Yes we camp guide: summer of revolutions 2011 (10 images)
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Annie RutherfordCamping in summer is one of the most popular holiday activities, especially among young people. At the seaside, in forests, in the city... That’s right: why not combine the useful with the essential, under the motto ‘Yes, we camp!’ Camping is the ultimate epitome of freedom. The summer of 2011 has been extremely eventful in cities in Europe and across the world. Protests, strikes, riots and civil unrest are a daily occurrence, expressed in the so-called ‘revolution camps.’ Find out who is involved, why, since when and where: revolutionary camps 2011 from A for Athens to T for Tel-Aviv
Where? Syntagma Square. When? 22 May to 29 July 2011. Why? Emulating Spain, young Greeks are rebelling against the government’s austerity measures and the conditions set by the international monetary fund, the European union and the European central bank. Demanding jobs and higher starting salaries, they call themselves ‘real democracy’ in opposition to that of the government (Images: (cc) gr33ndata/Flickr)
Where? Placa de Catalunya. When? 15 May until the end of July. Why? About 20,000 protesters in Barcelona, the so-called ‘indignados’ (meaning ‘outraged’ in Spanish) are protesting against Spain’s high unemployment rate, corruption and the great power that large banks and political parties parties wield, as well as against the EU’s economic and monetary policy. Despite the temporary calm, ‘democracia real’ (Spanish for ‘real democracy’) has announced worldwide protests from 15 October. The movement is expected to have arrived in Brussels by then (Image: (cc) Mira Shemeikka/ Flickr)
Where? Aviation Museum Finowfurt, near Berlin. When? 10 to 14 August. Who? Hackers, nerds and anyone else interested in science, culture and hacking. Why? Well, because the occasional huge LAN party in tents offers some variety and also sends out a signal against internet censorship and in favour of space exploration. This year's theme is ‘Hackers in Space’. In short, this is a chaos computer camp (CCC), where even a portaloo is transformed into a colossal dataloo or electrical box (Image: (cc) Christopher Schirmer/ Flickr)
Where? Tahrir Square. When? The protests have slowed down since the great revolution earlier this year. Now even the Egyptians, who had hoped for more from the transitional government, see the tents in a public place as a good way of expressing dissatisfaction. Why? Despite Mubarak's resignation on 11 February 2011, citizens continue to campaign for democracy in their country more than half a year on. They want to remind the transitional government that they ought to rule in the name of the people until the parliamentary elections in November 2011 (Image: (cc) Jonathan Rashed/ Flickr)
Where? Plaza del Sol. When? From 15 May till...who knows? Who? About 40, 000 protesters, the so-called ‘indignados’ ‘or outraged’ (Image: (cc) iPhonekeriak/ Flickr)
Where? Place de la Bastille. When? Since mid-May. The peak was on 14 July, a French national holiday. Who? Spanish and French people. Why? To support its neighbours and the movement of 15 May in Spain (Image: (cc) res_publica2011/ Flickr)
Where? ‘Change Square’ in front of the university in Sana’a and on al-Dairy Street. When? This has been going on for a few months now. The peak was the massacre on 18 March 2011, when than 50 people died. Why? The President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, refused to sign his resignation statement for 2013. After long yet peaceful demonstrations by opponents of the president, the government called on the ‘campers’ to be suppressed (Image: (cc) AJTalkEng/ Flickr)
Where? Schlossgarten. When? June 2010 to June 2011. Temporary interruptions - permanent conviction. Why? The main reason for the tent being erected is in protest against Stuttgart 21, the controversial railway development project in Stuttgart. However, on 18 May the ‘humane movement against social cuts’ also announced its support for the Spanish movement and it is now calling for a ‘clean-up action’. The campsite was evicted at the end of June by the police, but sleeping in parks under covers has not yet been not banned (Image: (cc) visual.rebellion/ Flickr)
Where? Rothschild Boulevard. When? A camping community emerged at the end of June. Who? All classes of the population, mainly the middle class. On 23 June there were 50, 000 protestors –the demonstration is now six times that size. Why? For social equality, against the ever-increasing gap between rich and poor and against soaring rent and living costs. Artists and celebrities support the campers and stop by now and then for an open-air concert or a lecture. Politicians, however, are unwelcome (Image: (cc) Ronan Frieman/ Flickr)
'Yes we camp', 'Real Democracy', 'Get up stand up', 'be offended' - the list goes on and on. For how much longer can these actions be ignored? Young Europeans, more united than ever before? (Image: (cc) TrevinC/ Flickr)
Translated from Yes we camp: Der Revolutionssommer 2011