- Title: Protesters against NATO, Trump gear up ahead of Brussels meeting
- Date: 22nd May 2017
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MAY 22, 2017) (REUTERS) MAN WALKING TOWARDS ENTRANCE TO 'PEACE CAMP' ANTI-NATO BANNER HANGING ON GATE TOP OF BANNER READING 'STOP NATO 2017!' OUTDOOR KITCHEN AREA, WOMAN WALKING IN BACKGROUND WOMAN POURING CAN OF KIDNEY BEANS INTO FUNNEL WOMAN WORKING IN THE KITCHEN AREA MAN STIRRING POT OF STEW ACTIVIST, STEPHANIE DEMBLON, TALKING TO WOMAN ON A BENCH OUTSIDE MENU OF THE FOOD SIGN ON DOOR READING (English): 'BASE CAMP' / SMALL GROUP MEETING ACTIVIST, ANN MAEYENS, TALKING TO GROUP MEETING UNDER WAY MAEYENS WRITING ON A NOTECARD (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTIVIST, ANN MAEYENS SAYING: "This week in Brussels the NATO summit is taking place and NATO is actually the perfect example from an old problem that is not facing the problems that we face today in this world in a correct way because we have wars all over and there's a lot of conflict, a lot of refugees and so on and NATO is definitely not the way or more militarization of Europe is not the way to solve these problems." SIGN READING (French): 'Philosophy and practices of the project' 16: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTIVIST, ROEL STYNEN, SAYING: "We will try to intervene somewhere in this machinery of lobbyists and arms companies, politicians pushing for spending on arms, and so this is just one action which and we will try to, we'll have to plan it still, so we will see where we can intervene with a small group and non-violent, to sort of show that we don't agree and to intervene in the daily policy making." SIGN READING (English): 'Medic' MAKESHIFT TENT MADE OUT OF BLANKETS CORNER OF ROOM WITH MAKESHIFT TENT AND MEDIC AREA BRASSCHAAT, BELGIUM (MAY 18, 2017) (REUTERS) WOMEN KNITTING PINK YARN TO MAKE HATS FORMER ADMINISTRATIVE CLERK, SONJA THYS, KNITTING WOMEN KNITTING AROUND THE TABLE AND EATING AND DRINKING FLYERS ABOUT THE PUSSY HAT MOVEMENT ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTER KNITTING EMPLOYEE, ANITA VERGOOSEN, AND CLOTHE STORE OWNER, MARIE-THERESE COLDERS, KNITTING TOGETHER BY THE TABLE OWNER OF WOOL WEB SHOP, RENATE STALMANS, KNITTING AND SMILING STALMANS' HANDS WHILE KNITTING (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF WOOL WEB SHOP AND ORGANISER OF PUSSYHAT PROJECT IN BELGIUM, RENATE STALMANS, SAYING: "I was very intrigued by the fact that it was something so basic like knitting and was kind of being the symbol of a movement and I think that it's, in these times, very important, that people stand up and let their opinion know that everything that people have been fighting for the last decades will not go to waste." WOMEN KNITTING (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER ADMINISTRATIVE CLERK AND ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTER, SONJA THYS, SAYING: "I hope that I find as many women as I can to go to Brussels and put on our hats and now we are making as many as we can and put on our hats, we are making different sizes and I hope that we are a big, big crowd with lots of people and that we can show him that 'you're not welcome, man, go back'!" WOMEN KNITTING AND TALKING VARIOUS OF STALMANS, THYS AND OTHER WOMEN PUTTING ON KNITTED HATS WOMEN TOASTING AND SMILING
- Embargoed: 5th June 2017 17:08
- Keywords: Activist Peace Camp Protest U.S. President Donald Trump Summit NATO
- Location: BRUSSELS AND BRASSCHAAT, BELGIUM
- City: BRUSSELS AND BRASSCHAAT, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: NATO,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016HX9D8N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Protesters in Belgium were busy preparing actions to show their anger at United States President Donald Trump's visit to the country and to protest what they say is the militarisation of Europe as NATO leaders meet this week.
An activist camp has been in place in Brussels since Sunday (May 21) and will stay for a week, providing activists with a place to stay, cook, and organise their protest actions for Wednesday and Thursday (May 25), when the leaders of the 28 allied nations will meet at the new NATO headquarters where an unveiling ceremony is due to take place.
Activists in the 'Peace Camp' said NATO was not a solution to the problems faced by the region and were planning to intervene in a "non-violent" way in Thursday's discussions.
In Brasschaat, near Antwerp, the largest city in the Dutch-speaking Flanders region, a group of five women have held a Pussyhat knitting party, to protest against Trump's visit to Brussels, a city which during his election campaign he had called a 'hellhole'.
The Pussyhat Project began with the Women's March in Washington and around the world on January 21, 2017, the day after Donald Trump's inauguration as president of the United States, in protest of comments he had previously made, including the infamous 'Grab them by the pussy' comment from 2005 which came to light in October 2016, during the height of the presidential election campaign.
Held in Marie-Therese Colders' clothes shop, with sparkling wine and snacks provided, she and her friends each knitted between one and two pink hats; shaped to resemble cat ears.
Stalmans, who runs a wool web shop, came up with the idea of holding the party, and was the first person to translate the instructions of how to knit the hats from English to Dutch.
The women were hoping to travel to Brussels on Wednesday to join a protest organised by several groups against Trump and NATO expected to gather thousands of demonstrators. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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