XR urges the government to take action on climate change
Image: Extinction Rebellion
On 31 October 2018, a number of British activists assembled on Parliament Square in London voicing their objection toward the UK government. The objection was called Declaration of Rebellion. Few weeks later, thousands of activists joined the peaceful protest in London. They also planted tress in the middle of Parliament Square. Then Extinction Rebellion was born.
Fast-forward to present days, Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a non-profit global initiative that aims to tackle climate change and urges the government to declare climate emergency. The initiative has spread to 73 countries with 1,138 local groups. Citing from the website, XR demands the goverment to “halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.”
Their concern is valid given the fact that the Indonesian government recently passed a bill that could potentially endanger the environment. Nabila Ernada from XR Indonesia (@extinctionrebellion.id) said, “While nations around the world have started to abandon coal since it is the world’s biggest contributor to carbon emission, the Job Creation Law gives fiscal incentives to the coal industry.”
Image: Males Nyampah from Tua Muda Pepatah Kita (The Old and The Young: Our Proverbs) exhibition
The initiative on Wednesday, 25 November launched an online exhibition titled ‘Tua Muda Pepatah Kita’ (The Old and The Young: Our Proverbs). The exhibition showcases various artwork from illustrations, painting to video. According to Nabila, the artwork submission came from people across the nation with different age groups - proving that many people are tuned in with climate change issue.
Looking at XR’s track record, art seems to be the vessel of each protest. For instance, the members recently carried out protest in a piece of red cloth while keeping physical distancing in tact from one another. In August, the members went on shoe strike in Yogyakarta and Jakarta by placing shoes in public space. There were more than 500 pairs of shoes placed in front of Lapangan Benteng in Jakarta and nearly 100 pairs of shoes in Yogyakarta. The shoes represent people unable to attend the protest due to the ongoing pandemic.
During Children’s Day in November, the members went on toy strike by placing dolls and plastic toys. The strike took place in Malang, Makassar and Jakarta. The activity in Jakarta was almost dismissed by the police.
The organisation aims to mobilise 3.5% of the population to join the cause through non-violent direct action. One of the demands includes the creation of Citizen Assembly (Balai Masyarakat) in order to drive public’s interest of the cause. Climate crisis is a complex issue. As XR said, relying on government alone will not be sufficient. At the moment, the organisation needs plenty of collaborations among people from different industries.