The Hague, Saturday, 11:40
‘Scientists, assemble!’ Next to the skate park near the Malieveld, a group of scientists in white lab coats is gathered together. They are given instructions: ‘This gesture means walk, this means walk faster. We’re not going to run.'
This is Scientist Rebellion, a group of concerned academics protesting against fossil fuel subsidies. Today, they will join the climate activists of Extinction Rebellion in their attempt to block the A12 motorway as long as possible. For the sixth time.
Anthropologist and assistant professor Cristiana Strava is also joining the protest. ‘We’ve been given a special task. We’re going to escort an orchestra and form a cordon to get them safely onto the A12.’
Strava grew up in Romania. ‘In the shadow of the Chernobyl disaster. My childhood was shaped by the aftermath of that catastrophe, which coincided with the transition from communism to post-communism. It taught me how to deal with scarcity and made me very aware of environmental issues.’
It also led to her studying anthropology and environmental studies, she says.
‘After completing my bachelor's, I worked in North Africa for a few years as a liaison between indigenous communities and engineers. There, I saw first-hand how acute climate change is. Groundwater is disappearing, droughts are becoming more and more frequent. There was nothing we could do except come up with emergency solutions. This left me disillusioned, but it also made me want to study for a PhD.’
Further on, the protesters start to shout. In the distance, the first police uniforms appear from between the trees. Scientist Rebellion starts walking towards the motorway.
Friday, the eve of the demonstration
On social media, climate protesters are restless. Word is spreading that the police have already detained people in their homes. ‘The fact that the police are pre-emptively rounding up peaceful protesters is frightening’, writes Fede* using the encrypted chat app Signal.
But this threat does nothing to dissuade the Leiden student, a member of action group End Fossil. ‘There is no other option than to protest. Every year, science tells us to speed up the transition, and all the while, nothing is happening’, he says. ‘Even UN Secretary-General Guterres says we need radical change and have to keep pushing. I’m protesting out of frustration, but it also helps to ward off the fear for the future.’
Fede says he feels nervous. ‘The previous blockade was my first, so I know now how exhausting it can be. You ask yourself beforehand whether or not you want to be arrested, and whether or not you want to remain anonymous. It’s a difficult choice: on the one hand, you want to make a statement, on the other hand, you also have lectures on Monday as usual.’
‘For some people, activism is exhausting and it leaves them hopeless’, says Strava. ‘It’s easy to get discouraged as a scientist or an activist precisely because we care so much about this. The amount of subsidy the Dutch government throws at the fossil industry is staggering when you stop to consider just how much you could do with it to boost the energy transition. We’re essentially paying for the potential costs of oil spills. I can’t accept that.’
*Real name known to editors, but ‘I’m using an alias because I intend to take part in more actions in the future’
Saturday morning, 11:55
The front group grinds to a halt. A line of police vans, horses and police officers with raised shield is blocking the A12 slip road. ‘This is the police’, is blared through a megaphone. ‘You are being ordered to make your way to the Malieveld. If you remain on the A12, violence may be used.’
Everyone stays put. The next group approaches, walking down the path along the Malieveld, among them the white coats of Scientist Rebellion and the orchestra.
The activists turn a deaf ear to the call by the Mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen, to move the demonstration to the Malieveld. ‘Then we might just as well go to the beach’, says Fede. ‘Our aim is to disrupt and be heard.’
Once again, the police order the protesters to leave. Once again, the protesters refuse. They sit down on the asphalt, raise their fists in the air and shout: ‘We are unstoppable, another world is possible!’ The supporting protesters, who were supposed to stand along the sides of the tunnel ramp, where police officers have placed screens to block their view, are now standing right next to the blockade after all.
‘Very helpful for us, but not so much for the police’, thinks Fede. He has decided to cheer on the rest, but has no intention of occupying the motorway himself. ‘If you look at the bigger picture, it doesn’t really matter much whether I’m here or not, but I want to show my solidarity at the very least. But in our country, getting arrested is not as bad as in other parts of the world. The worst that could happen is that I experience some stress and maybe get a fine. It’s not that big a deal for me, but everyone who comes here sacrifices something. I don’t have to do this, I could also just spend a Saturday chilling out.’
Two water cannons arrive via side roads; the police had them brought in from Germany. A few protesters who do not feel like getting wet leave the scene, but most remain seated or standing. With the cannons pointed at them, the orchestra’s violinists start playing the ominous second movement of Beethoven’s 7th symphony.
12:30 Under the blue-red flag of Scientist Rebellion, Cristiana Strava sits in the sun. ‘Anyone need sugar?’ she asks as she hands out sweets. Tomatoes and home-baked brownies are also being passed around. Although police have repeatedly asked the protesters to leave, it seems the officers are not yet ready to take action. The horses have left.
Strava points to the water cannons. Those were also used in Lützerath during the blockade of a coal mine. Only then, the wind was so strong it blew the water back. We won’t be so lucky today.’
She has also decided not to get arrested today. ‘During the blockade of the private jet terminal at Schiphol Airport, I did choose to be arrested. I was then detained for a few hours. But it’s both an intellectual and an emotional investment. I also have the added pressure of a job at the university.’
13:12 The blockade has lasted longer than expected. Protesters who had left the scene in fear of charges have now returned. Among them are many children. An elderly man wears a sticker on his coat: “Caution, fragile.” People are making grateful use of a mobile toilet in a tent that the protesters have brought with them. ‘It’s not just the radicals who take to the streets’, says Fede. ‘It’s also families and retired elderly people. A lot of bad shit is going to happen. I hope more people will realise that and want to join us in changing the system. It’s possible to create a better future, but we have to fight for it. And if we don’t do it, nobody else will.’
‘We have no choice but to do this’, thinks Strava. ‘Simply hoping that your climate research is picked up by the government is not enough. There is something you can do every day: organise things, go to a demonstration, give lectures. That’s better than throwing your hands up in the air and hoping for the best.’
13:54 ‘They look a lot less intimidating this way’, says Fede, referring to the water cannons which protesters have now decorated with stickers as well as scientific articles on climate change. An officer tries to remove the garlands and hearts. One activist is detained while plastering stickers, due to ‘insulting behaviour’, according to police.
Some activists have clambered over the edge of the A12 tunnel ramp and are now dangling from ropes a few metres above the ground, out of reach of the police officers. Fede and other members of End Fossil are standing on top, shouting their support: ‘You are not alone!’ More than an hour later, police officers finally manage to get the climbers off the tunnel wall using a boom lift.
15:31 The demonstration has been allowed to continue for longer than anyone expected. As random passers-by curiously walk through the blockade, the organisers announce new, unscheduled speakers.
Suddenly, cheers can be heard: one of the water cannons has been wheeled back a few metres. However, the vehicle remains in place, with flashing lights on.
Strava and Fede call it a day. They have made their point and are going home. ‘Maybe the police will let the demonstration run its course until it naturally comes to an end’, Strava speculates.
16:45 But it seems that the convivial atmosphere is coming to an end after all. Extinction Rebellion’s police liaison announces that, starting from 17:00, the police will start arresting people who are still on the road. City buses appear in the distance to take away arrestees. The protesters are quick to sit on the ground and hook their arms and legs together.
17:02 The water cannons start firing. A rumbling sound is followed by four jets of water that drench the front groups of protesters. When the first barrage is over, the protesters hand out emergency blankets. Not only are they warm, they are also waterproof. The supporting protesters, who have gathered on the grass along the roadside, cheer the soaked protesters on. ‘You are not alone!’ Scientist Rebellion’s lab coats are soaked through, but the scientists laugh and keep on chanting. A few are still bold enough to open a bag of crisps.
The spray of the water cannon drives part of the blockade into The Hague Forest. The Mare photographer also catches the full brunt.
17:35 ‘Get out of the way!’ A third water cannon vehicle rushes in over the motorway exit and immediately aims its cannons at the seated protesters. Three half-naked women march forward with protest signs. ‘This is what democracy looks like’, they shout, as they stand barefoot on the wet asphalt in their underpants.
Meanwhile, police officers are surrounding small groups of protesters and dragging the activists away one by one. Not to the buses standing at the ready, but towards the Malieveld, where they are released among the supporting protesters.
18:16 As the sun disappears behind a cloud, temperatures drop. The protesters do stretching exercises to stay warm. Soaking wet and shivering activists report to the first-aiders present on the scene. ‘I hope they’re not going to start blasting again’, says one of the emergency workers. ‘The police doesn’t seem too worried about the cold, but I am.’ Meanwhile, police officers are parking a row of vans along the road, to make sure the supporting protesters cannot see the blockading activists. Their chants grow all the louder for it.
The HTM buses move closer. From this point on, all the activists dragged out of the blockade by the officers are taken away by bus. Loud cheers and applause are given to every busload of protesters being taken away.
The HTM buses move closer. From this point on, all the activists dragged out of the blockade by the officers are taken away by bus. Loud cheers and applause are given to every busload of protesters being taken away.
18:45 The remaining members of Scientist Rebellion join the larger throng of protesters, waiting for the inevitable bus ride to the police station. Two paramedics are walking around looking for someone who is reportedly not feeling well. A police officer sends them away. According to him, nothing is wrong; it was just someone who ‘got rejected from drama school’.
21:00 The last of the activists are rounded up by the police. In total, more than 700 people were detained.