By Muskan Gaba, 6th Grade, Vivekanand School
On 16th November, 2013 at Jantar Mantar, I attended the campaign on #Freethearctic30. I was very curious to know about it as there was a fake jail and there were some people enacting as prisoners in jail. It was by an NGO called Greenpeace. This was organised for 30 brave yet innocent people working peacefully and non-violently to protect the Arctic. The permission was given by the Russian Government to the famous oil refinery Gazprom which supplies oil to Europe. So, the Russian Government imprisoned the 30 people from different countries who were raising their voice against it.
In this campaign, my friends and I had a wonderful experience and it also encouraged me to protest against the Russian Government and not only am I inspired but I also learnt a lot, while taking part in the activity with my friends. The activity started with an inspiring speech by Swami Agnivesh and their volunteers and the six students of our school got a chance to speak on the mike and I was one of them. It started at 12 pm and ended at 3 pm. The volunteer guided us and told us that the protest is for 30 hours. The first activity was hand-printing so I painted my hands with blue and red. We also wrote our thoughts and stuck them on a wall. We also knew that at night there will be a band coming and performing for the college students but I missed that.
I also wanted to be a volunteer but it was not allowed for children. It is the best campaign I have ever attended and I am very eager for the next campaign that will be held in Delhi. My friends and teachers had given the missed call to support the NGO and the 30 brave people. I have also decided to work for this NGO in the future. I have also given the message to my classmates to support Greenpeace who were imprisoned for saving the world's environment.
This is my humble request to all of you to join Greenpeace.
By Tarushi Anand, 6th Grade, Vivekanand School
On 16th November, 2013, I went near Jantar Mantar with my school teachers and friends. There was a campaign organised by an NGO called Greenpeace. The scientists have found that beneath the Arctic belt there is a huge potential of natural resources like crude oil and manganese. Enlightening us the campaign was about illegal oil drilling in the Arctic belt near Russia. It is being carried out by a company called Gazprom authorized by Russia.
If Russia is successful in this drilling the oil will spill all over and will spoil all the water bodies in the world.
Keeping this in mind, some 30 brave Greenpeace members from all over the world were against this and tried to stop all this. But the Russian Government arrested all of them and had been falsely charged with piracy which carries a jail term of almost 15 years and now after pressure from environmental organisations across the globe the charges have been changed to hooliganism for which there is a jail term of 7 years.
During the activity, the volunteers made a prison showing the 30 activists. A polar bear was also in the prison saying, 'Please save my home'. The message conveyed by them was so beautifully done that it touched my heart. Then we saw photos of the 30 activists. In the photo I saw that in the prison also they were not afraid of anyone. All in all, we not only enjoyed a lot but also gained a lot of information.