“O Povo” Lisbon: A Protest in Pictures

A few images from Saturday’s protest here in Lisbon. I was covering the story.

Red carnations were everywhere, a tribute to the Carnation Revolution of 1974;  they could be seen in the hands of young children and teenagers, in the barrels of toy guns and on the lapels of those who remember the bloodless overturning of a government 39 years ago.

But will one or two or even 10 protests change an entire country again? It’s hard to say. But having been in a sea of people desiring mobilization, it’s not an unlikely possibility. Change has to sprout somewhere.

But it has to be said: if all the young people – the next generation – continues to seek higher ground and better paying jobs abroad (like in Northern Europe and Brazil), who will be left here to mobilize the next wave of change?

No one seemed to have the answer to that question.

-sandy.

O Povo! Lisboa

My first protest was at age 18. It was marvelous. The energy, the people, the intention. It stirred me.

“Claim our bodies/Claim our rights/Take a stand/TAKE BACK THE NIGHT!”

That was the chant. That was the cause.

You don’t have to have been a victim of the problem to be a proponent of the solution. I learned that back then, and I stand by it now.

That is why I’ll be at “The Power to the People” protest today here in Lisbon, even though I come from a first-world country. That doesn’t mean I can be a passive bystander. It’s just not me.

The protest is against Troika, which is affecting the EU and the world at large. It can be read about here, via the Telegraph.

An ocean can’t divide our problems any longer.

-sandy.