June 21–
Son pocos, pero montan cada vez más bulla. Están desparramos con sus sacos de dormir y sus pancartas entre un laberinto de andamios, en la esquina de Broadway con Murray Street. Hacen sonar el tambor ante el desfile de paseantes y la mirada escéptica de decenas de policías. Corean consginas como “¡Queremos Justicia!”, “¡Más profesores, menos guerras!” o “¡Solidaridad con Grecia y España!”
http://www.elmundo.es/blogs/elmundo/cronicasny/2011/06/21/los-indignados-de-nueva-york.html
A story on Bloombergville from the website of one of Spain’s major daily newspapers.
English Translation:
They are few, but make more and more noise. They are scattered around with their sleeping bags and placards in a maze of scaffolding at the corner of Broadway and Murray Street. They sound the drum in front of the parade of strollers and the skeptical gaze of dozens of policemen. They chant slogans like ”We want justice!” “More teachers, fewer wars!” or “Solidarity with Greece and Spain!”
They are the “Outraged” (“Indignados”) of New York, camped across from City Hall and in a place they have christened “Bloombergville,” after the billionaire mayor and his billions of budget cuts …
“Here we are not only angry but also indebted,” attests Lucas Vasquez , 17, a high school student. ”They close the doors on us when we look for work, and our studies are more and more expensive. Now they want to cut 6,000 teachers: this is the beginning of the end of public education.”
“What is happening here and what is happening in Greece and Spain is beginning to look a lot like what happened in Argentina,” complains Lucas, with his Buenos Aires accent. ”And the cause is always the same: politicians do the bidding of corporations and forget the needs of the people.”
Today is the first week “birthday” of the creation of Bloombergville, and to celebrate there is spinach pie and Greek pastries in honor of the students and workers in the trenches of Athens. Sooner or later there will be potato omelette and sangria, to the health of the “Indignados” in Puerta del Sol.
Cesar Arenas, a professor at City University of New York (CUNY), is building the first bridges between Bloombergville and Democracia Real Ya! (Real Democracy Now!) … ”It’s harder to mobilize here, but leftist groups have a very interesting organizing experience. Despite the differences in the movements, there are many affinities.”
Emily Turonis, of New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts, was in the Puerta del Sol and wanted to keep the flame alive and well on her return to New York … ”Although there is a great difference: we almost always have more cops than protesters.”
The African-American Dinae Anderson, 15, a student from Harlem, has joined the sit-in/sleep-in with a pressing fear for the future hanging over her: “Every year you see how more and more doors close. We are being denied money for education, health, transport – for the most basic rights.”
The mention of Obama definitely touches a nerve in Bloombergville. Emma Smith, 22, a student of Political Science, and camping here with more than 20 other of the “Outraged,” does not hide the feeling of fraud: “I was among those who had hope for change, but change has not happened … We’re still in the hands of Wall Street and the warlords. The same people who caused the economic meltdown are the same ones sharing among themselves the millions while the people pay the bill. Obama, by his actions, has shown who he is with.”
“Sleep out, Speak up, and fight against budget cuts“… That is refrain in two languages ??of the Outraged Ones who will join the popular protests June 22 at noon at the entrance to Wall Street: “Jobs for All”, “Protect Our Future”, “Make the rich pay !”…