Non ā la guerre
When we ducked underground for brunch at midday, the streets were still more or less empty. At a quarter to one o'clock, people had begun to pour out of buildings, and my heart skipped three miles high when it became obvious that almost everyone in sight was headed for Dominion Square. (Indymedia cam.)
Around 150,000 people marched in Montreal today, to add to the tally of protestors in cities around the world:
London: 1.5 million | Rome: 1.5 million | Barcelona: 1 million | Madrid: 1 million | New York City 500,000 | Berlin: 500,000 | Melbourne: 200,000 | Athens, Greece: 200,000 | Montreal, Canada: 150,000 | Dublin, Ireland: 100,000+ | Begium: 100,000 | Paris: 100,000 | Sweden: 100,000 | Jakarta: 100,000 | Amsterdam: 80,000 | Montevideo, Uruguay: 50,000 | Thessaloniki, Greece: 40,000 | Sao Paulo, Brasil: 30,000 | Bern, Switzerland: 30,000 | Japan: 25,000 | Budapest, Hungary: 20,000 | Vienna: 20,000 | Iruņea, Basque Country: 20,000 | Buenos Aires, Argentina: 15,000 | Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: 15,000 | Helsinki, Finland: 15,000 | Johannesburg: 10,000 | Auckland, NZ: 8-10,000 | Sydney, Australia |
I was reminded of of the fact that when you are shorter than average, it's not particularly helpful when attempting to take photographs in crowds (or see, or hear, for that matter). Not that the -20°C weather (-30°C with windchill) was any form of encouragement, but it was a beautiful day bursting with sunshine and people united in a common cause, even if they might have differed in opinions given the slogans on placards in sight. A lady came up to us, took a picture, and began telling us about wearing white scarves for peace.
My feet were frozen blocks of ice before long. Pausing for a hot chocolate at a cafe packed with people stopping for a break, it seemed that many protestors had the same problem. A girl had her feet tucked under her mother's coat, borrowing body warmth. Someone else was doing the same with the help of a friend. I tried to massage life back into my own feet, but to little avail. The hot chocolate warmed my body but the heat didn't reach beyond my knees.
Mike was there, and we were spotted by the silverlady. Karl had more success than I at taking photographs, armed with a peace-loving cow on his head.
Posted by sniffles at February 15, 2003 11:41 PM