Joe R. Golowka
"It is not enough for a handful of experts to attempt the solution of a problem, to solve it and then to apply it. The restriction of knowledge to an elite group destroys the spirit of society and leads to its intellectual impoverishment." - Albert Einstein ----- Original Message ----- From: "moira schmidt" <moira.schmidt at t-online.de> To: <stoptheWTO at topica.com>; <caravan99 at nadir.org>; <BRDL at egroups.co.uk>; <RIDL at egroups.com> Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2001 6:00 AM Subject: Starhawk from Genoa, Friday (fwd)
> > Genova 7/20
> >
> > By Starhawk
> >
> > At this point its still not clear to me how many are actually dead. Ive
> > heard one young man, Ive hear d two, four. Ive heard that the police
shot
> > into the crowd, that someone was clubbed to the ground and, unconscious,
run
> > over by a car, Ive heard it was the White Overalls, the Black Bloc, I
dont
> > know. I know what I saw.
> >
> > The day started as a spirited, peaceful demonstration. I was on the
Piazza
> > Manini with the Womens Action and Rette Lilliput, a religious ecological
> > network. Both groups were completey commited to nonviolence. My friend
and
> > training partner Lisa Fithian was down at the convergence center with
the
> > pink block, the group that wanted to do creative, fun, street theater,
> > dancing and music as part of their action. Lisa is a great person to be
with
> > in an action: sheàs experienced, never panics, moves fast and knows what
to
> > llok for, has a voice that can carry over a huge crowd and a great
ability
> > to move people. I wish she were going to be with us, but I feel like
weàve
> > divided our talents well. Ill help move the smaller Womens contingent,
help
> > them with ritual and work some magic. Lisa will help the much larger and
> > boisterous Pink Bloc become mobile an dcoherent. We hope to meet up
sometime
> > during the day.
> >
> > Around 1 pm, the women march from the piazza down to the wall with
probably
> > three or four thousand people. The women gather in a circle for a spiral
> > dance, singing "Siamo la luna che move la marea," "We are the moon that
> > moves the tides, we will change the world with our ideas." We brew up a
> > lovely magical cauldrona big pot full of water from sacred places and
> > whatever else women want to add: rose petals, a hair or two, tobacco
from a
> > cigarette., that symbolize the visions we hold of a different world. Its
a
> > sweet, symbolic actionnot quite as satisfying, perhaps, as tearing the
wall
> > down, but empowering to the women who take part. The police are relaxed,
> > these groups are clearly no threat to anyone. Monica negotiates with the
> > police, and we are allowed to go up to the wall in small groups to pin
up
> > underwear(residents of the Red Zone were threatedn with fines if they
hung
> > out their laundry during the G8apparently the site of washing might
unnerve
> > the delegates), banners, messages and spill our water under the fence.
> >
> > (Helicopters buzz the house as I write, the news is discussing violence
and
> > nonviolence in Italian, and I stretch my memory of high school French to
ask
> > one of the women staying here in a phrase we never covered, "How many
people
> > died today?" One, she tells me, and one is in the hospital in critical
> > condition.)
> >
> > Then the Pink march arrives, trapped in a cross street by our march. We
open
> > a lane and let them through. They are delightful, mostly young,some all
> > punked out in wildly colored hair or dreadlocks or bright pink wigs,
> > drumming, dancing, cavorting through the crowd. They turn the corner and
> > filter into the next square down the wall, only a short half-block from
the
> > street weve occupied.
> >
> > On our street, everyone is sitting peacefully and having lunch. I walk
over
> > to the Pink Block to see whatàs going on. I drum for a while with the
> > accordion player. People are milling abouttheres nothing clear thatàs
> > happening, when suddenly a line of police has blocked on of the exits.
> > Dancing youth are wildly leaping and stomping in front of them, but
thats
> > all they are doing. Much of the Pink Bloc has moved on, they appear a
block
> > or two above the square, with the police now trapped between groups of
Pink.
> >
> > I am just thinking that this is not a good situation when a tear gas
> > cannister lands in front of me. I start to move away, back down to the
> > street where the women are. <just a mild hit, I wash out my eyes, help a
few
> > others whose eyes are streaming and red. Lisa appears, and we go back
for
> > another look. This time the gas catches us in a bad situation, with the
way
> > back to the strteet blocked, and another exit up a staircase too full of
> > bodies. I am getting hit heavily, my lungs and eyes burning but I
remember
> > that helpful hint from all the trainings we have done. I can breathe, I
> > really can breathe, and fear is the most powerful weapon. Lisa has
better
> > eye protection, she takes my hand and leads me out. I wash them out
again.
> > This seems like a good moment to leave. I gather up whatàs left of the
> > women, Lisa and others get the Pink Block together, I begin a drumbeat
and
> > we start up the street, which is also up a hill. The march feels poerful
and
> > joyful. We are retreating, but in a strong way, moving on to the next
> > action, still together.
> >
> > The good feeling lasts until we reach the top of the hill. Somehow the
Black
> > Bloc have become trapped between the pacifist affinity groups and the
> > police. Monica is on the cell phone, upset and tearful when she learns
that
> > the Black Bloc have trashed an old part of the city. "Its over," she
says.
> > "after all our months of work! Lets go home."
> >
> > I am trying to find out what the women want to do: Lisa is trying to
find
> > out what the Pink Bloc wants to do, when suddenly massive amounts of
tear
> > gas fill the square. I am moving away from it, down a side street,
trying to
> > convince myself that I can breathe, when I notice that Im somehow in the
> > midst of the Black Bloc. They run past me, younger, faster, much better
> > equipped, and the police are behind them. I do not want to be here. Im
fifty
> > years old, and I was never very fast even when I was young. For the
first
> > time, I come close to panicking.
> >
> > But below is a side street, and the wind blows the gas away. I can
breath. I
> > duck down the alley. Like most of the streets in this hillside are, it
winds
> > around the side of ridge, with a sheer drop below, and snakes back to
the
> > main street. A small clump of Pink is sheltering there. I join them, we
wait
> > as the Black Block thunders by one street away. Lisa appears to tell us
that
> > the riot cops are coming up from below. Theyre beating people brutally.
We
> > check the exits, fearing weàre trapped, but suddenly the street we came
in
> > on is clear. I and a few others make a break for it, get across and head
up
> > a stairway on the other side. Lisa goes back to see if she can help move
the
> > others. Before she can, the police have found the alley. They beat
people
> > hard, going for the head. They beat pacifists who approach them with
their
> > hands up; they beat women. A battered crowd gathers on the stairs, moves
up
> > a level or two. I comfort a young man with a head wound, a woman who is
> > crying, her thigh covered with the blood of her boyfriend who had been
taken
> > to the hospital. We are all shaken.
> >
> > Slowly, a pink contingent gathers on the stairs. We move up and up; in
this
> > part of town, half the streets are stairways that rise in endless zig
zag
> > flights. Below us, we see contingents of riot cops sweep the streets.
The
> > helicopter above move on, following the Black Bloc. Lisa is moving back
and
> > forth across the street and back to the square, checking out rumors,
trying
> > to figure out whats going on and where we might go. We eventually make
our
> > way back to the square. One of the women has been gassed so badly shes
been
> > vomiting, but she wants to stay. Another women from our contingent was
hit
> > in the head by a cop and taken to the hospital. A whole lot of people
have
> > been badly hurt, people who clearly and unmistakeably are not rock
throwing,
> > streetfighting yout, people who believed they were going to be in a
peaceful
> > and reasonably safe place. Lisa and I had done a training for the women,
> > trying to give them some sense of what they jmight face on the streets
from
> > our experience in other actions. But theres no real way to prepare for a
cop
> > beating a peaceful, nonagressive, midde-aged woman on the head.
> >
> > The Pink Bloc begins a long journey back to the other side of town. Were
> > joined by some of the others from the square and by some of the Italian
> > Pacifist Affinity groups who have been trying to hold space on this
side. As
> > were trying to make our decision, with translation into English, Italian
> > Spanish and French, Some of the Black Bloc drifts up from below and asks
if
> > they can join us to make our common way to the bottom of the town. Some
of
> > the group are angry at the Bloc and unwilling to take the risk of
joining
> > with them or being associated with them. Others feel that we should hold
> > solidarity with everyone, and not leave anyone vulnerable to the police.
> > Eventually, the group offers to accept them if theyàll unmask and leave
> > their sticks behind. They wont do that, they say we should each respect
each
> > others way of doing things, so theyll go down alone, letting us go
first.
> >
> > Theres more, mostly a series of moments of being trapped in an
intersetion
> > here or a stairway there, but after around two or three hours we made it
> > back to the convergence center. Im far too tired to make sense of this
day
> > right now, its all I can do to describe it, and its after midnight and
> > people have to go to bed. Someone is dead, and the night is not over.
>
> ==^================================================================
> EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84tq1.a9albj
> Or send an email To: stopthewto-unsubscribe at topica.com
> This email was sent to: joeG at ieee.org
>
> T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!
> http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register
> ==^================================================================
>