"Nem adjuk a jövőnk, itt maradunk!"

Recorded by Ian Cook.

"These are some sounds from the 'Nem adjuk a jövőnk, itt maradunk!' (We won’t give up our future, we’re staying here!) protest organised by Nem maradunk csendben (We won't stay silent) and Oktatási Szabadságot (Freedom for Education). This was a protest at the end of a spring of protests organised in Hungary. The two catalysts were the attack against the Central European University (and independent university that the government introduced a new law to try and shut down) and a law that sought to restrict the freedom of civil society. But the roots are much deeper, and include issues such as the squeezing of the free media, widespread corruption, gerrymadering and so on. The protest itself was interesting sonically as they decided to have a sound system at the front of the demo, with DJs playing. 'Nem maradunk csendben (We won't stay silent)' had organised a big successful protest party a few weeks before in which they alternated between music and speeches. Hungarian protests are - when compared with other countries - quite quiet. The sound system made it even quieter however, as people didn't chant or sing much at all, even during the gaps."

Part of the Protest and Politics project - find out more at http://www.citiesandmemory.com/protest