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Germany: Parents, students and teachers support October 1 school strike in UK

The resistance against the murderous herd immunity policy is growing. Lisa Diaz’s call for a school strike on October 1 in the UK is also meeting with a great response in Germany. Many parents, teachers and students are planning actions and calling for support for the strike.

Mother Simone Becker wrote on Facebook: “Parents! Do it here in Germany like the parents in the UK and the USA. Don’t put up with the contamination of your children any longer! Should your children ask you in 10 years: ‘Mum, Dad, why can’t I do the job xy?’ What will you answer then? ‘Child, you had COVID-19 and since then you are unfortunately not as fit in the head as you were before?’ A corona infection attacks the brain!”

Peggy, the mother of a severely disabled adult son and a school-aged child with asthma, supported Lisa’s call by tweeting, “It’s very important!!!! We should join this! For the protection of OUR children! #parentsstrike on 01/10/2021!”

Twitter user Kaze wrote: “Lisa’s appeal is particularly important right now: for 1.5 years we’ve used incidence as a benchmark for proportionality of interventions. Now they’ve replaced incidence of infection with incidence of ICU bed occupancy.

“This was justified by the fact that vaccination is now available. This ignores the fact that a part of the population (U12 [under 12s] or for medical reasons) cannot be vaccinated! Especially in the case of U12, it is still known that—so far—they only make up a small proportion of intensive care bed occupancy but can very well fall ill with the long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2. Long-term consequences of this are already emerging. In comparison with other known viruses of the same type, however, further serious consequences could occur!

“And right now, the incidence among children has reached a disturbingly high level— especially compared to last year, when the adult environment was not yet protected by vaccination.“

Karina, a member of Safe Education Action Committee Network, wrote: “Dear Parents, set an example. No child deserves to be pre-sick in middle age for compulsory education. Children have had to show consideration for the elderly, but the economy shows no consideration for them. There are no adequate tests, no masks and no air filters, but there is an unsustainable compulsory presence [at schools] and still and especially a few months before vaccination becomes possible.

“Nobody, really nobody should send their child to school unvaccinated. And if all those who can somehow do so for a few days, it might help a lot of people. Especially their own children. Yes, they’re less likely to die, but they deserve to stay healthy. Almost every kid with only mild symptoms has arterial damage afterwards—no school is worth that. None. Especially since in Western industrialized nations it should probably be a no-brainer to teach online. Protection for children, that is your duty, and no state has the right to take that care away from you.”

Numerous students also support Lisa’s call.

Laura, a student in Saxony-Anhalt, sent the following statement to the WSWS: “The threat of Delta brings a new situation, with young people and children now facing great hardship. As a student, I am aware that I and all my friends are even more threatened by Delta. But instead of taking seriously the high numbers of hospitalized people that already exist in other countries, all schools are being opened and children are being exposed to the dangers of infection and spread without protection. We must oppose these measures and make it clear that we do not want contagion in schools!”

Tamino, a 12th grade student from Baden-Württemberg, stated in a solidarity video: “I support Lisa’s call for a school strike. Here in Germany, too, the incidence among students is already in the triple digits. In all federal states, schools have already been opened and protective measures are being systematically dismantled. These include masks, mandatory quarantine and even corona tests.

Year 12 student Tamino supports the call for the October 1st school strike (Subtitles in English)

“Representatives of all major parties have already declared that they will rule out further school closures. The mitigation strategy—that is, the attempt to contain the pandemic with masks and vaccination—has proven its bankruptcy internationally with the rising infection figures. To end the pandemic, a strategy of eradication is necessary. But this strategy will not be implemented by the major parties or the unions. That is why students, teachers and parents must take the fight for safe education into their own hands. As Lisa did in her strike call.”

Florian, another pupil from Baden-Württemberg, said: “I fully support the call to strike. As a student myself, I am confronted with the threat to my health every day. I think it’s not just me, but thousands of students across Germany and millions worldwide. So far, no party in the Bundestag has shown any interest in protecting us, and that will not change now. It really is a necessity that we students, our teachers and our parents take matters into our own hands. We have nothing more to expect from the federal parliamentary parties, and we no longer do. If we want to make a difference now, we need to do it now, because no one else will but us.”

Marvin, a pupil from the city of Coburg, wrote: “The school strike called by Lisa Diaz in the UK on 1 October is an important sign that there is great opposition to the murderous global opening policies. It shows that not everyone blindly values the ‘health’ of the economy over the health and lives of students. The contagion policy is irresponsible, and only if large sections of the working class consistently unite and oppose it can anything change. That’s why I support this and future school strikes of this kind and call on everyone to do the same.“

Other statements of support reached us from educators. One teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, wrote: “As a teacher and mother, I support the school strike because I strongly condemn the fact that our children are being exposed in schools without protection to infection with a neurotropic virus, the long-term effects of which are as yet unresearched, just weeks before a vaccine is approved for U12 year olds.”

And Anna, a primary school teacher in Hesse, sent this appeal: “Join the global school strike this Friday, October 1. Show those in power that you will not and cannot simply accept the infection of your children. There are many of us! Of that I am firmly convinced.”

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