Camped out until Christmas?

The Occupy Movement, which is spreading across hundreds of cities in the world, has reached Norwich.

Members of Occupy Norwich say they could be camped out until Christmas. Lee Jonas who spent the night in a tent on Haymarket said: “We want to meet, talk and discuss with the public, getting their views on the cuts, greed and poverty. 99% of the population is fighting for scraps from the table of the super-rich.”

Camps are setting up in cities such as London and Manchester, in solidarity they say with the Arab Spring and in protest at the state of the world’s economy: “We are ordinary people. We are like you: people who work hard every day to provide a better future [..] But we are all concerned and angry about the political, economic and social outlook which we see around us…”

Stacey Wilson, who also camped out last night in Norwich said: “Basically we’ll stay for as long as possible, spending our time engaging with the public about politics[..] We’ve had all sorts of people join us, from lawyers to homeless people.”

Some commentators believe their movement could gain momentum. Writing in today’s Guardian, Seumus Milne argues ‘The Occupy movement has lit a fire for real change‘: “Profits and bonuses are booming for financial oligarchs and corporate giants, while most people are paying the price of their reckless speculation with falling living standards, cuts in public services and mounting unemployment.”

Norfolk Police in a statement said: “We are aware of the protestors and are working with Norwich City Council to monitor the situation.”

Tags: Campaign, City Centre, Events, politics

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