SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Thousands of people across six continents mobilized to protest the destruction of the Amazon rainforest on September 5, 2019. (Photo: Amazon Watch/Twitter)
'Getting Angry on Social Media Not Enough': Thousands Across 6 Continents Mobilize to Combat Destruction of Amazon Rainforest
"Get organized, get active, and join forces in defense of the Amazon and in defense of our future."
Sep 06, 2019
Because "getting angry on social media is not enough" to put a stop to the fires and profit-driven policies ravaging the Amazon rainforest, thousands of people across six continents mobilized on Thursday to protest the destruction of the "lungs of the world" at the hands of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and large multinational corporations.
"From Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia to San Francisco and Hong Kong, people across generations, backgrounds, and borders are expressing their outrage over the destructive fires and their solidarity with the determined efforts of indigenous peoples to defend the forest and our collective wellbeing," said Christian Poirier, program director at Amazon Watch, which coordinated the global actions alongside the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) and Extinction Rebellion.
The demonstrations, which spanned more than 20 countries, came as thousands of fires continued to devastate the Amazon rainforest. Many of the blazes were deliberately and illegally set by farmers, loggers, and ranchers who, according to critics, have been emboldened by Bolsonaro's aggressive support for deforestation, which was accelerated rapidly during his time in office.
"Thousands of people around the world are mobilizing alongside Brazil's resistance to the Bolsonaro regime," said Poirier.
Demonstrators held a "die-in" outside the London offices of Blackrock, which a recent report described as the "world's largest investor in deforestation."
Outside the White House, protesters held signs that condemned U.S. President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro, and big business as "Amazon fire-starters."
Sonia Guajajara, executive coordinator at APIB, said to "address the scale of Amazon destruction we are witnessing," people "must get organized, get active, and join forces in defense of the Amazon and in defense of our future."
"We need to stop this absurdity," said Guajajara.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Because "getting angry on social media is not enough" to put a stop to the fires and profit-driven policies ravaging the Amazon rainforest, thousands of people across six continents mobilized on Thursday to protest the destruction of the "lungs of the world" at the hands of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and large multinational corporations.
"From Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia to San Francisco and Hong Kong, people across generations, backgrounds, and borders are expressing their outrage over the destructive fires and their solidarity with the determined efforts of indigenous peoples to defend the forest and our collective wellbeing," said Christian Poirier, program director at Amazon Watch, which coordinated the global actions alongside the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) and Extinction Rebellion.
The demonstrations, which spanned more than 20 countries, came as thousands of fires continued to devastate the Amazon rainforest. Many of the blazes were deliberately and illegally set by farmers, loggers, and ranchers who, according to critics, have been emboldened by Bolsonaro's aggressive support for deforestation, which was accelerated rapidly during his time in office.
"Thousands of people around the world are mobilizing alongside Brazil's resistance to the Bolsonaro regime," said Poirier.
Demonstrators held a "die-in" outside the London offices of Blackrock, which a recent report described as the "world's largest investor in deforestation."
Outside the White House, protesters held signs that condemned U.S. President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro, and big business as "Amazon fire-starters."
Sonia Guajajara, executive coordinator at APIB, said to "address the scale of Amazon destruction we are witnessing," people "must get organized, get active, and join forces in defense of the Amazon and in defense of our future."
"We need to stop this absurdity," said Guajajara.
Because "getting angry on social media is not enough" to put a stop to the fires and profit-driven policies ravaging the Amazon rainforest, thousands of people across six continents mobilized on Thursday to protest the destruction of the "lungs of the world" at the hands of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and large multinational corporations.
"From Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia to San Francisco and Hong Kong, people across generations, backgrounds, and borders are expressing their outrage over the destructive fires and their solidarity with the determined efforts of indigenous peoples to defend the forest and our collective wellbeing," said Christian Poirier, program director at Amazon Watch, which coordinated the global actions alongside the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) and Extinction Rebellion.
The demonstrations, which spanned more than 20 countries, came as thousands of fires continued to devastate the Amazon rainforest. Many of the blazes were deliberately and illegally set by farmers, loggers, and ranchers who, according to critics, have been emboldened by Bolsonaro's aggressive support for deforestation, which was accelerated rapidly during his time in office.
"Thousands of people around the world are mobilizing alongside Brazil's resistance to the Bolsonaro regime," said Poirier.
Demonstrators held a "die-in" outside the London offices of Blackrock, which a recent report described as the "world's largest investor in deforestation."
Outside the White House, protesters held signs that condemned U.S. President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro, and big business as "Amazon fire-starters."
Sonia Guajajara, executive coordinator at APIB, said to "address the scale of Amazon destruction we are witnessing," people "must get organized, get active, and join forces in defense of the Amazon and in defense of our future."
"We need to stop this absurdity," said Guajajara.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.