Chanting "Amandla," the rallying cry of the South African anti-apartheid movement, thousands of people marched through the streets of Durban Saturday calling for "climate justice." Their appeal was aimed at diplomats huddled in negotiations under the 194-nation UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is tasked with beating back the ever-mounting threat of global warming.
The crowd, estimated by police at 6,500, snaked through the coastal city's downtown area shouting and singing against a backdrop of drums and vuvuzelas, the high-decibel plastic trumpets that gained world-wide notoriety when South Africa hosted the football World Cup.
Many in the crowd lashed out at the UN talks, which end next Friday, saying that they were moving too slowly in the face of potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change, and that many of the solutions proposed lean too heavily on the market. "Climate Justice, not Climate Apartheid," read one hand-written banner, flanked by others saying "Stop Killing Earth" or simply, "Justice!".
"We want them to stop the boring texts they are drafting and become as lively this march," said Leo Saldanha, a climate activist from India. "I don't think that can save the world, it's really movements and people that will force governments to change, not bureaucrats." The peaceful demonstration, flanked by four armoured vehicles and riot police, was organised by a broad, international coalition of environmental groups, farmers unions, and grassroots associations, organisers said.