PULSE OF EUROPE MOVEMENT (2017)

The Pulse of Europe movement is an independent citizen initiative founded in Frankfurt, Germany.

This pro-European movement is in response to the growing nationalist sentiments in Europe in the recent years, with Brexit and the rising popularity of far-right parties. It encourages citizens of the European Union (EU) to speak out publicly in favour of a pan-European identity through peaceful demonstrations. By March 2017, the movement has spread to major cities in Europe, including Brussels, Paris and Berlin.

I had the opportunity to attend some of these weekly demonstrations held in Bonn, Germany, during my semester-long exchange there.

From addressing the crowd with a truck as a makeshift stage during the first session, to a stage set-up with an adequate sound system that could reach the whole Marktplatz - this piece documents the growth of the movement in Bonn across 3 months.

For Netherlands:

In March -

The people of Bonn came together for the first time on March 12, to show their support for neighbouring Netherlands to stay in the EU. Nexit is possible - far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) led by candidate Geert Wilders is doing well in opinion polls ahead of the the Dutch general elections on 15 March.

This lady here is 92 years old. "Ich bin eine alte Frau," she said. ("I am an old woman.")

For France

In April -

The people of Bonn came together to show their support for France to stay with the EU, as the first round of the French presidential election on 23 April draws closer.

Voxpop interviews are conducted in a mix of English and German.

Angela Schreiner, 35:

Why did you choose to volunteer for this movement?

"For me, the EU is a unique peace project, and I wanted to have this in Bonn, instead of driving 45 minutes to Cologne every week. I'm 35, and I find it really cool that I have lived my whole life without war. I want the same for my kids. Also, it seems to me that a lot of media and demonstrations are against the EU - only those who are against are heard, and the rest are not. So I thought, "Okay, I want to be heard for my positive opinion of the EU". I asked the head office in Frankfurt if there are others in Bonn interested in starting the movement here as well. We met for the first time four weeks ago to get through all the regulations, and it's our fourth time today. We started off very simple, with just a van as the stage, as you saw on the Netherlands demonstration."

Yup, I was surprised by the bigger setup and even bigger turnout today!

"Yes, we got a lot of complaints previously about the external noise and sound system as people at the back couldn't hear what we were saying in front. We improved the stage to prepare for the supposed wet weather last week. We can't invite people on stage to give speeches and then have no roof for them (initially there was no roof on the makeshift stage on a lorry)! We’ve also received a lot of support and donations thus far, enough to pay for a larger setup with a better sound system!

What we aim to do at these peaceful demonstrations is to give a pulse to show other countries (Netherlands or France) that, "Hey, we're here, please stay with the union with us". Something like a little wave of support. More and more European cities are having this POE movement, and it’s nice, because the European idea was becoming very flat. People were getting annoyed, and it's good to have this kind of pulse to improve the iidea of the EU, and make it work. That's my motivation. We are trying to convince France now, because the next election is very important.. If the National Front (right-wing nationalist party headed by Marine Le Pen) wins, there will definitely be a French exit from the EU, and this is what we are fighting against now. Let's hope we're successful. In September, there will be elections in Germany too, and there are people here who are also not very pro-EU, but we shall see."

Do you think the majority in Germany are pro-EU?
"I think it depends on which social circle you're in. From my point of view, I have a lot of friends who are pro-EU because they understand and can see the advantages we are having. But I think there is a growing number of people who can't connect to the EU because they can't understand it.

Of course, it's complicated to coordinate 27 nations. Sometimes you lose your vision, and other times you can't really understand what's going on because 27 nations are trying to come together. That’s hard for people to understand, and thus they are feeling very far from the EU. And they can't see the positive impact of the EU in their everyday life. But from my opinion, I would say about 80 per cent of the people here are still for Europa, and amongst us about 20 per cent are very enthusiastic about it. I hope, and I know that we're going to stay in the Union, because for Germany it's a good thing. We’'re in the middle of Europe, and we have to deal with all our neighbours.

It's better with the EU instead of having to defend and fight every border you share with every other nation. So geographically speaking, it's a good thing to have the EU. But sadly not everyone has this opinion."

After this wave of elections, do you have any idea where does the POE movement go from here; and secondly, where does Europe as a whole move on from here?
"Personally, the POE is a movement for this mega election year, so my motivation is also only for this year, and then I will rest and continue my job as a stay-home mummy. I did my very best to make my voice heard. I’m not too sure about the head office in Frankfurt, perhaps they might found an organisation to work with the EU. But in Bonn I guess most of us will at most continue till September (German elections), because we just wanted to show our support for this movement through our Sunday demonstrations.

I don't know if this will happen again next elections, we have to see the atmosphere then to decide whether this (POE) is necessary or not. And we have to see how the EU will take this kind of pulse to reform and improve. Personally, I hope this won’t be necessary four years later."

Irmtrud, 67:

What is your personal take on the situation in Europe right now? And how do you see the upcoming France elections?
"I stand with Europa, and I think it is time now to stand together. But I am old. I am worried about how Europe is today, and where it is heading to. It is now that the young people have to step up, come together, and say, “We are one Europe”.

It is stupid to say, "You are a bad human being and I'm a good one." There's no good in being separated - we are a whole union together. The media and journalists like to portray Germany as the major player, better than the others in EU. But I do not agree. Germany is not better than others - we (the EU) have to go together, not separately."

Martin, 37:

"I’m here to show my support because I had the privilege to live and grow up in a united Europe, which was the norm. But now, we have to defend it from people against this idea. Perhaps they don't know what it's like before Europa. Europe was so successful that they think it’s normal, and they take it for granted - so many only see what's not good and failing about Europa. Often, it's not Europe's fault when there are problems, but the national politics blame Europa for it. And I think that is a serious problem."

Do you think one have to be worried about the France elections?

"Personally I don't think it will be too much of a danger, because even if Marine Le Pen wins the first round and gets into the second round, I think, I hope, and I believe that everybody will unite against her. So I don't see it as much of a danger. But France is a very important country, so it has to turn out well."

Why do you think there’s a larger proportion of people of the older generation as compared to the younger generation for these demonstrations?

"I think there are two reasons: the first is that perhaps the younger generation are politically not that active; and the second is that, like the speaker said: (the older generation) experienced the World War Two, they know what it's like, while us, we grow up in peace and so we think that it's normal and we have the belief (for the better or worse) that whatever happens, everything will work out anyway."

Bernadette Conraths, 64:

Why did you decide to join the organising team for this movement?

"I've been living in Europe for most of my life, working at the European level and then at the international level. And I've learnt very early as a very young person that understanding others and other cultures, and understanding why other people do things differently, is very important. Why? Because it gives you so much better ground for better decisions, it gives you so much view of different situations. I believe Europa is a big experiment that has enabled this to happen successfully thus far. That's why I chose to work here now, to champion this cause.

Do you feel what POE have done so far has been successful in raising awareness for the issue you are fighting for?

"Yes, certainly. We're astonished ourselves by how many people, about ten thousand people are activated every Sunday in different cities, which means that we've been able to touch people who usually don't go for demonstrations. Those that usually sit on the sofa and watch TV, they now think “Oh my God, what's happening?” and they find a platform here to say that "yes we support this, and we want to contribute”. Politicians are also looking at this movement, and they have to take notice of this movement because there are so many people."

There seems to be a larger proportion of the older generation as compared to the younger ones. Do you have any insights as to why this is so?
"Well, I think Bonn is just one city, I don't think it looks like that in Cologne or in Berlin. Bonn has a lot of middle bourgeoisie people, and they are very committed to the European idea. Bonn has a lot of students, but it's the semester holidays now so they're probably back home. I think there will be more in April when the semester starts again."

Where do you see, or hope to see, Europe after this wave of elections this year?
"I hope that elections will result in a strengthened idea and movement for Europe, meaning political parties will push for a united development for Europe. I also hope that Brussels (headquarters of the EU) will be able to decide and have an idea of how Europe should and will look like for the next decade. There are some basic decisions to be made, and I hope that by this movement, politicians will feel more responsible to take the right decisions for a European future, not for self-interests or national interests, which is a disease of politicians because they are nationally elected. They like to talk about how great they are at home, and blame Europe for the problems, which is very often not fair at all. We need to overcome this, and I believe it can, and will happen."

(Interviews translated with the help and support of my dear friend, D H Ayesha Thasneem.)

For Germany - the final weekly #POE demonstration in Bonn:

In May -

After the elections in Netherlands and France where pro-EU parties remained in power, a new team takes over this #PulseofEurope movement in Bonn. The demonstrations are now held monthly instead of weekly, on the first Sunday of every month till September. The German federal election is set on 24 September.