20^th march 2003

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Binnenwegplein

From 15h00 – 17h20

The war started today, I had already decided to go out on this day because we all knew that it would start. I dressed my military camouflage coat that I bought exactly for this occasion, to be always aware and make others aware that we too are in war. Through our vote, and governments, somehow we are also responsible.

I chose once more for the Binnenwegplein, it’s central, and gathers a lot of different people. My routine starts. Chosen the place I open the box, and let it happen. I group of young people came and played, gave me some stickers for the next demonstration in Amsterdam, and a button with a missile crossed with a red line, so today I am an activist.

I add to my cast, Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister. So Blair, Balkenede, Bush and Hussein now compose the group.

A strange day, because anyway life goes on, people eat their french fries in the sun; we all do our everyday life.

But it’s a different day, so many people played and talked with me. Mothers explain their children who is who, a teacher with a class add some material to the structure, such as a plastic pink gun that they glued with tape pointing at bush, and then made some pictures. Laugher, smiles that today made me fell a bit uncomfortable, giving the seriousness take by the warfare. Am I doing the right thing here? I guess I am, given the amount of spontaneous participation. I stand close to it, far from it, asked people to play, they did: kids, adults, normally with or for friends. A teenager put up a whole theatre play for is friends making a lot of people gather around. Two girls found a completely new way of playing: one would stand behind the structure and hold bush and saddam up on the opening, and the other from the other side, toss the sticks –usually used by the puppets to hit each other on the heads – back at them as if they were missiles.

Sometimes it will also go quite boring, nobody stopping, or willing to play, so I went away for half an hour, to do some daily life things, such as buying toothpaste, necessary even when Iraq is being bombed.

Mainly teenagers were having a lot of fun, most of the people I spoke to think this all thing “sucks”. Demonstrations are being organized, still we, I, fell completely hopeless. How can we make those men change their position?

Met some friends. Another walk around, took some pictures. Another friend came, talked a bit, considering finishing for the day, but first we decided to seat and enjoy the last rays of sun. It wasn’t until I took a better look at the theatre platform that I noticed that there were only 3 puppets, I had 4! – Where’s Saddam? Yes someone, I guess we even saw this guy, because he was the last one I remember next to the theatre, took Saddam. We look around, but it was too late. This was striking, I always considered that this might happen, that someone just decides to take a souvenir, or doesn’t like the idea of one of this characters being shown as a puppet, or likes it too much. Still I guess I wasn’t ready to lose one, and not now. I friend latter told me that maybe this is a premonition, Saddam’s disappearance! And from this point on, the situation went completely crazy, maybe not crazy but different from the polite participation I normally had. joyful, curious and harmless behavior.

2 other girls, just few minutes after, decided to take then bush and Balkenende, while I was still looking for Saddam, but a security guard, with whom I had a talk before about the project, and also about the disappearance of Saddam, came back with them. They read the “Kies en Pop” just as -take one puppet- and they did, I wonder what about the “speel”? (Play). After a guy that asked a lot of questions, just throw “Bush” in the floor and step on it, and left. Today the structure really became a cathartic medium.

More people gather around, just to chat about the latest news.

I am still to shock today, the war, our powerless position, and Saddam nowhere to be found.

It was used as recognition of the situation, reminder, as a way to put some anger away, to be able to laugh and take it easier, which in this specific context it’s not the most necessary attitude, I suppose we have to fell more sadness and rage. But considering the felling of hopelessness, that even when half of the European and American population shown their discontent about their representatives decision, they weren’t heard, maybe we do need a laugh.