Community groups march against cutbacks

PROTESTERS WEARING red and carrying red hearts marched through Dublin city centre last night in what they described as “a spectacle of defiance and hope.”

Organisers of the march, which compromised up to 400 adults and children from community, arts and youth groups said its message to the Government was to “stop tearing the heart out of communities.”

Protest co-ordinator John Bissett, a community activist said, “We have had enough of greed and speculation.

“ It’s now time to listen to ordinary people and to do things differently so that it’s the people on the street, and not just the elite who are protected.”

The march, which began outside City Hall at 7pm, halted northbound traffic on Dame Street as it made its way to the GPO before returning back to stop outside the Central Bank. The protesters, who included fire throwers, mime artists, dancers, musicians and drummers were fronted by a giant skull which was back-lit and hoisted on a cherry picker.

Mr Bissett said: “We are expressing ourselves in dress, music and song to show that we are not only resistant, but also resilient, proud and hopeful that there is a better way to do things in this country.”

He said it was the first of many protests to be made by the community sector over the coming months.

Janice Feighery, a co-ordinator at the Computer Clubhouse, an after-school programme serving young people aged between eight and 18 from the south west inner city, said: “Community projects were the first to be hit.

“They are the heart of the community and tonight we are here to show our defiance in a creative way.

“Community programmes are being devastated by the cuts. Our work with young people is strangled by lack of funds. There needs to be a deeper understanding of the important work done by community groups.”

Organisers said staging the protest yesterday, the United Nations International day of Human Rights, was “appropriate.”

Mr Bissett said he hoped “the imaginative and heartfelt nature of the march would encourage others to demand a more equal and a more just Ireland”.

“We want to stop madness of punishing ordinary people for the mistakes of others,” he said.