Today, around 2000 people demonstrated at the Malieveld, The Hague.
Organised via a Facebook group, Holland Against Hate was originally planned in response to Trump’s so called “Muslim Ban”, however demonstrators also shared signs reflecting a broader message.
Were you there? Please share your photos and comments on TheHagueOnLine Facebook group.
A few members of our community shared their photos and thoughts with us:
Anna Pelgrim:
I went with a group of students; we gathered at school and walked towards Malieveld with loads of other people coming from central station to join the protest. It was mainly interesting because of the size of the protest and the creative banners. You could see people made quite some effort to make creative, funny, sarcastic, and strong sayings against Trump. I think around 2, 000 people came (no idea if that is correct but it’s it’s a guess). People were giving out flowers and waving flags around (mainly Palestinian flags, which was interesting). Organisations such as Amnesty International were there supporting the protest too. A fitting play list was being played on loudspeakers with songs like “American Idiot” and “F*ck You” by Lily Allen, everyone enjoyed that. Speeches started at 16:30 and involved quite some chanting and appreciation. A man with first hand experience of the Muslim Ban spoke about his inability to travel to see his family. A Dutch government member (dont remember her name) also spoke about her support to fight against Trump, while lots of people were booing her.
It was a beautiful experience to see many young and older people come together in the cold and rain. A young boy of about 7 years made his own sign on a cardboard box that said “Boo” or “boete” (couldn’t read it properly due to handwriting but it was adorable non the less!). I think one thing that could have been different was the fact that it was mainly in Dutch, which could have been disappointing for a lot of people. I think it would have been interesting to have an American speaking against Trump, for example.
All in all, I think it was a great effort in bringing people together for a larger cause. I hope this allows for more chance in other areas of the Dutch community, too. I’d like to see the women’s march have even more attendees and attention!
Kristin Anderson
I was there because I believe it is important to gather together in public with friends and strangers and express our freedom of speech, share our frustrations about policies we don’t support and come up with solutions to address racism and promote respect across cultures. I don’t support Trumps Muslim ban as it is just ethically wrong on so many levels. It reminds me of how the U.S. treated the Japanese during WW2, promotes additional fear and hatred against a specific group of nationalities based on their ethnic background and religious beliefs, promotes guilt by association. Oh gosh, I could go on and on.
Henry Arvidsson Photography
Visit Henry’s site for great images: http://www.henryarvidsson.com/envira/anti-trump-muslim-ban/
Were you there? Please share your photos and comments on TheHagueOnLine Facebook group.
Zestee 