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Video: 1,000 attend Lights for Rights protest during Trump inauguration

18:52 22/01/2017

At the time of the inauguration of Donald Trump, halfway across the world, about 1,000 people gathered at Place de la Monnaie on Friday afternoon for the Lights for Rights demonstration.

The demonstration in Brussels was one of many happening all over the world on Friday and Saturday. The Women’s March on Washington in protest of the incoming Trump presidency was the original event, and it soon rippled out into sister marches around the world, on all seven continents and in more than 60 countries.

"There’s a whole group of women, individual women in their personal capacity, who have been organising this march since December," said Joanna Maycock of the European Women’s Lobby. "We’ve just come together because we want to show that we are united. We’re united in love and we’re united in anger.”

The event in Brussels grew to be much larger than the organisers were expecting. "When we started this we thought we would maybe get to a hundred people," said Tanja Gohlert, co-chair of the event. "And it just kept growing and growing and growing over the past few weeks."

Men and women of all ages and from all over the world attended the event. Joy Kudia, a student from Chicago, Illinois, is studying abroad in Brussels. More than 100,000 people attended the march in her hometown on Saturday. She says she was glad to find a march that she could attend while away from home.

"Back home in the States, I was actually an organiser on Hillary Clinton’s campaign and we put so much work in, but it’s nice to come here and see this group of people fighting for the same things, working for the same things,” Kudia said.

Many demonstrators held signs and posters in support of women’s rights and in protest at President Trump. But people attending the event say it’s about more than protecting the rights of women. Marie, a Franco-American participant in the rally, told The Bulletin: "I came here to stand up for women’s rights, for black rights, for immigrant rights, for LGBTQ rights and anyone who is threatened by this."

The demonstration featured speeches from Maycock and other organisers of the event, singing, the lighting of candles and a moment of silence. The crowd, led by women on stage, chanted in unity: "From Brussels, to the world, our voices will be heard."

Written by Hannah Haynes

Comments

Anon2

Trump is a threat to any and all. Not just to individual rights groups. The US has managed to elect an egocentric/megalomaniac madman as president.

Jan 23, 2017 12:17