On thursday 23rd of May German chancellor Angela Merkel received a honorary doctorate at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university’s board justification for this gesture was the Merkel’s continuous commitment to Europe, science and the belief that ‘every human being counts’.
To show that not everyone agrees with these elitist ass kissing, improvised protests took place on a central square where Merkel and delegates arrived for the ceremony. The action was organised by a colourful coalition of people with many differnt backgrounds: socialists party, international socialists, anarchist group, German students, migrant organisations, and many ‘non-organised’ individuals. The local social forum helped to facilitate the communication.
The actual protest only lasted for several minutes: shouting, whistling, showing banners against austerity and against capitalism. One German student, who called himself a educational refugee because the school system in Germany is totally segregated, described the encounter with Merkel as following: “She looked very shocked behind the tinted glass of her fancy automobile. She was shocked to see us protesting what she stands for.” Merkel, announced most powerful woman of the world by Forbes earlier this week, represents the parasites sucking all the blood out of society. We know who these parasites are: the industrialists and financial engineers who keep this motor running. And we know how far they go to make us believe that it’s the right thing to do and there is no alternative: they divide our countries, our continents and our world into pieces: north and south, black and white, smart and stupid, rich and poor. They divide us to make us feel desperate for someone with an honorary doctorate to tell us what to do.
The fear in Merkel’s eyes means that she knows that without a host the parasite is doomed. In a debriefing discussion after the protest we shared our feelings and beliefs. We talked about how to look at Europe and its crisis, how to deal with the idiocy of security measures, how to communicate our dreams. And most importantly we started to build confidence that we can disagree on many things and at the same time understand the potential of our powers if only we are ready to stand up together.
In Nijmegen we were just about 50 people making noise for 5 minutes. But the message was received. We know the agendas of Merkel and her clan of parasites. Let’s hunt them down in every corner of Europe where they perform their theatrical acts. And let’s not forget to use these opportunities to sit together to talk and listen.
Another Nijmegen in another Europe in another world is possible. Because another way of doing things is possible.