Some of the people who get off the metro at Bijlmer station no longer wear a face mask. They are on their way to the Arenapark, where at least a thousand demonstrators have already gathered around 11.30 am. Corona measures are (of course) not taken into account, only the police officers wear a mouth mask. A stark contrast to the vaccination street in the Afas Live, right next to the location of the demonstration.
The atmosphere is pleasant, many groups of people stand together. The march departs a little later, to music with the lyrics You need to fight for your right to party of the Beastie Boys. The demonstrators walk from the Arenapark via the Flierbosdreef and the Anton de Komplein to the Amsterdamse Poort to return to the Arenapark. There it will be concluded with a ‘worldwide meditation’.
Wappie Parade
A woman in a pink onesie with matching hair says she’s coming for the ‘wappieparade’. “I want people to regain their freedom. I want to leave it at that. ” She disappears into the crowd, where different flags – Amsterdam, Frisian, with a pure red heart, or reversed red-white-blue – fly.
19-year-old Floor, who suffers from the hereditary condition EEC syndrome, also has pink hair and says she is no longer treated in the hospital because she does not want a shot or test. “I am a vulnerable person. I can decide for myself what I do, but I am being abused by the government. ” Next to her is a 19-year-old boy who came to the demonstration on Saturday mainly because of the ‘indirect vaccination obligation that threatens for young people’.
World problem
64-year-old Ida got up early on Saturday morning to come to the Bijlmer from Dieren in Gelderland. She plays protest songs by Hendrik Jan Bökkers from Achterhoek. “I see the corona measures as a major global problem. We are almost through our conspiracy theories because they all come true. ” Ida had never demonstrated before, until the corona period. She is now over a hundred.
It is the first demonstration for the Rotterdam lady of 35 years old. “I couldn’t run earlier because of a weak ankle. But now that I’m here, it feels brotherly. ” Her husband of 33 has a catering business that is closed: “The measures don’t make sense. The catering industry has shown that it can safely remain open. We are always seen as the black sheep. ”
45-year-old Eva van Zeeland wears a cape of a double Dutch flag. She is present in protest against ‘the dehumanization of society’. “We must remember that we are powerful creatures and that we should never give up our health.” For her, the limit lay with the measures for children. “Having to put on those masks is going too far for me.” (The mask is mandatory for children from the age of 13, ed.) Van Zeeland has set up a dating site where non-vaccinated people can meet.
Worldwide demonstrations
On Saturday, demonstrations against the corona measures have been announced in about 40 countries. The demonstrations – under the name Worldwide Demonstration – were initiated by a German action group that formed in the spring of 2020.
According to the group, the corona measures are disproportionate and limit fundamental rights. Participants explicitly oppose mandatory face masks, vaccinations and negative test results in order to travel.
Telegram groups show that a demonstration in Brisbane, Australia, is attracting a lot of support. In Germany, promotions have been announced in numerous cities, including Saturday in Berlin and Dusseldorf and Sunday in Frankfurt.
The Dutch demonstration is organized by the Netherlands in Resistance. The action group calls for a ‘beautiful Peace March’. “This day we will be the light that conquers darkness,” the organization writes on Facebook. On May 2, the Netherlands also demonstrated in Resistance with a freedom march through the center from Amsterdam.
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