Greenpeace arrived early today in Wijk aan Zee. There they started building an action camp in a sculpture park A Sea of Steel, near Tata Steel. The activists will pitch their tents here and prepare for tomorrow’s action. Exactly what will happen next has not yet been announced.
It is clear, however, that Greenpeace is demanding that the polluting parts of Tata Steel’s blast furnaces be stopped.
At six o’clock this morning, the environmental organization therefore started building the action camp. A motley crew of about eighty people bustle back and forth, lugging crates and sacks. From young to old, they work tirelessly to create an action camp in a short time. The mood seems good. Jack: “We have been preparing this action for months with a great team. I trust it.”
The camp is set up in a sculpture park A Sea of Steel, which is located exactly between Wijk aan Zee and Tata Steel and overlooks the blast furnaces. The sculpture park is now starting to look like a small festival.
The poles of the chill tent have been smashed into the ground, and the kitchen is also ready for use. At the entrance, a group is building the information tent, where participants will hear from a legal team this afternoon what is and is not allowed.
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At the chill tent three ladies are busy untangling the lamp cords. They have “incredible concerns” about the future of the Earth, says Hedwig. 60 years old, and member of Extinction Rebellion. At the age of seventeen she was already protesting for the ‘boss in his own belly movement’. “I’m not sure if it helps that I’m here, but doing nothing is not an option either.”
It is still unclear how many demonstrators will come to Wijk aan Zee this afternoon. “The activists did not register in advance,” says spokesperson Wouter Lemm. “There are 1400 people in the Telegram group, but you don’t know if they will all come.”
Hundreds of people
In the kitchen we take into account five hundred people each, says the chef of the kitchen. At 6 o’clock in the morning there are already four people cutting vegetables. Soup is on the vegan menu this afternoon, and tajin tonight.
Yesterday, mayor Frank Dales van Velsen warned Greenpeace activists not to enter the Tata Steel site this weekend. According to him, the site is life-threatening, he writes in an open letter. Greenpeace hit back hard: “It is actually dangerous to live near Tata Steel.”