> The Irish Times=20 > HOME NEWS Thursday, June 5, 1997 > _________________________________________________________________ > =20 > UNEMPLOYED FROM EUROPE > WALK TO AMSTERDAM > =20 > _________________________________________________________________ > =20 > By Michael Foley=20 > =20 > Like medieval pilgrims, thousands of unemployed people from all over > Europe will make their way on foot to Amsterdam for the EU summit in > the city later this month. > =20 > Among them will be a group of 14 Irish unemployed who will be seeking > a commitment to full employment in the new EU treaty which the 15 > heads of government will be discussing. > =20 > On June 14th, about 40,000 people will gather in the Dutch capital to > lobby and protest at the levels of unemployment and poverty within the > EU. > =20 > The 14 Irish participants, who began their journey from Derry, met the > President, Mrs Robinson, yesterday before making their way south to > Cork, from where they will take a ferry to Roscoff in Brittany. > =20 > There they will meet up with a French group and make their way to > Amsterdam. > =20 > Mr Michael O'Mara is one of those who, by a combination of walking and > taking buses, will be in Amsterdam. He is unemployed and gives his > time to the unemployed information centre in Clondalkin, Dublin. He is > seeking a commitment to job creation and the eradication of poverty > within a time-scale, possibly five years. > =20 > By the time he arrives in Amsterdam, he will have travelled 3,000 > kilometres. He will be travelling with unemployed from eight Irish > counties, North and South. The general secretary of the Irish National > Organisation of the Unemployed, Mr Mike Allen, said the marchers would > lobby to ensure that political weight was put behind verbal > commitments to full employment. > =20 > The Irish group was the most westerly, the Finns the most northerly. > =20 > A group from Sarajevo was also taking part, while the Spanish marchers > had set out in April, he said. > =20 > The marchers are expected to arrive in Amsterdam on June 12th, two > days before the summit. There are nearly a quarter of a million > unemployed in the Republic and throughout Europe, about 17.5 million > people are registered as unemployed. > =20 > About 35 million people live below the poverty line and some five > million are without homes. > =20 > =A9 Copyright: The Irish Times > Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
