising began
The members of Extinction Rebellion are deliberately breaking the law to draw attention to the climate crisis. The film Rebellion shows how the movement started: with pride and perseverance on the part of the founders, but also disappointment.
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