Reclaiming Dignity

galway | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis Tuesday June 29, 2004 17:51 by George Washington

Anarchist Jazz, AMBUSH 2004!, the peace camp and How to destry the soul destroyers

Still high from the incredible buzz of the three-day peace camp and wild sense of empowerment I always feel on actions with da Grassroots; looks like I’m not alone, seems the buzz is contagious. In the few short days since, I’ve met strangers on the streets of Galway with faces aglow, yelling hello, eager to share the wonderment of their experiences of the weekend. “People don’t understand,” one new friend, exclaims, “How fun this all is; how great you feel when we come together to oppose the soul destroyers.”

I think back now to an anti war demonstration in Shannon nearly two years ago when people sang a very different tune. Though it was the biggest demo ever in Shannon we were glum and despondent afterward, our energy drained…we felt so ineffective. Staring trough the fence, following the crowd, one of the masses, listening to the speeches, told to march, then told to turn around and go home, prompted by strangers on microphones to repeat slogans ‘1, 2, 3, 4…etc, etc. Part of the spectacle we were directed to remain a spectator to; extras filling the space, creating the illusion of support the organisers needed for their own barely concealed political agenda.

A lot of people went home that day and never returned to Shannon… The continued support and complicity of the Irish government in the illegal war and occupation of Iraq, (despite our efforts and protest), no doubt had a lot to do with it. But the reason goes deeper then this. We as citizens of Ireland, as citizens of the world, are sadly used to the treachery and betrayal of governments and politicians. While we in the west are especially used to feeling alienated, powerless and isolated in the face of monolithic exercises of destruction, coercion and persuasion to which we were not consulted, to which we did not openly consent and of which we are not informed. We are cotton wooled in lies, fed poisin and ridden with fear. Everything we would value has become commodified; our basic desires and our deepest needs are understood and twisted to serve the market and increase the GNP. Our lives are manipulated from the day we’re born till the day we die. No, the problem lies with the fact that on the march two years go in Shannon we were still the few following the many; we were not asked, we were not informed and we did not openly consent…we were manipulated. The ‘formula’ peaceful protest held too much to the status quo to offer us ‘ordinary people’ peace and power.

It is now clearer then ever to me, that if we truly wish to oppose the ‘soul destroyers’, we need to do things differently, we must, in everything we do together, retake our power, and reclaim our lives.

At the peace camp this weekend and on the Saturday action with Ambush 2004, I felt great, I felt like we had won, even though we only stopped Bush for half an hour, even tough the US military planes continue to land in Shannon, even though the Irish State brought out 1000s of police and army to suppress dissent and criminalize protest, I felt powerful. Why?

Because we reclaimed that little island on the dual carriage way to Limerick, because there we met and discussed and informed and consulted. Because we gathered in circles and listened to everyone who wished to speak, and reached consensus openly. Because we welcomed diversity, and nurtured, supported and celebrated creativity! Because everyone helped out and everyone was important. And because slogans were not as important as everyone’s noises and silences mixed together.

Our demonstration on Saturday was an adventure not a march, we danced down the road, fearlessly performed poetic theatre around Guantanamo Bay in front of lines of riot police and water cannons, then took off in the opposite direction and scrabbled up an embankment to find the police fumbling into lines and tanks, (which we later reclaimed with flags, banners, peace signs and graffiti), retreating. We laughed and sang and ran. We lay down like the dead of Iraq and served ‘George W. Bush’ an indictment for his crimes against humanity. Then, when we had frolicked to our hearts content, we walked away.

“ WHOSE STREETS?
OUR STREETS!
WHOSE LIVES?
OUR LIVES!
WHOSE WORLD?
OUR WORLD!
WHOSE TANKS?
OUR TANKS!”

As a Chilean friend of mine said as we were packed up the peace camp, ‘ Oppression here is different to Chile…our lives our cheap but it is all we have, so life becomes precious to us…. here even you lives are not your own…there is no dignity.’

This weekend we took back some of our dignity. Thanks wholeheartedly to everyone involved!