Following the inauguration of the 45th US President on Friday protesters took to the city’s North Bridge to publicise their message against Donald Trump’s appointment.
The group Bridges Not Walls is a coalition formed from other groups in an unprecedented partnership of grassroots campaigners and activists.
On Friday they dropped banners from bridges here in the capital, but also at over 150 UK locations and in all capitals including Dublin.
Edinburgh Bridges Not Walls spokesperson Alys Mumford said,
“On Trump’s inauguration day we’re taking action to show our support for groups under attack – here in Scotland and the UK, across Europe and in the USA – and to reject the rise of a dangerous and divisive far right politics. The new normal that the far right is seeking will roll back decades of progress on civil rights, gender equality and the environment. It is up to all of us to take responsibility for actively rejecting this. Bridges Not Walls is about making a public commitment to fighting a politics of hate and bigotry at all levels, including the everyday.”
Edinburgh Bridges not Walls spokesperson Talat Yaqoob said,
“The rise of the far right on both sides of the Atlantic threatens democracy and the fabric of society, and affects everyone – but not equally. It’s vital that we all stand together, and right now that means actively defending the rights of our most vulnerable people and communities – muslims, immigrants, people of colour, disabled people, women and LGBTQ+.”
Banners were unveiled in Ethiopia, Cambodia, Norway, Australia and the USA and Glasgow, Aberdeen and Banchory.
Photography for Bridges Not Walls / Friends of the Earth Scotland from: Colin Hattersley Photography – colinhattersley@btinternet.com – www.colinhattersley.com – 07974 957 388
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
