Commitment to human rights
:
Amnesty demonstration in continuous rain
–
Kempens Mayor Christoph Dellmans, here with Gisela Vos-Ammon, gave a speech at the Stadtwaldhaus. He had come by bike.
Photo: Lammertz, Thomas (lamm)
–
–
Krefeld Amnesty International Krefeld had invited to the bicycle demonstration and 100 participants took part in spite of the weather. There were talks, speeches and good music at the Stadtwaldhaus.
A good 100 people took part in the first demonstration by Amnesty International Krefeld on Saturday. Bad weather and sometimes pouring rain undoubtedly prevented better participation in the rally, which was held as a bicycle demo due to the corona pandemic and led on a five-kilometer course from Von der Leyen-Platz to the Stadtwaldhaus. Kempens Mayor Christoph Dellmans was there with his bike. Together with the local Amnesty groups from Kempen and Mönchengladbach, he even traveled by bike from his hometown to Krefeld.
–
“It really rained heavily, especially at the beginning of the demo track. Of course, that took away some of the fun. Nevertheless, I am very satisfied with the participation due to the general conditions. It is a pity that at the Stadtwaldhaus in the beer garden there were of course few people in the outdoor catering with whom our program would have had even more publicity, ”says Peter-Michael Friedrichs, who played a key role in organizing the event.
–
“The people present totally took part, sang along to the music, applauded and also signed cards and letters. I am totally happy with how it went, ”says Friedrichs. The activists distributed the said cards and letters. You are supposed to contribute to the release of three activists in Iran. In his opinion, the mixture of music and conversation as well as speeches was particularly convincing. “I have received feedback from many people that they found this mixture great,” says the long-time Amnesty member.
–
The musical accompaniment was provided by the band “Planet 5” and the singer Silja Steffestun-Gottschalk, who performed her song “Liberty” and then conducted an interview with Friedrichs. This was recorded on video. “It is to be broadcast to Iran, and hopefully the women will see it to show them that we are continuing to fight for them,” says Friedrichs.
–
In addition to the singer, who has become an ardent human rights activist herself in recent months, Krefeld’s Lord Mayor Frank Meyer and Mayor Christoph Dellmans also spoke. The rally, at which councilwoman and Fridays for Future activist Björna Althoff spoke, was very well attended.
–
“In addition to the participants, special thanks go to Helmut Lang, the operator of the Stadtwaldhaus. He also gave us excellent support during the construction and was a very important partner, ”praised Friedrichs. “I haven’t seen as many cards and letters as I have today in a long time. Björna loosened up the event with her speech, it just went great, except for the weather, ”says the activist, who in return expressly calls for the Fridays for Future rally on September 24th.
–
– .
