Ecotage ceremony for the rights of nature
\nWhat does it mean to have rights in a world that often seems lawless? Why are we humans (and then only certain privileged people) often the only ones with rights? What rights do the natural areas surrounding the mines in Colombia, from which our coal comes, have? What rights does the air above those mines have, the fossil fuels lying dormant beneath the earth, the rivers in which the Way\u00fau children play?<\/p>\n
In this ecotage ceremony, we recognise the rights of nature: the right of the wind to blow, the right of seeds to grow, the right of the earth to nourish and care for us, without being crushed by the extractive violence of a small group of Homo sapiens.
\nWe draw inspiration from stories from all corners of the world where indigenous peoples have fought for that recognition: nature as a legal person, nature as an ancestor. Think of the Whanganui River in New Zealand, the Amazon rainforest in Colombia, the Ganges and the Yamuna, the Atrato River in Ecuador, and many more.<\/p>\n
For every right, we place a stone, and with those stones we form a spiral representing our shared, or collective, rights. The right to regeneration. The right to natural processes. The right to protection from exploitation. The right to representation. The right to recognition as an ancestor.<\/p>\n
Each stone represents a collective right, not merely an individual element. The spiral becomes a living movement of reciprocity: people, rivers, air, soil, seeds \u2013 all together in a circle that continues. We are a species amongst species, not a master above the whole.<\/p>\n
Practical:
\nAt 10 a.m., a bus will leave from Sloterdijk Station to the location. It will travel via Schiedam Station (11 a.m.).<\/p>\n