The monthly walk in the Hambach Forest has not only grown exponentially in size over last couple of years it has also became a cultural and political phenomena reflecting general support for Hambi Forest Activist and phasing out dirty coal as an energy source. For many in the Hambi it is great to have several hundred people show up in the forest who are not cops and who instead of supporting Toxic RWE and arresting us, instead bring us food, warm clothing and offer their general warm support. Even in this cold weather so many came bringing the total of people who have attended the forest walk to close to 12 thousand. This time with the youngest visitor being 4 months old, the oldes 81 and the people who came from furtherest being visitors from Colombia and Peru.
Do to privatization and legalistic closing of the secu road by RWE the walk met next to Kolaske sand quarry with long talk and commentary by Michael Zobel at the front barricade where tea, coffee and pastries with an info table was organized to welcome the supporters.
After that the walk went to Monkey town the site of the second Forest occupation, evicted with trees cut down in 2014. Then the walk went to Gallien where climbing demonstration took place, visitors mingled with activist in the tower and on the ground, all together taking part in a lunch meal provided by the forest activists. Then all went to the edge of the forest and the mine where people stood on the wall separating the forest from the Mordor of open casting lignite mining that the mine represents with its single largest net CO2 emissions in Europe. This has been a new tradition forming a human chain in between nature and livable climate and the the largest mine of this time in western europe, with each walk being a red lines action of sords.
Thank You everybody for coming and supporting us with beautiful hats and blankets that you made yourself, with food, supplies and donations. And most of all for filling the forest with people who are not violent, arm and aggressive as they support the reality of planetary climate, social and ecological degradation. After every walk many in the forest know and feel that another world is not just possible but is a reality, a cheerful thought as every week we await the other couple hundred not so friendly visitors……
Repression is never too far for those in the forest as right after the supporters and visitors left 3 traditional, traveling carpenters when wanting just to look into the mine were detained by the secus (security guards) and then turned over to cops who arrived in 3 vans who detained them in the arctic cold outside of their vans for almost two hours, asking them personal detail questions and threatening them with arrest and warning them to never get close to the mine again.