Occupy protest at Erasmus Plaza against the war in Gaza, fossil ties, student debt and more

On Tuesday, OccupyEUR protesters gathered at the Erasmus Plaza for a series of protests, followed by a vigil for journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The campsite is located in between Food Plaza and Erasmus Pavilion, with a group of more than twenty people.

Banners are pinned to the floor, and messages chalked on the pavement. Four tents have been built, each harbouring resources like water or books. The protesters published a list of demands to the Executive Board on their Instagram page. They want a ‘fair distribution of budget across departments’, an end to temporary contracts, student debt and inaccessibility of the campus, and ties should be cut with ‘zionist institutions and business’ and institutions that ‘profit from the destruction of our planet’.

Commemoration

“This Sunday three years ago, Shireen Abu Akleh was martyred by Israeli occupation forces for talking about genocide”, said Orange, the spokesperson for this protest. Following last year’s incident with riot police, the protesters ‘renamed’ the Plaza to Shireen Abu Akleh Square, in honour of the killed Palestinian-American journalist. “We wanted to commemorate her forever by renaming the square after her”, Orange explains.

The goal behind this protest is to ‘spread awareness’.  Orange: “We want people to talk about her, to not let her name go unknown. We are merely trying to commemorate her life and her work.”

Future plans

When asked if the protesters will stay the night on campus, Orange doesn’t know if they will. On OccupyEUR’s Instagram, the protesters ask for tents, snacks and sleeping bags. According to EUR’s house rules for protests, the ‘codes of conduct’ section states that ‘spending the night on campus and in EUR buildings is not permitted’. Last year, an encampment protest was removed from campus by the riot police on behalf of the mayor of Rotterdam.