April 10, 2000
GOTB 2000 consisted of demonstrations at:
| Get on the Bus V: Tibet Recap | ||
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I believe that I may speak for everyone when I
say that Get On the Bus V was a huge, huge, huge success. We were strong, we were loud, we
were heard. And for a whole lot of work, it actually at times was a whole lot of fun. The day began early in the morning (some might say insanely early) in the morning. Seven buses set out from Riverside, Brockton, Somerset, Norwell and Concord on the way to pick up more activists in Auburn, Manchester, CT and Providence, RI and then, on to New York! We were three hundred strong, a little sleepy, but very excited. We convened across the street from the Colombian Mission and prepared to spend the day screaming ourselves hoarse. Thirty-two of us donned black masks and signs to represent each of the Colombians killed at the Barancabermeja massacre. Group 133 Member Sofia Jarren pumped up the crowd and we began shouting. “We want justice! We want answers! Derechos Humanos Ahora! No more death squads!” For an hour, we raised our voices four hundred strong in unison to protest military impunity in Colombia. Sofia reported that when she met with the Colombian diplomats, they appeared to have listened. Well, even if they closed the windows in the mission, they could not have ignored us. Colombia, Colombia, the world is watching you. When we were finished at the Colombian Mission, we walked over to the German Haus to thank the German Government for their work in supporting international law and their work against the Death Penalty. We were joined by Bill Schultz, Executive Director of Amnesty International, and Bianca Jagger. After a brief ceremony across the street (the only place where there was room for so many activists), a small group went into the Haus for a formal presentation. We presented flowers and a giant thank you card to Dieter Kastrup, the German Ambassador to the United Nations. Speeches all around. Hope Roth presented the eighty-six flowers, explaining that each one represents a foreign national on Death Row, here in the United States. Rick Roth thanked the Germans for trying to make the US hold to the Vienna Conventions it has signed. Bianca Jagger articulated a few words praising the German’s upholding international standards. On behalf of all of us, Val Costa presented the giant card and Bill Schultz read the proclamation and added a few words. Dieter Kastrup made a speech thanking us, saying how honored he was to be thanked by us when most Missions are protested rather thanked. Kastrup reaffirmed Germany’s promise to fight against the Death Penalty. After a brief flurry of media attention (much of it from the German Press), we got back onto the buses and battled mid-town traffic over to the New School for some lunch time speeches. Mike Bilotta of Brockton High (who was the master recruiter for GOTB) was our blue-haired Master of Ceremonies, Lhadon Tethong of Students for a Free Tibet talked about the deplorable Human Rights situation in Tibet and Bill Schultz inspired us with a rousing speech about why we do what we do, that all our efforts are to create a culture of respect for human rights everywhere. We are an international human rights movement, if you cut any one of us, we all bleed red. Of course, the most important part of our lunchtime event was presenting Val Costa, our beloved organizer of GOTB V, the skipper of all skippers, and a really great gal, with flowers and singing her Happy Birthday. We love you Val. Our final New York destination of the day was the Chinese Mission to the UN to protest the imprisonment of the Drapchi 12 as well as all Human Rights abuses in Tibet. This was definitely the most spirited event of the day, with everyone at least a little more hoarse at the end. Knowing that we would have a four-hour bus ride to recuperate, we let it all out. Excited Amnesty activists walked around with megaphones, exciting the crowd. While we might not have always been shouting the exactly the same words, we were all together in spirit, and we created a deafening roar that had to be heard by the Chinese across the street. And, when some of the smaller activists were lifted onto the shoulders of larger activists and blew their voices out leading the chants, we were all in unison. It was a beautiful thing. Chris and Carl Williams jumped up and down with a young Tibetan on their shoulders and the crowd responded. We pogoed, we screamed, we shook our fists in the air. For over an hour, we gave it our all. Everyone participated. Many people helped to lead the chants. Across the street, Allison Roth, Val Costa and Stefanie Valovic held up call and response signs. “What do we want? Human Rights! When? Now! Where? Tibet! Tibet! Tibet!” Well, they held up the signs until the police threatened them with arrest. And still we kept screaming. Just when it seemed like our voices would give out, and the crowd was waning, Carl Williams stirred up the crowd. He asked for five more minutes of our lung power and, with promises of ice cream on the bus (we love you, Toscanini’s), he inspired us to redouble our efforts and we coaxed more power out of our vocal chords then we ever knew that we had. We ended with one last cheer, in Tibetan, and headed off to the buses. As we set off for home, we were pretty tired, a little smelly, somewhat hungry, but also, extremely happy and excited. We had been joined by two hundred of our fellow activists in New York. We had two intense and vocal protests. We gave flyers to hundreds of passersby and were heard by countless many others. This was grass-roots activism. This was direct action. This was speaking truth to power. This was a great event. -- Hope Roth
Chinese Mission Protest at GOTB V At about 3:30 PM, Monday April 10, 2000, nearly 400 people poured off of 7 buses to collect outside the Chinese Mission to the United Nations in NYC. The fight was about to begin. This was the final event in a day of action organized by Amnesty International USA Local Group 133 from Somerville, Massachusetts. For the past 5 years the group has organized buses from Massachusetts to NYC to carry out various human rights related actions and education events. This year was one of the most successful and certainly the loudest yet. We screamed and chanted for more nearly two hours. We had hardcore kids from Easton High School (who were subsequently dubbed the "House of Pain Crew"), junior high schoolers, a few senior citizens, some Christian nuns, a Buddhist monk, Tibetans from NYC and Boston, Amnesty members and our friends from Students for a Free Tibet. The fight was on! Towards the end of the protest a student from Somerville High School Tenzin Nyesang, a Tibetan monk Lobsang Dorgay and Dan King a member of Amnesty 133 presented 7 posters that most of the protesters has signed to the Mission with the words "FREE THE DRAPCHI 12" with the below 12 names included. By the end of the protest the chantmasters had the crowd jumping up and down, pumping their fists in the air and screaming their lungs out. People joined in on this protest from their homes and offices as well, over 300 people sent faxes and emails to the Chinese Mission to the United Nations from countries such as India, Estonia, Mexico, Australia and Mexico. Also Rep. Capuano a member of the United States House of Representatives sent a letter to the Ambassador of the Mission expressing his desire to see the Drapchi 12 released and sent out a press release echoing that to the press as well. The central message of the protest was for the Chinese Government to "Free the Drapchi 12". The Drapchi 12 are Tibetan Buddhist nuns who were all arrested for taking part in peaceful demonstrations against China occupation of Tibet. Their names are: Gyaltsen Choezom, Gyaltsen Drolkar, Jigme Yangchen, Lhundrup Zangmo, Ngawang Choezom, Ngawang Sangdrol, Ngawang Lochoe, Ngawang Tsamdrol, Namdrol Lhamo, Phuntsog Nyidron, Rigzin Choekyi, and Tenzin Thubten. The funny thing is these heroic nuns were originally jailed for doing the very same thing that the Get on the Bus 2000 participants were doing, demonstrating for freedom and human rights. We were only continuing the fight the Drapchi 12 started 11 years ago! After 5 years of "Get on the Bus" action each more successful than the last we have no intention of letting up. The date has not been set yet but if your are interested in coming along or meeting us there keep in touch and meet us in NYC in 2001 for "Get on the Bus 2001 - A Human Rights Odyssey". Check the GOTB site for history and next year's "Get on the Bus" trip. Don't Give Up the Fight, never give up the fight! -- Christian Williams |
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