De oorlog tegen de planeet: imperialisme, militarisme en het klimaat

Ecocide, genocide and militarism are inextricably linked. Following the publication of his book Hell on Earth: Ecocide, Genocide and the War Against Life, Chris de Ploeg speaks with Amara of Verzet Tegen Oorlog (Resistance Against War, VeTO) about the deep roots of the climate crisis: how militarisation and imperialism are turning the planet into a battlefield, and why the struggle for climate justice is inseparable from the struggle against war and imperialism. An urgent conversation at a time of unprecedented increases in military spending.

During the conversation, hip-hop artist Marikit Saturay will perform a piece translating the themes of the afternoon into music.

The guests:

Amara is a Marxist-Leninist theorist and organiser based in Rotterdam, affiliated with the anti-war coalition Verzet Tegen Oorlog (VeTO) and Rotterdam Front for Liberation. VeTO is an association of various organisations that oppose the imperialist war machine, NATO and militarism, including through actions against Rotterdam’s annual arms fair. Amara also draws on her background in the steel industry and the natural sciences to build organisations that can endure.

Marikit Saturay is a political hip-hop artist who raps against fascism, militarism and neocolonialism. She believes that systemic change is impossible without the power of music. Born in the Philippines, the singer and rapper grew up amid political violence and human rights abuses under a neocolonial dictatorship; her family eventually fled the country. Marikit has channelled her life story into her music and regularly performs at political events.

Chris de Ploeg is an Armenian-Dutch journalist, author and organiser. Before publishing Hell on Earth, he released the first two volumes of the trilogy The Great Colonial War and the book Ukraine in the Crossfire. Chris is also a co-founder and core organiser of Aralez, a grassroots decolonisation organisation, and De Vonk, a revolutionary political party in Amsterdam. For over ten years, Chris has been writing, speaking and organising around (neo)colonialism, climate justice, racism and capitalism.