For a long time, the „young generation“ in Germany has been criticized for being unpolitical. Nevertheless, the striking students of „Fridays for Future“ are still not taken seriously by many politicians. The European elections in 2019 have demonstrated that it is about time to do so. With these photos (published in Zeit Online 06/2019), I want to give a face to the strikers and show that the people who will be affected most by the effects of climate change are not anonymous masses. What does the strike mean for the demonstrators and what motivates them to take to the streets week after week?
„We now have to demonstrate and strike for climate protection before it’s too late and we children as adults are then the victims.“
Charlotte (13)
„We urgently need to do something for our environment. I want us to live in harmony with our earth just as all the other living beings do, rather than destroying our and their only habitat.“
Maya (17)
„We need to awaken from old ways of thinking and take responsibility for the earth we are allowed to live on. Every human being can help to save the world – started by him or her self!“
Lilian (17)
„I think it’s important to draw attention to the topic of environmental protection, because it affects us all. The more people participate in the strikes, the more politicians may feel compelled to finally do something.“
Luk (17)
„Climate protection and Fridays for Future are very important. We want a future, this earth exists only once and we must fight for it!“
Jegor (10)
„Politicians and decision-makers ignore the climate crisis. Everybody should make the world a bit better with his or her life. How could I do anything other than fight the biggest threat of our time?“
Clara (18)
„Politicians must finally start listening to the scientists who have warned about climate change for years, and act before it’s too late. It cannot be that students have to sacrifice their education to fight for having a future on this planet.“
Fynn (21)
„For me, Fridays for Future means using my rights and doing the right thing for the world.“
Josephine (15)
„Climate change and widespread loss of biodiversity are ecological crises that massively threaten the beauty and ecological balance of the earth, just as they threaten the social systems that were established on Earth. Fridays for Future is a movement that successfully draws attention to this and demands that we voluntarily tackle systemic change before we are forced to do so by environmental change. I support that and for that I want to raise my voice and take to the streets.“
Joshua (23)
„Fighting for the future is everything, because we are the future.“
Kaushani (17)
„Adults are willing to trade the animals, the beaches and my food for coal and gas. That’s nonsense.“
Edgar (10)
„Something must finally change and we, the young generation, can move the most, because it is above all our future. Fridays for Future makes you feel right at home, because so many different people are demonstrating peacefully for a great cause. Whether we like it or not, the climate is everybody’s business.“
