Transcript of the speech of Myriam from Fridays for Future at Dec 5th 2020

Cut military spending! Increase funding for social services, healthcare, education, culture, and environmental protection!

Dear friends of peace, to be precise, I am part of the Climate Generation. I was born in 1996. I didn’t experience the Cold War; I haven’t experienced any war at all, nor have I witnessed any violent conflicts — and that’s a good thing. With the current budget proposals, our government is once again setting the wrong priorities.

Does our Defense Minister Karrenbauer really expect that saber-rattling will lead to peace and less violence? It is also incomprehensible to my generation that more and more money is to be made available annually for defense and security policy. Will this be the case every year from now on? Will this continue every year until we reach the arbitrary target of two percent of GDP?

In 2018, the Fridays for Future climate strike began. Week after week, many young people have demonstrated together for ambitious climate protection measures. In 2009–2010, there were millions of young people worldwide. The concerns of young people — our concerns — must be heard.

We find it completely baffling which issues the federal government prioritizes and on which issues the state is spending vast amounts of money. We are not standing here today merely to call for a policy of détente. We are also here because the increased spending on military buildup and rearmament is only the tip of the iceberg and reflects the backward-looking nature of our politics.

Peace and security are not achieved through armed drones and other military acquisitions. Instead, our politicians should tackle the root causes of the problems of our time, as the consequences of climate change become more palpable. Humanitarian crises will intensify, and the question of how we coexist will arise. Do we want to defend our geographical borders to the death, or will we now ensure global climate justice?Investing in the climate leads to peace because the climate crisis and the scarcity of natural resources lead to armed conflicts.

We must address the root causes of conflict and war, for example by preventing natural disasters.Environmental protection means peace. Why? The global environmental movement has shaken many people awake and reminded us that we should — and must — fight for global climate justice. Where is our solidarity with the victims of violence, war, and natural disasters? International solidarity means promoting dignified living conditions worldwide instead of strengthening border controls and passively watching as refugees drown in the Mediterranean. The way European politicians handle migration and refugee issues is a humanitarian scandal.

There is also a great need for action in domestic policy. The problem is always money.For years, young people have been complaining about conditions in rural areas. Whether it’s a matter of digitalization, education — keyword: teacher shortage — or public transportation access — keyword: one bus a day. One thing is decisive for all these problems: there is a lack of money; there is a lack of public funding. One thing is crucial to all these problems: there is a lack of money, a lack of public funding.

I am the youngest member of the Future Commission on Agriculture, and even there it is clear: we could do so much — so much in the areas of the environment and nature conservation — if only the money were there. The federal government is not allocating enough funds to shape our society in a socially and ecologically responsible way, and that is completely unacceptable.

I’m in my mid-20s. I grew up in four different countries, including Russia. I was never afraid of violent conflicts. I never had to experience the fears my parents had — the fear of escalation during the Cold War.My grandparents’ fears — the misery during World War II — are foreign to me. For us young people, the thought of war is unimaginable, even absurd. We have lived in peace for decades, and that is a good thing.

It must stay that way; we are all convinced of that here today. And to conclude, I’ve brought a slogan from our Climate Action Group. We always say:
We’re here, we’re loud, because you’re stealing our future.

And we’re here today because the federal government is threatening to rob us of peace. That’s why I want to say with you:
We’re here, we’re loud, because you’re stealing our peace.

Thank you very much

Read more https://www.a-fsa.de/de/articles/7475-20201206-menschenkette-fuer-den-frieden-um-den-bundestag.html
and the video from Dec 2020 https://www.a-fsa.de/de/articles/4998-mediathek-unsere-beitraege.html
or directly here https://www.a-fsa.de/images/videos/202012AbruestungFfF.mp4 or at Youtube https://youtu.be/Z0XnnbViZto

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