Once more, College Green in Bristol is due to be occupied - this time against an imminent attack on Syria. A Facebook event page has been set up to promote the protest, from 5pm this Thursday. The page reads:
Britain, France and the
US are committing to another disastrous military intervention. Apart
from the inevitable casualties, any attack on Syria can only inflame an
already disastrous civil war and would risk pulling in regional powers
further.
Most people in this country have learned from the
disasters of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. According to a Telegraph poll
today only 9% of British people support an attack. Our politicians
however have learned nothing.
We are to congregate in full force and OCCUPY College Green in protest against this possible "intervention" in Syria.
Kit List:
Tent Sleeping Bag Water Food Loud Things Musical Instruments Medication Banners Water Proofs
Occupy LSX, outside St Paul's cathedral, has been evicted. With most of the camps gone, it might appear to some that the Occupy Movement has lost. Nonsense. Occupy is an idea, and the people involved haven't gone away. We're all still talking, and Phase 2 is taking off quite nicely. That's not to say that the loss of the St Paul's isn't a tragedy - as a friend of mine put it "why do things always have to end with a fence and bastards in hi-vis?".
Occupy LSX
Back in the mid-90s, occupying physical spaces was an almost as widespread form of direct action as in the last 6 months. Back then, the target was the government road schemes. Some occupations of the land made the national headlines - in particular the protests at Solsbury Hill, Twyford, the A30 and, of course, the Newbury Bypass. Their dedication to holding onto those physical spaces was much more than those trying to hold onto Occupy camps, for good reason - the woodlands and other important habitats were under threat. The pavement outside St Paul's and the land at Queen Square and College Green are not under threat, and not home to rare wildlife. It didn't matter so much where the camps were. The Newbury Bypass protest, and many of the other road protests, failed to achieve their primary objectives - protect the natural habitats faced with imminent destruction. But although those battles were lost, the protests scored some big wins in the long-term. The road protests caught the attention of the media in a big way, and turned a large proportion of the public onto the issues. By the end of the Newbury Bypass protest, scores of camps were set up along the route and many thousands of people had participated in some way in opposing the bypass. It's one of the biggest regrets I have, that I wasn't one of them. It was one of the most important battles fought in my lifetime. I visited Snelsmore Common (the site of several of the encampments) recently and was horrified by what I saw. The legacy of the road protests is that hundreds of proposed road schemes never happened, and that environment and wildlife laws are now enforced much more strictly at the planning and development stages. Another scheme like the Newbury Bypass would have a lot more difficulty getting off the ground today with the current planning laws and demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of direct action. As Swampy put it when evicted from his tunnel at Fairmile:
"I think it's the only way to get a voice these days. I mean if I
had
written a letter to my MP, would I have achieved all this? Would you lot
be here now? I think not!"
The victories scored by those brave people who put their lives at risk deserve never to be forgotten, and their achievements need to be upheld and protected. The coalition government are now branding our wildlife laws as "red tape", are trying to make developments easier to get through planning and attempted to sell off our forests. They are eroding our right to occupy, with the squatting laws and enforced evictions. We need to stop them at all costs.
It's easy to overlook a one-day protest, but long-term high-profile
protests get the media interested and, despite some media sources
painting negative pictures, a chance to get the word out to the public. Occupy has started an international conversation. When we had the camps in Bristol and Bath, we were
constantly on the TV, radio and newspapers. We were given the
opportunity to get our message across to the general public and the
people in charge, and they were listening, even if only to dismiss us.
The camps were in central locations. We had so many people walk past,
shouting at us to have a bath and, then go to the pub, start talking
about why we were doing it and come back with questions. Already the politicians are speaking about "fairer capitalism". I'm not
convinced they completely mean it, but there have been some positive outcomes - the
government are now cracking down on tax avoidance by the banks, and the
Move Your Money campaign has seen many people move to more responsible
ethical banks and credit unions. People are now more aware than ever, thanks to the months of Occupiers using whatever means they can - from social media to newspapers, TV, leaflets, talks and tent city universities - to get the messages across.
But even though we're onto the next phase and few are still camping, I don't think it's the end of direct action. If things get worse, the protest side of things will heat up again. The UNITE union leader is calling for protests during the Olympics, and the 15th of May is a significant date for Occupiers (the Spanish Indignados - the pre-cursor to Occupy - started on this date last year). Both of these are opportunities to expand on showing the fat cats, the government and the rest of the world that we're not happy.
I see the Occupy Movement as the latest manifestation of an ongoing war against the corrupt wealthy elite of this world who are hell-bent on wrecking societies and the environment for the sake of profit. Newbury was part of this fight - some of the dialogue from the protestors in videos from the evictions could just have easily come from an Occupier - as were the war march, the G20 protests, the CND movement and countless other protests and movements. From my perspective, the way forward involves "joined-up thinking". We need to connect poverty, environmental degradation, wars, loss of public services, political oppression and human rights violations with corrupt corporations, bankers and governments. There are many organisations and individuals out there fighting different battles of the same war. We need to come together as one, and attack them on all fronts.
In other news, the Move Your Money campaign is gathering momentum - more info here: http://www.moveyourmoney.org.uk/. March is Move Your Money month - if you don't want the big banks to hold the power and want to support better alternatives, now is the time to do so. If you haven't signed it yet, the petition to get Bath and North East Somerset Council to move from NatWest to an ethical bank like the Co-operative is here.
In solidarity with the Occupy movement that went global on 15th October 2011, Occupy Bristol met and set up camp on College Green, overlooked by Bristol Cathedral and the council offices. The scheduled meeting time was 12pm. Numbers grew steadily throughout the afternoon, and the first general assembly took place.
I arrived in the late afternoon, curious to see how things were going. Within 10 minutes I had been offered room in a tent and a sleeping bag for the night. The atmosphere was incredible and throughout the evening more people came and put up tents. A small disagreement broke out over whether or not a fire would be appropriate, with some arguing that they were cold and others arguing that a fire may give the authorities a reason to evict the occupation. But this minor event did not cause the occupation to fall apart - a valuable lesson was learned on why consensus decision making was a crucial part of keeping the parcipitants in the occupation together.
The first few tents at Occupy Bristol
The fire was eventually lit in a wire basket, and the fire brigade came. They confirmed that the fire was not a health and safety risk, and many of those initially opposed to it (including myself) breathed a sigh of relief. The fire was soon transferred to a metal wheelbarrow and the basket was turned over and used as a grill to cook food on. A friend phoned me from Occupy the London Stock Exchange with news of kettling and the Julian Assange speech. Later, several people returned from London with further news about the occupation there.
Reggae music played at a moderate volume until the early hours of the morning. Many people out on the town that night came over to dance and to talk about what the occupation was there for. Several police officers stood on the outskirts of the encampment and occasionally chatted to the occupiers. One officer that I spoke to seemed sympathetic to the views expressed by people at the camp, as police jobs are among those threatened by government cuts. At approximately 1am, someone attempted to call a general assembly. Few people were interested, and most people I spoke to were of the opinion that that night was a time of celebration, and that the real work would begin the next day.
I spoke to a wide range of people that night, and almost everyone gave a different reason for being there. I met teachers, nurses, IT technicians, veterans soldiers, students, homeless people, shop workers, gardeners, pensioners, people on incapacity benefit, freelance journalists, film makers, cooks, parents, environmentalists, owners of small businesses and people from many other backgrounds.
Due to a combination of music, talking and the cold weather, many people did not sleep well on the first night. But few were willing to give up just yet. Like all happenings, a few teething problems are to be expected, and many of them were ironed out in the coming days and weeks. After a litter pick, a meeting was called the next morning under the Occupy Bristol banner.
Morning general assembly on the second day of Occupy Bristol
A number of items were discussed, in particular statements to the press and a wish list of items for the camp. The BBC came along during the meeting, and someone was elected to give a short interview. Throughout the morning, people made signs. Members of the general public came to the camp to see what was happening and to talk with occupiers. A Spanish couple, aware of the Indignado movement back home, came and played songs on a guitar. Some people did not venture further than the signs, highlighting their importance in explaining why the camp was there. Aside from a single man shouting "you should all have your benefits cut", the general public were largely supportive, with people coming over to tell us what a good thing we were doing and asking how they could help. Donations of food and equipment started to come in. Around mid-day, a general assembly was called. There was much to discuss, namely the role of the police, the reasons for being there, engaging with the public and the future of the camp.
News came in from London that Giles Fraser, Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, had asked the police to move on, and said that he was happy for the protestors to stay on his land. Word circulated around the Bristol camp that the Dean of Bristol Cathedral was happy for the camp to stay for the time being (although he later stated that he did not actually give his permission).
Many people put a lot of effort into founding the camp that weekend, from making food, putting up tents and banners, engaging with the public, providing music and other entertainment and playing an active part in discussions. I walked away that afternoon in the sun with a smile on my face, wishing I could stay, but also with a reaffirmed sense of responsibility towards my job and my personal life. I promised I'd be back.
