The ZAD in France is set to successfully resist eviction . . .
This is postcapitalism in its purest form - people creating together, organising without leaders, driven by the intensity of their passion rather than profit margins and merging work with pleasure. “It seems that we are working perfectly well without bosses,” says Lucille as she moulds the clay around the bathtub with her hands, “could we have been lied to all our lives? ” she laughs.
“We don’t want to occupy the territory, we want to be the territory.” ~ The Invisible Committee of The Coming Insurrection
Saturday, November 17th - Day of Reoccupation 2012 article
"On la ZAD that night we were becoming mud, becoming part of this dark complexity a teaspoon full of which holds four billion micro organisms recycling death into life for us all everyday. The word humble has its roots in humus, it means to literally return to earth. Perhaps the future will be built by heroic acts of humility rather than arrogant temples to growth. Perhaps civilisation’s dream to suck this Zone dry with its concrete and tarmac, steel and plastic will be vanquished by wetness."
“Grow Heathrow is about a living, sustainable, community based future. We should be enabling projects like this not closing them down. Growing food, cooking it and eating together is the glue that has held societies together - we need a lot more of it, not less.” ~ John McDonnell, MP
"Grow Heathrow have brought the area back into productive use, providing a space where people of all ages from across the community can meet, get outdoors and learn new skills. They run regular community activities and events. This has made a very significant contribution to community life in Sipson and Harmondsworth at an exceptionally challenging time. I very much hope that they and the owners of the land can come to a mutually acceptable solution, even at this late stage." ~ The Community Food Growers Network
Statements from the 40,000 who worked to build : say fuck you to Google
We run through the fields and reach the Rohanne forest, it’s completely surrounded by gendarmes. There are over 500 on the Zone now, the area is totally shut down. We gather a small crowd and manage to break through a police line in the adjoining field, our hands raised in the air: “Only you are armed,” we chant. We burst into the forest. As we run we glimpse other bodies darting through the thick trees, dozens of figures all heading towards La Chât-teigne. We come across an affinity group huddled behind a tree covering their faces with chalky white anti tear gas lotion. “What’s happening?” I ask. “Its full on down there!” one of them replies “It’s war!” We keep going drawn by the crack of tear gas grenades.
There are still no police to be seen but if their helicopters had looked down at the tens of thousands of people working across this landscape it would have resembled a convulsing ants nest, a purposeful self-managed organism without central command. They might have observed that out of the complexity of this multitude a collective intelligence was emerging, an intelligence greater than the sum of its parts. For those whose entire system is based on control and obedience, pyramids of power and hierarchies it would have been a frightening sight. The example of so many strangers cooperating in resistance is much more intimidating to the state than a burning barricade or a hail of cobblestones.
The site at Vineries Close Sipson has been a major problem for some years. As a committee member of the Harmondsworth and Sipson residents Association, I have had to deal with continuing problems on this site. The owners used it for car breakage, storage and maintenance in violation of planning laws. The site became seriously polluted and the continuing high noise levels reduced the quality of life for local residents. After long disputes with the council the owners stopped using the site. The Transition Heathrow group moved onto the site and worked tirelessly, with full local support, to clean up the site and to restore it to agricultural use. Many tons of polluted rubbish was removed. During this time the Transition team have become much loved and respected members of the community and have the full support of the local residents. It would be a tragedy if the owners gained control of the site, profiting from the hard work of the Transition team and continued with their previous illegal activities. If the present owners reprocess the site, there must be strict conditions imposed with regard to violations of planning and environmental health laws. A formal tenancy agreement for Transition Heathrow would be a better way forward and this is the result that local residents would wish to see. ~ Pam Osborne, No Third Runway Action Group (NOTRAG)
The ZAD airport squatters in Nantes, north west France, have called for 100,000 activists to join them on 11 May for their biggest mass action ever. The squatted anti-capitalist and non-hierarchical protest site on the proposed zone of a new airport in Nantes saw 40,000 grassroots activists re-occupy it in November 2012. Now they’re working with local farmers to produce their own food.
“We don’t want to occupy the territory, we want to be the territory.” ~ The Invisible Committee of The Coming Insurrection
Saturday, November 17th - Day of Reoccupation 2012 article
"On la ZAD that night we were becoming mud, becoming part of this dark complexity a teaspoon full of which holds four billion micro organisms recycling death into life for us all everyday. The word humble has its roots in humus, it means to literally return to earth. Perhaps the future will be built by heroic acts of humility rather than arrogant temples to growth. Perhaps civilisation’s dream to suck this Zone dry with its concrete and tarmac, steel and plastic will be vanquished by wetness."
“Grow Heathrow is about a living, sustainable, community based future. We should be enabling projects like this not closing them down. Growing food, cooking it and eating together is the glue that has held societies together - we need a lot more of it, not less.” ~ John McDonnell, MP
"Grow Heathrow have brought the area back into productive use, providing a space where people of all ages from across the community can meet, get outdoors and learn new skills. They run regular community activities and events. This has made a very significant contribution to community life in Sipson and Harmondsworth at an exceptionally challenging time. I very much hope that they and the owners of the land can come to a mutually acceptable solution, even at this late stage." ~ The Community Food Growers Network
Statements from the 40,000 who worked to build : say fuck you to Google
We run through the fields and reach the Rohanne forest, it’s completely surrounded by gendarmes. There are over 500 on the Zone now, the area is totally shut down. We gather a small crowd and manage to break through a police line in the adjoining field, our hands raised in the air: “Only you are armed,” we chant. We burst into the forest. As we run we glimpse other bodies darting through the thick trees, dozens of figures all heading towards La Chât-teigne. We come across an affinity group huddled behind a tree covering their faces with chalky white anti tear gas lotion. “What’s happening?” I ask. “Its full on down there!” one of them replies “It’s war!” We keep going drawn by the crack of tear gas grenades.
There are still no police to be seen but if their helicopters had looked down at the tens of thousands of people working across this landscape it would have resembled a convulsing ants nest, a purposeful self-managed organism without central command. They might have observed that out of the complexity of this multitude a collective intelligence was emerging, an intelligence greater than the sum of its parts. For those whose entire system is based on control and obedience, pyramids of power and hierarchies it would have been a frightening sight. The example of so many strangers cooperating in resistance is much more intimidating to the state than a burning barricade or a hail of cobblestones.
The site at Vineries Close Sipson has been a major problem for some years. As a committee member of the Harmondsworth and Sipson residents Association, I have had to deal with continuing problems on this site. The owners used it for car breakage, storage and maintenance in violation of planning laws. The site became seriously polluted and the continuing high noise levels reduced the quality of life for local residents. After long disputes with the council the owners stopped using the site. The Transition Heathrow group moved onto the site and worked tirelessly, with full local support, to clean up the site and to restore it to agricultural use. Many tons of polluted rubbish was removed. During this time the Transition team have become much loved and respected members of the community and have the full support of the local residents. It would be a tragedy if the owners gained control of the site, profiting from the hard work of the Transition team and continued with their previous illegal activities. If the present owners reprocess the site, there must be strict conditions imposed with regard to violations of planning and environmental health laws. A formal tenancy agreement for Transition Heathrow would be a better way forward and this is the result that local residents would wish to see. ~ Pam Osborne, No Third Runway Action Group (NOTRAG)
The ZAD airport squatters in Nantes, north west France, have called for 100,000 activists to join them on 11 May for their biggest mass action ever. The squatted anti-capitalist and non-hierarchical protest site on the proposed zone of a new airport in Nantes saw 40,000 grassroots activists re-occupy it in November 2012. Now they’re working with local farmers to produce their own food.