“Smearing the Senate is not a crime. Agreements that damage health are”
“They treat us like criminals, but they are the criminals: the politicians. They are sending us to die with these agreements with the extractive industries, which will require at least another twenty years of climate-changing emissions”. Who are the boys of Last generation, the ecological organization that is making headlines for a series of controversial initiatives, up to the defiling of the entrance to the Senate yesterday (January 2)? Well, in the meantime it must be said that they are not all ladsas the activist explains Julius Julius: “I’m almost 60 years old, I’m retired and this is now my full-time job. Of course, our group is mainly made up of young people, but there are also 65-year-olds. Everyone has their role.”
How does your organization work?
“We don’t move in an impromptu or self-organized way. There are specific tasks, ranging from the preparation of demonstration actions, to the relationship with the media”
And what exactly does she do?
“Of fundraising and legal support”
How do you finance yourself?
“Through crowdfunding, especially via social networks. Then, like Extinction Rebellion to all the other environmental groups, we are financially supported by the international fund CEF – Climate Emergency Fund “
And who is behind this fund?
“It cannot be said specifically. Donors are anonymous. Anyone can contribute. What can be said is that there are very well known public images, such as the philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky and the director Adam Mc Kay. They are wealthy people, but who have understood that if we carry on at this rate, everything is off for everyone. This is why they commit part of their wealth to the battle to save the planet, a more useful purpose than taking a few trips on a private jet or buying a luxury car “
What you want is very clear: to stimulate politics to take concrete actions to avert environmental disaster. However, not everyone likes the way you express your requests, for example the defiling of the entrance to the Senate: aren’t you afraid that these actions can be counterproductive?
“No and it is not a personal opinion, but the result of various sociological analyses. Polarization means that it is precisely those actions that divide public opinion that are noticed, even by provoking contrary reactions. And in any case, even with the incursion into the Senate we have obtained various approvals. For example, we were very pleased with the editorial by Stefano Feltri, director of Il Domani, who acknowledges our reasons. We are also talking about an action done with washable paint, in fact the entrance to the Senate has already been cleaned. These are not the crimes: the crimes are quite different”
Or which ones?
“The crimes are those perpetrated by a political class that renews agreements with extractive industries, which will require at least another twenty years of climate-changing emissions. These are the times necessary for them to recover from the investments, but in the meantime they damage public health. They send us to die. These are the real crimes, certainly not our actions. Indeed, thanks to them the media are realizing: we have gained attention by creating disturbance to public opinion”
Yet it is you who are treated as criminals: do you update us on the situation of Simone, your activist?
“Simone is twenty years old and special surveillance has been requested for him, even though he is a boy with a clean record. He has participated in many actions, of course, but he has never been convicted. We are trying to stimulate as much attention and mobilization as possible. On 10 January we will be present at the Court of Milan, where the hearing on the request for special surveillance will take place. This tool, like the expulsion orders that are easily issued, already existed before, but now they are included in the category of measures used against mafia, terrorists and socially dangerous individuals. The same happened with the three people arrested yesterday for the action in the Senate: they spent the night in a surveillance cell and, after the hearing for the validation of the arrest, it will soon be decided whether to proceed by express or ordinary procedure . And then there are the two girls who accompanied them: they were released at ten in the evening, after being held for 14 hours and without their phones, seized. But is it possible that the police behave like this, with two girls in their early twenties?!”
How do you explain it?
“They are afraid. All the media are now talking about climate change and yesterday our action in the Senate was the third piece of news on TG5. Politics is afraid and therefore repression takes place”.
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