RACHEL Bosler had never been in trouble with the police before.
So when she found herself being bundled into the back of a police car for the second time in a month, the feeling was hardly familiar.
“It is a bit of a weird feeling, it’s not something I ever thought was going to be part of my life,” admitted the 26-year-old from Colchester.
But now she is among hundreds of Just Stop Oil protesters who have been detained by officers for their campaigning efforts.
The action group is demanding the Government commits to ending all new oil and gas projects in the UK.
It is an issue which is particularly close to home for the PhD student, who couldn’t be further from her native home in California herself.
“I grew up seeing the effects of climate change quite heavily,” Rachel, who lectures at the University of Essex, explained.
“I had to be evacuated because of forest fires several times as a kid and watched the ocean get more and more polluted.
“The past few years I have been really scared. The Government is just not listening to what these great scientists are saying.”
Embarking on a journey to police custody, Rachel has plenty of time to reflect on her actions which have landed her in this situation.
Police officers swooped on Kensington High Street in London on November 1 where campaigners had glued themselves to the road surface.
On the same day, other Just Stop Oil supporters attempted to scale the gates of Downing Street and caused traffic chaos in Whitehall as they blocked the road.
“I feel confident enough in what we are doing, that it’s the right thing,” added Rachel, who moved to England eight years ago.
“It does feel weird being the person in trouble, but we mentally prepare to be arrested.
“We are in this really odd situation where what’s right isn’t what is happening and what’s wrong – the Government policies – is what is happening.”
Attacks and hostility against campaigners have been well documented as frustrated motorists reach boiling point with those blocking the roads.
Mercifully, aggression targeted towards those taking action hasn’t led to Rachel being hurt, but she has been struck during a tug of war over a banner she was holding.
For critics claiming blocking the roads and causing traffic to build is hypocritical, she said: “They’re focusing on the wrong thing”.
“We aren’t trying to target individual consumption, we’re targeting Government policy.
But support has also been seen, and it is this, among other factors, which reaffirms to Rachel and her counterparts that their fight is worthwhile.
She said: “I hope people are listening. They can see we are willing to put our freedom at risk for this.”
The future isn’t a subject Rachel likes to talk about, she conceded.
“Climate change is happening right now. Even in Colchester there are climate refugees,” she said.
“People are displaced; there are already fires, already droughts. That’s where we are.
“I see that becoming more and more prolific. It’s already causing chaos.
“The future is going to be very scary. We’re going to be facing food insecurity, water insecurity, air pollution.”
But Rachel said she is willing to fight to the bitter end to make her voice heard, rather than roll over and accept a bleak future.
She added: “I am willing to jeopardise my future visa applications by continuing to take action and getting arrested.
“I get upset by injustice and am always willing to put myself at risk.
“I am just so hurt and worried about what the Government is doing."
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