Who we are

We are XR Oswestry & Borders demanding governmental and societal change in the face of climate and biodiversity breakdown. Our members who span both sides of the Welsh/English border around Oswestry feel passionate about the aims of Extinction Rebellion.

In April, three of our rebels were arrested for their non-violent civil disobedient actions during London’s rebellion week.  All have been charged.

Our members are a diverse representation of our community.

What we achieved

• Our protests contributed to the huge shift in public opinion with regards to the climate and ecological crisis: a YouGov poll showed that following the protests, UK public concern for the environment was at the highest level on record since 2010.
• We are in the process of bringing around key politicians. Boris Johnson said we are “right to draw attention to the loss of habitat, and the extinction of species. They are also right to sound the alarm about all manner of man-made pollution, including CO2.” John McDonnell said “Extinction Rebellion has successfully raised the profile of the climate threat and focused the minds of us all on the action needed.”
• Less than three weeks after the start of the April rebellion, MPs passed a motion making the UK parliament the first in the world to declare an “environment and climate emergency”.
• However, there is much more still left to do, and Oswestry & Borders rebels will no doubt again be arrested in our desperate struggle for a habitable planet.

Our cause

We are raising funds to financially support our rebels through the courts. Your support will go towards the cost of legal defence and will especially help those who don’t qualify for legal aid.

It is not possible at this stage to project how much will be needed to support our arrestees, however we know it’s likely that each case will cost several thousand pounds in legal fees. We are starting with an initial target of £5000 which we intend to stretch as and when more of us are charged. The charges we face are for breach of Section 14, obstruction of the highway.

What we are trying to achieve

Extinction Rebellion is an international non-violent direct action movement, demanding urgent action in the face of the climate emergency. We have three demands:

• Tell the Truth Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
• Act Now Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
• Beyond Politics Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

We aim to achieve this through non-violent direct action, which means breaking the law and causing disruption. Previous methods of protesting have not worked, and the idea of civil disobedience has a successful history. For example, the Suffragettes, Independence in India, and Civil Rights. Extinction Rebellion only began in October 2018 and already we’ve got the issue into mainstream discussion.

Meet some of our arrestees

Lesley

I consider myself to be a regular, law-abiding person; I’ve never been arrested before. I have one child and we live on a mountainside in Wales – beautiful. I am lucky.

I am here today because I am going to get hurt by the social collapse we face in the near future; we are all going to get hurt. I just HOPE that this way I can help to mitigate that hurt.

A catastrophe is about to hit us – all of us – me, my son, you, everyone including all of us in this room; and it has already begun.

My government is failing to protect us and has failed to respond appropriately to the seriousness of climate and biodiversity emergency.  Therefore it is my right, my duty, to do something about it and ask for its help.  I too have failed over many years through conventional methods to get the government to respond.

What else can I do? I am desperate.  I will not do nothing.  I do this for all of us.  I’m going to get hurt anyway.

Nothing else matters.  There is no liberty without life.

Ophelia (green jumper & orange high viz) and Lesley (flanked by two police officers) as Lesley gets arrested on Waterloo Bridge, live on TV! (Ophelia went on to get arrested later in the week)

Ophelia

I am a gardener living in Powys, the Green Heart of Wales.

I live in nature yet nature is departing. Our fields are silent and the sky is empty. Drought and flooding are now commonplace. There is a darkness looming I can no longer ignore.

This government prioritises economic growth over life itself. Condemning the British people to inevitable societal collapse within the lifetimes of our children.

I declare this government criminally negligent and illegitimate. My actions in London are proportionate in response. Nothing could be more urgent or terrifying.

I plead not guilty

Morgan

My name is Morgan Dicks, I am a 49 year old tree surgeon and tree planter, from Llangadfan near Lake Vrynwy. I have lived there most of my life. I have roamed its hills since I was a child and have always worked outdoors. I have witnessed at first hand the relentless degradation of our beautiful environment. 

96% of the worlds leading scientists and anyone with open eyes can see we are entering a catastrophic climate and environmental emergency, yet the Westminster government is miserably failing to take any tangible action even to tell the truth to the public - let alone bring in any emergency legislation. Indeed, by passing the third runway at Heathrow, the Westminster government sent a clear message to big business and toxic capitalism- that its business as usual.  

When I got arrested at Oxford Circus......In my memory I walked away with that policeman down a beautiful country lane, on a glorious spring afternoon in Llangadfan....under a big sky...... there were campions, herb robert, stichworts, celendines and primroses in the hedge and maybe an early purple orchid too.......I heard bird song and grasshoppers......the scent of meadow sweet hung heavy in the air........the birds sang and the world was charged with the full wonder of a Welsh spring.....

Its not an unpleasant process to make our beautiful welsh voices heard....

Lets try and stop the machine for a while and force this government to take action and recognize we are in a cataclysmic climate emergency and facing terrible mass extinctions and barbarism.

Unless we stand together and do something about it, our children and grandchildren will experience terrible climate events leading to societal breakdown, chaos and the law of the mob.

Face it....the government couldn't even cope with foot and mouth.....let alone feeding and relocating millions of people.

Yolo Williams, David Attenborough and the worlds leading climate scientists are not wrong. If you love ancient and undefeatable Wales and Montgomeryshire....make sure you let the Westminster government know.....the next Extinction Rebellion protest is in October....😊  

Thank YOU ❤

By supporting us in navigating the law you are helping us to bring our objectives into the court system and get us closer to achieving climate justice.

With our deepest gratitude, love and rage,

Oswestry & Borders Arrestees