Monday, September 21, 2009

Code Pink Sets Up Tent City In Point State Park

Code Pink Sets Up Tent City In Point State Park

Members of the protest group Code Pink have set up a tent city in Point State Park ahead of the G-20 Summit.

They spent the morning giving speeches and talking about various issues close to their heart

Monday morning, the women in pink took over Point State Park and pitched tents for peace.

"The name for our tent city is Real People, Real Needs. We hope to represent refugees as real people," Francine Porter said.

Specifically, women and children, who Code Pink claims, are often times those who pay the highest time in war.

"In a time of war, women and children make up 80 percent of the victims," Porter said.

"Women [are] always the last to the table. You'll see at the G-20, I think there might be one, so you'll see a lot of ladies around here, a lot of ladies in pink," Sandy Hazley said.

Hazley calls herself a veteran protestor and a social activist. She says worries of mob violence during the G-20 are unfounded and the drum beat of concern is simply coming from the media. However, it won't drown out their overall message of peace.

"The people in Pittsburgh, the people who protest in Pittsburgh. You've seen us many times. We're usually very peaceful We can't control what comes from outside," Hazley said.

"I do believe that most of the people who will be coming through to try to get their voices heard will be peaceful," Porter said.

Code Pink says over the next 48 hours it will continue to give speeches and educate the public on what they believe is important.

They will be joined by various other groups, including the Sustainable Energy Group.

That group is trying to get their message out about reducing the use of coal and relying more and more on wind power.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc.