dear barbeliths
i've been away from this board for quite a time but wanted to come back after this weekend. because of genova. i saw the earlier topic but had no energy to read it all. so if the following is a repeating, skip it. it's just my view and experiences of the last weekend. if it's too long, it's because i have to go through the past days once again by writing. (besides, if you want all the up-to-date-information, go to http://italy.indymedia.org )
i'm based in switzerland. ten years ago, me and my friends have been parts of the local squatting scene and attended demonstrations in the so-called "black block". the idea of the then not-so-called "black block" was to be part of a demonstration, to disguise in black, which showed our political view (no flags, no logos, anarchism), but also a offensive approach: we can smash you, but you can't see us. if there was something to be smashed, it made some sense: banks, embassys, mcdonalds, landlords... but the "black block" could also be part of a demonstration and stay peaceful, giving it force withou using it.
after genova, there is a lot of media-talk going on about the "black block". they are terrorists, hooligans and fighting arm in arm with fascists. they are in charge for everything that was going on during G-8 in genova. that's just bullshit.
carlo guliani from genova took up a fire-extinguisher, wanted it to throw at a cop-car, with anger, maybe just thinking about the car, a police-car, a symbol, maybe carlo wanted to make some noise. out of the car came a gun, fired two shots, pointed ones, carlo dies on the street. right there, in genova. a unit of about hundred policemen misses the time of the shooting, can't get their buddies in the car out. but the unit has time to walk over the body of carlo, without just ONE fucking cop to kneel down and look, help, whatever there is to do... afterwards they push away cameramen and photographers who try to get a good shot...
so, those were my feelings last friday: deep, deep sadness, questions, no answers, and anger that became hate. i couldn't dance in the streets for a different world. i couldn't go there and smash everything. but i really wanted to smash anything, i couldn't. i went there with anger and an intention. someone died for the same one.
we got more people than planned, more cars, took not the normal highways - and no controls at the borders. we came to genova, to those tax-highway-stations, a lot of cops around, but none of them bothered. we drove and walked into town: an empty, lifeless, very quit town. the only sights, noises, interactions you got were from demonstration-people.they were between 100'000 and 200'000. from everywhere. italien communist-unionists walked next to american ghandi-peaceniks. people talked french, spanish, greek, arabian dialects, german, italian, even chinese and many, many versions of english. everybody was everywhere. all together they joined two chants: "assasini", the italien wor for murder, yelled at every cop in sight. and "genova libera", "free genova", one angry and fitting phrase, that echoed in the empty streets, while some Genova-residents, who didn't leave, were throwing water down to the demonstrants.a sign of solidarity on this hot day and a sign, that some Gneova-people stayed in their occupied town to show some resistance.
meanwhile, riots were going on. first, down at the beach banks were burned. but afterwards, the now so-called "black block" moved at the end of the demonstration, smashing shops, burning cheap cars and... the strange thing is, that a lot of so-called-black-block-members already decided the day before to take no further action, because it didn't make sense anymore. so some people with bare chest were rioting. and the police was gladly joining this game, splitting up the demonstration into two parts, spearing tear-gas. playing around with those bae-chest-stone-throwers. then the demonstration came to it's end. everybody left, some peaceful groups on their way home were attacked by the police. and when the night came, the italien asssasinis raided the place of gsf, the peacful organisators, of indymedia, the indipendent journalists, and others: almost everyone got one stick on their head. some two, other three and more. everything lying around the place was taken in.
the people staying in those place are now called terrorists. and what is about carlo guiliani and his murderer?
we came back home safe. no hassle at the border. others got arrested only for having been in Genova and wearing a black T-Shirt. an obvious sign for belonging to the so-called "black block".
genova was the last time, all those presidents could come together and tap on their shoulders.
and the italy of berlusconi showed its real face: fascism disguised as democracy. whoever says no to it, will be beaten up. or killed.
what i've learned after this weekend: i have to say no and yes. i have to find out where and why. not alone.
power to the people
shevek |
