Amsterdam: Huge demonstration again against corona measures and vaccine passport

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The Living Force
Source: Anti-coronavirus measures protesters gather again at Dam Square

Sunday, October 3, 2021 - 14:05

Anti-coronavirus measures protesters gather again at Dam Square


Opponents of the corona virus measures gathered on Sunday at the Dam Square in Amsterdam for a demonstration. The protestors left around 1 p.m. to march through the center of the capital city.

In pictures, hundreds of people can be seen near the Dam. The exact number of attendees was not yet known. The protestors were playing music in a relaxed atmosphere. Demonstrators were carrying yellow umbrellas and balloons with red hearts. Many upside-down Dutch flags were also visible.

The walking route is around five kilometers long and stretches from the Rozengracht to the Marnixstraat and the Haarlemmer Houttuinen.

More than 70 organizations are taking part in the protest, according to organizer Michel Reijinga. He has already organized multiple protests against the corona virus measures under the motto “coffee drinking”.

“We fight for new, good and honest politics which seems difficult to come by lately,” Reijinga said. “The introduction of the medical passport and the consequential QR-code are the cherry on top from the already scandalously disproportionate coronavirus measures. This must stop,” Reijinga said.

In the beginning of September, there had also been a protest against the corona virus measures in Amsterdam where thousands of people participated. The organization was not in agreement with the estimation of the number of participants by the police and municipality. This time the organization will use a helicopter from a special bureau to count the number of demonstrators.

Reijinga told AT5 he expects between 50 thousand to 100 thousand protestors on Sunday.

Reporting by ANP.

Coverage in Dutch:
Grote protestmars tegen coronabeleid in Amsterdam
In Amsterdam, according to the municipality, 25,000 people demonstrated against the corona policy.
 
Amsterdam yuppifying quickly

The 'oat milk elite' does yoga and listens to podcasts: ''Kind of embarrassing if you're still ordering cow's milk''
Do you prefer to start your day with yoga and listen to a podcast on your bike? Do you drink cappuccinos exclusively with plant-based milk and like to join the new, hip restaurants in Amsterdam? Then according to Jonas Kooyman, the face behind Instagram account 'oatmelite', you probably belong to the new upper class. Kiki Bosman dives into the phenomenon for Wij Zijn Amsterdam. (we are amsterdam noyourenot)

Holding up a mirror
As a journalist, Jonas is fascinated by the zeitgeist. Because, he writes in one of his newsletters, how we live says something about the times we live in. When Biros drove down his street, sports lessons were organized in clubs and everyone around him started drinking oat milk, he knew: Amsterdam is changing. ''I really thought, 'what is going on.' So to hold a mirror up to everyone I set up that account.


The clichés about the life of an oat milk-drinking Randstadian is recognized by many. On Jonas' Instagram, but also on the street. ''As long as it's plant-based, I'll drink it,'' says a passerby on the Albert Cuyp. Another admits: ''I actually can't get through my day without oat milk cappu.'' The man behind the coffee stand also recognizes the trend: ''Everyone in Amsterdam drinks oat milk and eats vegetarian,'' he says.

''The big oat milk shortage, everyone was talking about it''
jonas kooyman''
For the environment
Najib Amhali, who happens to be in Jonas Kooyman's favorite coffee shop, also promises to switch to oat milk soon. After all, it's better for the environment, and that's exactly what people from the oat milk elite are concerned about. ''Where before people expressed their status with a very expensive car or branded bag, now people express their status with their lifestyle,'' Jonas says.
So no expensive designer bags, but a cotton bag and paper cup with 'oatcino' in it. In fact, oat milk is so popular these days that there was a shortage recently. ''This summer there was a real panic in Amsterdam, the big oat milk shortage, everyone was talking about it,'' says Jonas.

Superior?
It sounds a bit superior, the oatmeal elite, but according to Jonas, there is also a bit of a sad side to it. ''The middle class in the city is actually crumbling and I have the idea that young people, millennials, are actually putting on a kind of play, they are keeping up appearances. A permanent contract, their own house to buy, it's increasingly out of reach. But with this lifestyle they radiate: look I am very successful, because I do this, that and that, but actually it is also a bit sad.
 
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