MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Edinburgh July 2 2005
Biggest demonstration Scotland has ever seen
By John Stevenson
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 General Secretary Dave Prentis was even called away
to make his speech before the march set off.
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.
While Live 8 concerts were 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, 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.
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."
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 also joined in the carnival atmosphere,
even the two black clad figures on top of the Royal Scottish
Academy! After the G8, the marches are over but quarter of
a million people were clear that the fight continues.
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