Historic rally in Detroit — 3,000, led by RNs and community leaders ‘Turn on the water.’
Turn on the water!
Thousands of registered nurses, community, labor, environmental and community activists marched in Detroit today in a resounding protests against the shutoff of water to tens of thousands of city residents – an action the marchers called a wanton violation of human rights that creates a public health emergency.
Brandishing signs that read “Water is a Human Right,” “Turn on the Water. Tax Wall Street,” “Water = Life,” “Blame Chase,” “Make the Banks Pay,” and “Nurses are the Real Emergency Managers,” marchers streamed through downtown Detroit to a big rally in front of the city/county building after a stop at a branch of Chase bank.
Their message: Turn on the water. Restore the water for those who were cutoff. Tax Wall Street to raise the money needed to revitalize cities and communities like Detroit harmed by the Wall Street created economic crash of 2008.
And they voiced emphatic opposition to the corporate policies of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and his undemocratically appointed emergency city manager who have declared a bankruptcy in Detroit and moved to privatize public resources, such as the water supply.
Jean Ross, RN, co-president of National Nurses United, the lead sponsor of the action, delivered a declaration calling the city of Detroit to be a public health emergency zone, supporting the call of numerous city activists of the health crisis prompted by the shutoff.
“Water is life sustaining. Lack of water directly undermines the health and safety of Detroit residents, and their families,” the NNU declaration read.
“For optimal health in our daily lives, we need clean water for drinking. Infants, children, and the elderly are particularly vulnerable; they are more susceptible to dehydration, infection, and disease without access to water.
“We need clean water for proper sanitation to combat the growth and spread of multiple infectious diseases and pandemics. We need clean water for a safe and healthy environment. We demand the guarantee that all Detroit residents have immediate and full access to clean water,” said Ross.
Actor Mark Ruffalo, joining the march, encouraged the crowd to “fight for your rights, water is a human right.”
“We’re happy to send money all over the world to help other people in their crisis, and we can’t take care of our own people. The American people have got to know that this is wrong, and that it’s happening here and that it should be stopped,” Ruffalo said.
For more information on this topic visit www.nnu.org
