WE BLOCKED G8!
I wrote a lot about my time in Rostock while I was there, but somehow I seem to have lost all the pieces of paper my entries were on. I have to try to find those pieces of paper, as I don't have everything installed in my little brain!
We actually blocked the summit and postponed it by one day! We had several road blocks, though I only visited two of them. On wednesday morning we walked five sweat-covered kilometers through hot fields towards our "station" and had to walk through two aggressive police lines in which peaceful protesters with their hands full of flowers met cops who beat them up, sprayed tear gas on them and used water cannons. The only reason I got across the first road was because the cop who was stationed nearby me was beating up another activist. I ran past him, dodged another cop and jumped into a ditch on a guy who had also survived. we crawled out and I realised I had lost my affinity group. So I allied myself with some crazy Finnish activists whose group was calles RUNKKARIT (Wankers) for certain reasons: you can shout it as much as you want, and not feel bad about the cops hearing it! cause its just your group's name right? My group's name was Dentist, but people didn't hear me shouting it when I had lost them in that chaos.
I didn't get pepper sprayed, but I did get some ice cold water on me on two occasions. Police kicked people in the balls, beat their necks with battons and didn't give three warnings before dragging them out of the very first blockade. Also they used water cannons on activists who were sitting on the road. The police dispersed the block, and we walked across some fields again, forming yet another two roadblocks. It was too difficult for the police to control two blockades on the same road, so they wanted to destroy the one I was in and send us to the last blockade. My arm got bruised and my wrist got twisted by two policemen for refusing to leave and then walking towards the remaining blockade too slowly. Some of my friends got really bad bruises on their arms, necks and backs. The evening came and I left a bit earlier as I felt a bit ill and walked a loong way back to Rostock camp. My friend stayed at the blockade, as we had lost each other. Blockading went on for two days! On the next day, I went to Bad Doberang, which was much more peaceful than the other one.
Despite of all this we succeeded! In the end, all the cops could do was to stand there in a really intimidating way and watch us sitting on the road. They had undoubtedly practiced the operation for months. We had had a short discussion about it on the previous night! So no anarchist training camps for you! Just Five Finger Tactic...One fist, Five Fingers!
It's unbelievable how individuals can make such things happen, and it truly brought me more hope. The sense of solidarity was amazing both at the camp as well as at protests. I felt safe in my tent when Nazis were going to attack our camp, as I saw a dozen black bloc activists run to the gate in order to protect us. Some guys gave us their tent to sleep in and didn't want it back afterwards (hmm solidarity or just bad smell?), another guy kept my camera and mobile phone while I was at the blockade and gave it back to me afterwards, people held on to me even though police were getting reeally tough, some people gave me water when I lost my bottle, a girl got a bicycle from a guy cause she had blisters on her feet for having to walk fifteen kilometers back to the camp (was NOT fun, I tell you! though it made me feel better that cops had to walk with us).
Finnish newspapers reported of two Greenpeace boats crashing with each other while entering the forbidden zone (YAY, guys, you DID IT! SOO BRAVE!!!). The truth is, they did crash because a police boat pushed them together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdptX87IYNQ&mode=related&search= A friend of mine was on that boat! You can see him in the clip :D He survived!
Also watch this video clip til the end and see a police boat drive ON a Greenpeace one, throwing all activists into water. Also they drive on Gp activists on another occasion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYeqAsIF1CA
I met a reeeally nice activist guy while blocking the road!!! FInally I seem to have some luck with men :D It's weird. If the police hadn't taken me to the other blockade, I wouldn't have met him. THANK YOU COPS!
Also I got the internship, and it'll start on Monday. I'm soo happy about it! My life finally seems to find its way out of misery. Still have money problems though, but I hope they get sorted out.
I still want to go back to Thailand this Xmas, and get my emergency rescue diving course done.
We actually blocked the summit and postponed it by one day! We had several road blocks, though I only visited two of them. On wednesday morning we walked five sweat-covered kilometers through hot fields towards our "station" and had to walk through two aggressive police lines in which peaceful protesters with their hands full of flowers met cops who beat them up, sprayed tear gas on them and used water cannons. The only reason I got across the first road was because the cop who was stationed nearby me was beating up another activist. I ran past him, dodged another cop and jumped into a ditch on a guy who had also survived. we crawled out and I realised I had lost my affinity group. So I allied myself with some crazy Finnish activists whose group was calles RUNKKARIT (Wankers) for certain reasons: you can shout it as much as you want, and not feel bad about the cops hearing it! cause its just your group's name right? My group's name was Dentist, but people didn't hear me shouting it when I had lost them in that chaos.
I didn't get pepper sprayed, but I did get some ice cold water on me on two occasions. Police kicked people in the balls, beat their necks with battons and didn't give three warnings before dragging them out of the very first blockade. Also they used water cannons on activists who were sitting on the road. The police dispersed the block, and we walked across some fields again, forming yet another two roadblocks. It was too difficult for the police to control two blockades on the same road, so they wanted to destroy the one I was in and send us to the last blockade. My arm got bruised and my wrist got twisted by two policemen for refusing to leave and then walking towards the remaining blockade too slowly. Some of my friends got really bad bruises on their arms, necks and backs. The evening came and I left a bit earlier as I felt a bit ill and walked a loong way back to Rostock camp. My friend stayed at the blockade, as we had lost each other. Blockading went on for two days! On the next day, I went to Bad Doberang, which was much more peaceful than the other one.
Despite of all this we succeeded! In the end, all the cops could do was to stand there in a really intimidating way and watch us sitting on the road. They had undoubtedly practiced the operation for months. We had had a short discussion about it on the previous night! So no anarchist training camps for you! Just Five Finger Tactic...One fist, Five Fingers!
It's unbelievable how individuals can make such things happen, and it truly brought me more hope. The sense of solidarity was amazing both at the camp as well as at protests. I felt safe in my tent when Nazis were going to attack our camp, as I saw a dozen black bloc activists run to the gate in order to protect us. Some guys gave us their tent to sleep in and didn't want it back afterwards (hmm solidarity or just bad smell?), another guy kept my camera and mobile phone while I was at the blockade and gave it back to me afterwards, people held on to me even though police were getting reeally tough, some people gave me water when I lost my bottle, a girl got a bicycle from a guy cause she had blisters on her feet for having to walk fifteen kilometers back to the camp (was NOT fun, I tell you! though it made me feel better that cops had to walk with us).
Finnish newspapers reported of two Greenpeace boats crashing with each other while entering the forbidden zone (YAY, guys, you DID IT! SOO BRAVE!!!). The truth is, they did crash because a police boat pushed them together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdptX87IYNQ&mode=related&search= A friend of mine was on that boat! You can see him in the clip :D He survived!
Also watch this video clip til the end and see a police boat drive ON a Greenpeace one, throwing all activists into water. Also they drive on Gp activists on another occasion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYeqAsIF1CA
I met a reeeally nice activist guy while blocking the road!!! FInally I seem to have some luck with men :D It's weird. If the police hadn't taken me to the other blockade, I wouldn't have met him. THANK YOU COPS!
Also I got the internship, and it'll start on Monday. I'm soo happy about it! My life finally seems to find its way out of misery. Still have money problems though, but I hope they get sorted out.
I still want to go back to Thailand this Xmas, and get my emergency rescue diving course done.