Young People Demonstrating in the Streets

Why are young people taking to the streets?

Young people are in revolt, and I have been inspired by the recent riots in France to find out why. I was deeply shocked by the answers. It turns out that it is not just in France that young people are showing their unhappiness with society.

They are rioting in the streets, not everywhere, but in many places. They are rioting across Europe – in Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, Serbia and Albania. They are protesting, often violently, in India and Bangladesh. There are “teen-takeovers” in American city centres. Morocco has seen street protests, and to a lesser extent there have been protests in Australia and in the Pacific region.

There has been rioting in many places in Africa, particularly from very young people, often called generation Z. These riots have erupted in countries including Kenya, Senegal, Ghana, Mozambique and Madagascar.

And who can blame them? It is my opinion that young people have been seriously short-changed, both in the present day and in the sort of future they can look forward to.

We – that is most of the rest of us – have closed down their opportunities in life. Their problems vary of course depending on where they live, but for many they face a very bleak future indeed.

What kind of future do they face?

Many can’t get a decent or appropriate education, and some are protesting about corruption and poor governance. There is high personal debt from university fees for some, no long-term career possibility for others. There may be no affordable housing, and because of on-line dating it is hard to form long-term relationships and people are late starting a family. Young people may suffer from poor mental health due to lack of prospects and also due to the ravages of social media. Then, of course there are the young people whose countries are at war – a situation entirely out of their control. How do they feel? It is hard to imagine, and for me that is truly shocking.

On top of all that, these modern-day youngsters must live with Climate Change and its worsening effects. They must come to terms with the loss of Nature and the threat that brings to their future. (Many will never see an elephant or a lion in the wild.)

It is true that each generation faces different problems. My parents lived through the Second World War and all its traumas. I lived through the aftermath of that and my parents’ anxieties. There have been wars and famines and uprisings and terrible politicians and pandemics, all making life exceedingly difficult for young people.

Somehow, this time it feels different.

Envisioning a Better World

And yet!

We need them! Somebody once said “The power of youth lies in its ability to envision a better world.” We so desperately need a different future..

When I look around, I see thousands of wonderful young people who have put their lives on hold to try to make a difference to our troubled planet. They give me hope. In fact they should give us all hope.

It makes me very cross though, when people grumble and say it is the young people’s future therefore it is their responsibility to fix it. It is our responsibility for living the way we have and giving “no thought for the morrow”. It is our job to fix it, not theirs. And yet many of them have the courage and dynamism that we have lost along the way. I would like to mention a few of them here.

Serbian Students

I must start with the Serbian students because they have been so incredibly impressive.

Serbian students organized a protest movement called the Student List that successfully brought down President Vučić and won a historic election victory. An article on the BBC said, “In just under two years the students have succeeded in tearing up 14 years of political dominance under Aleksandar Vučić, who has seen support for his Serbian Progressive party (SNS) ebb away and ultimately fail in what became a referendum on the future of Serbia.” He had been a “strong-man leader” of an authoritarian regime which had dominated Serbian politics for many years. The sheer determination and belief of the students have changed politics in their country. They fielded candidates for all 250 parliamentary seats, and yet no students were among them. As he joined the students marching towards Belgrade last week, lead candidate and cardiologist Ilija Srdanović said history was being rewritten: “The energy is unstoppable.”

That looks like responsibility for a different future to me.

Greta Thunberg

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Greta Thunberg was just eight years old when she became passionate about climate change. By the time she was 15, she had founded Fridays for Future (also called School Strike for Climate), which garnered international attention and made her one of the most recognizable faces of the climate change movement. The Swedish environmental activist was credited with shifting some people’s views and behaviours regarding climate change, and her influence is known as ‘the Greta effect’.”

In my opinion she is a young woman of considerable courage and determination and is clearly focussed on a future for her generation. The Fridays for Future movement has gone on to become one of the largest youth-led global movements in history.

In 2019 Greta spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, telling the delegates, “our house is on fire and I want you to panic!” – They didn’t! For me the fact that she did that at all is incredible. She did the same in New York in front of the UN telling people “How dare you – – -you have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words – – – “

I heard her speak at a climate march in Switzerland. She is tiny and brave. But, my goodness, what a voice for the future.

Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez

A young indigenous man from Colorado, according to the BBC he gave his first speech about the Earth being sacred at 6 years old, and has been campaigning for environmental justice ever since. He is a hip-hop artist who uses his music to highlight issues about nature. He is director of an environmental group called Earth Guardians. He has spoken at the UN about sustainability and was one of 21 young people who filed a lawsuit against the US government over Climate Change.

More Activists Required!

We Need More Activists!

I would love to tell you about more of these young activists, there are so many of them, each caring deeply about their own speciality. These are all needed in order to create a better world. We need more education for women, empowerment for women, equality, climate justice, caring for nature, action on Climate Change , less poverty, better health, regenerative agriculture. There are young people working for improvements in all these areas and more.

But we also need more of us, “the older guys!” Each of us has something to contribute and we must. I have 6 wonderful grandchildren and their futures fill my mind each day. I want them to have a peace-filled future full of opportunities. Probably you want the same for your families.

What Can You Do to Help

• You can think about your vote if you are lucky enough to have one. Democracy is far from perfect, but you can size up the candidates, ask them about their values, and vote for those who care about the future.
• If you have young people at home, you can help them get actively involved in fighting for the climate, nature or environmental justice. Teach them values of kindness, caring and empathy.
• Join organisations that fight for a better future. Give them some money if you can.
• Don’t give in. Things look pretty black right now but just look at the good things that have happened recently. Brazil’s Lula won the presidential election giving hope to the future of the Amazon. Serbia’s students got rid of a long term right- wing strongman. Younger and more diverse Democrats won the mid-term elections in the US. And throughout the world hundreds of people did their thing for a better future.
• Support your young people: their future is looking very bleak to them right now. Learn as much as you can about what it is like for them.

We can all do our bit by remembering to be kind and understanding of other people. Even on Social Media we don’t need to be unkind!!

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Photos by Martti Salmi, Alexander Naglestad and Valery Tenevoy on Unsplash