“We still started to come out of the darkness” – Release

Third edition of the @womensmarch, this Saturday, 2 years after the inauguration of Donald Trump. The messages, very anti-Trump and against the policies of his administration, concern reproductive rights, shutdown, climate change, immigration … (here in New York) pic.twitter.com/GqhwegnzXP

– Isabelle Hanne (@isabellehanne) January 19, 2019

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Diane, a 61-year-old retiree, came from Connecticut. “All I want is that in 2020, we elect a president, Democrat or Republican, who cares about Americans, and not just his little person”, she advances. Like many demonstrators, she wears a “pussyhat”, these pink caps in the shape of a cat’s head, which have become the symbol of the mobilization of women during the first march, the day after Trump’s inauguration in January 2017. She has also knitted that of Tony, a neighbor who accompanies him, this time in the colors of the Jamaican flag, his country of origin. “Trump made an insult to the word ‘immigrant’, annoys this truck driver. We are all immigrants here! All this demagoguery, all these fake news, these appeals to low instincts… And during this time, nothing is done, and the government is mired in shutdown. ”

Baby sitter

This Saturday marked the twenty-ninth day of the longest shutdown in history, this partial paralysis of the government. More than 800,000 federal employees have been laid off or have to work without being paid, caught in a standoff between Donald Trump and Congress. The second refusing to vote a budget law to finance the wall on the southern border which obsesses the first. In the procession on Saturday, many signs evoke the condition of these employees deprived of salary, or parody Trump as Humpty Dumpty perched on his wall, which he ends up falling if we believe the English rhyme. On Saturday afternoon, the president made proposals – extensions of residence permits and temporary status to around one million migrants who risk being deported from the United States – in return for funding the wall. Even before her speech, the leader of the Democratic majority in the House Nancy Pelosi had already rejected the offer, stale in the press.

Read also Shutdown: “We are just pawns, all because Trump wants to be seen well by his constituents”

As with the other editions, the slogans of the third Women’s March cast a wide net. Against sexual harassment and violence against women, for equal pay for men and women or the right to abortion … But also, calls for the dismissal of Trump, for solidarity with migrants, for stronger regulation firearms, the fight against climate change… And with spirit and creativity, as often in American demonstrations – “Obama, are you coming home soon?” The babysitter is weird ”, “I’ve seen smarter cabinets at Ikea.”

Internal divisions

In New York, the organizers expected 100,000 people. But because of internal divisions within the founders of the Women’s March, there were two separate gatherings this Saturday in New York as in other cities. Accusing certain founders of anti-Semitism – one of the co-presidents notably participated in a meeting of the leader of the “Nation of Islam” movement Louis Farrakhan, with regularly anti-Semitic remarks – a clan has chosen this year to stand apart. US-Palestinian activist Linda Sarsour, another co-chair, refuted accusations, assuring organization existed “To fight intolerance and discrimination in all its forms, including homophobia and anti-Semitism”.

“It’s really absurd, I didn’t know where to go, regrets Jordan, a 24-year-old college student, who eventually made his way to the rally in Foley Square, south Manhattan. It gave the mobilization a lot of confusion. ” Lucy, a 66-year-old protester, makes an annoyed pout: “What a pity ! These young people managed to create a crazy movement from scratch, and there they are shooting each other. While it’s always the same story: a movement that is divided, it is a movement that is weakening. ” This trainer for teachers, “Lifelong feminist activist”, nevertheless welcomes the progress of the cause in recent years. «We still started to come out of the darkness. When I was young, sexual harassment was pretty much the norm. But we advance millimeter by millimeter, and above all, we must not sit still and be satisfied with it. “

[ S’inscrire à notre forum du 8 février à l’assemblée nationale ]

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