Tuesday, March 7
Hitchhikers speak (1)
A:
"Are you hitchhiking to Belarus, you end up in an ural truck at Dam Square - sitting in the front seat, you open some sort of astronaut-flap where you can stand up and wave to the bewildered people on Dam Square... NOT BAD!!!
Even though it was a bit of trouble at first, with four persons in the front of the truck, while you (and your luggage, and your hitchhiking partner, and two wonderful drivers - who came all the way from Goes for this action) try to sit in a way that the driver can still switch gears between your legs without yelling a sincere 'sorry!, sorry!' and get through the chaotic traffic of Dam Square wonderfully - slowly and rattling towards the highway.
That was memorable, as was the support from the people at Dam Square, whether they were politicians or not. Almost more beautiful was a college buddy who came over especially to wish me good luck... I didn't vote for the local government -- other things to do."
W:
"It was very surprising to see that, after several months of organizing and calling people, we were completely swamped with calls ourselves. Trouw, Parool, BNN, Llink, Wereldomroep, Amsterdam City FM, ANP... they were all there on Dam Square. Last minute, Marijke Vos, of the political party GroenLinks (GreenLeft) came to speak some encouraging words en of course the speech and start shot of Ahmet Aboutaleb were indispensable. But some indispensable things were changed at the last moment to something else: I would have loved to hitchhike with these stunning motorcycles, but the alternative - a parade with a horse and carriage of Koetstaxi, with a reporter of BNN in the back wasn't bad either.
Furthermore, we could finally lie back after months of preparation.
Personally, I could really appreciate the man who gave us our last ride and wouldn't stop telling far-fetched stories and then eventually dropped us right in front of the door. He took a major detour for us! Detail: it was not in front of the right door, so I still had to a lot of rummaging around to do. Especially with my sense of direction."
D:
"Today, the first day of this hitchhiking action started and I had the honor to be the host of the finish of the first day. All the students who cared about the situation in Belarus arrived at my home at the end of the day. Some of them arrived early, others arrived just before midnight.
What a night it was... I am sure that you will not imagine this when you picture a group of human right activist. Let me give you some insight information on what these human right activist represent. How to put this in to words? Well, let me say: a bottle of martini, a bottle of port, a bottle of tequilla and a bottle of vodka do not satisfy their needs... Conversation topics covered all areas of politics, but also experimental sex... Food ranges between chinese take-away and home-made tiramisu... Languages vary from spanish, to english, to dutch... And so on....
All together: i cannot say otherwise then 'this action rocks'!. The people who participate in this action care about their world, and even more important: the world of other people. They put the best interest of others first. They give up their right to education so other people can enjoy their right to freedom of opinion. Respect!
I have met many human right defenders throughout my time in Amnesty and I must say these people fulfill all the requirements: they care, they live, and they enjoy.... Once again: respect!
To all the hitchhikers in this competition: keep up the good work. You'll have my respect, and you'll have all the best wishes I can give to you. May you get through the competition and may all the Belarushians enjoy their right to freedom and therefore enjoy the human rights they reserve...
I am very grateful to be a part of this action as it resembles all I stand for...."
M:
"There's this vodka that burns down your throat; this one does not."
...
"We finished a bottle of Martini and a bottle of Tequilla, only a bottle of
vodka to go and we're through."
...
"Now we are well prepared for Belarus"
1 Comments:
Hoi Amnesty-lifters,
leuk dat ik met jullie mee kon liften tot Maastricht en (vooral Daniël) onwijs bedankt voor de gastvrijheid.
Hoop dat ik in de toestand waarin ik was jullie niet tot al teveel last ben geweest. Gaat in ieder geval op het moment een stuk beter. :P
Onwijs veel succes met jullie avontuur en ik hou jullie (blog) in de gaten!
Groetjes,
Mathijs
4:16 PM
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