Our blog post yesterday was about the Chilean beekeepers that were arrested when they protested along with their bees earlier this week in Santiago, outside the governmental palace. You can read yesterday’s blog post here.
This new video appeared today on YouTube, showing more clearly what happened during the bee protest. We are dedicating today’s blog post to revisiting this issue.
This 1:13-minute video by Reuters shows how things unfolded during the protest and one beekeeper who participated in the protest speaks out.
This news story has received a lot of publicity. Almost every article we have seen refers to the police having been stung and taken to hospital. Or that the bees were dangerous and could have harmed people with allergies. The point of the protest is hardly addressed. Bees are dying.
We would remind bee lovers and humans in general that the purpose of the protest was to bring awareness to the desperate circumstances of bees in Chile, and to ask the government to give beekeepers assistance so they can try to make it through the decade-long drought.
These beekeepers want the local community, the governing powers that be, and the world at large to know that without bees, there will be no life. Their bees are dying from the endless drought and lack of flowers and plants to sustain them.
Let us not forget why the beekeepers protested. People who work with bees know that their dire message is very true.
Bees pollinate one-third of the food humanity consumes. Without bees to perform annual pollination, many people will suffer shortages of the most nutritious and natural foods on the planet. This can lead to deadly consequences.
We hope soon to read that the Chilean government grants the requested aid to beekeepers and their bees.