GAF Admin, Author at Green Anti-Capitalist Media

Interview with Liebig34 squat in Berlin as it resists eviction

The anticapitalist struggle is an intersectional one. Liebig34 provides a perfect example. In their fight against housing being a commodity, capitalism and patriarchy, they have been a symbol for radical queer feminism for 30 years. Now, the project is faced with the threat of eviction. Being the valuable and inspiring project that Liebig34 has been, it cannot be taken away. Liebig34 stays! This interview serves to provide an insight into the immense value of Liebig34 and hopes to encourage action and solidarity.

Livestream shoutouts – 3rd September

CLIMATE JUSTICE IS MIGRANT JUSTICE PROTEST

Tomorrow, a coalition of climate groups will be holding a socially distanced protest to raise awareness of the link between climate justice and migrant justice. The ecological crisis is already upon us and hitting the inhabitants of the Global South first and in the coming years it is only going to get worse. In anticipation of the inevitable new waves of migration from climate refugees, we are witnessing the increased militarisation of borders in the Global North as well as the rise of racist rhetoric against migrants and refugees.

GAF will be joining tomorrow’s protest, please join us too. The meeting point is the Nelson Mandela statue in Parliament Square at 10am.

YOUTH 4 CLIMATE JUSTICE COURT CASE

Six young people from Portugal are taking thirty-three European countries to the European Court of Human Rights for failing to do their part to avert climate catastrophe. Their goal is to seek a legally binding decision from the European Court of Human Rights requiring governments in Europe to take the urgent action needed to stop the climate crisis using the argument that the European Convention on Human Rights obliges European governments to fight climate change.

While in GAF we believe the state is part of the problem and no real solutions can be found working within their apparatus, we applaud the initiative as a useful precedent and a good way to raise awareness and start fruitful discussions and hopefully also actions. The young plaintiffs are being supported by the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), you can help by sharing the case on social media or donating to the funds being raised to cover the legal fees. For more information, visit youth4climatejustice.org.

INTERNATIONAL RESISTANCE TO MINING FILM FESTIVAL

In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement, Indigenous activists and mining affected communities across the globe, London Mining Network presents the International Resistance to Mining Film Festival. The films deal with the colonial legacy of international extractivism and the lives it affects. From Bouganville to South Africa, Australia to Colombia, these true stories remind us of the human cost of mining as well as the amazing acts of resistance that it inspires.

Films will be shown at 7.30pm between 21 and 28 September 2020. For more info and to register your place, see the Eventbrite page.

SUSTAINING ALL LIFE & UNITED TO END RACISM AT CLIMATE WEEK

Sustaining All Life (SAL) and United to End Racism (UER) are international grassroots organizations working to end the climate emergency within the context of ending all divisions among people. SAL/UER is participating in Climate Week, September 21-27, a week of international climate events happening online. They will present many interactive workshops and forums that address barriers to resolving the climate emergency. Topics include Eliminating the Effects of Racism in our Climate Activism; Women, Girls and Climate Justice; Jews and Climate Justice:Building a United Front and War and Climate Change. Their six forums provide opportunities to amplify the voices of people who don’t generally get heard and include Voices of Latin America, Indigenous Voices and Youth Leading on the Climate Emergency.

ENDE GELÄNDE

This year, just like the previous years, Ende Gelaende is organising an action against coal infrastructure in Germany. They will be holding a decentralised blockade in the region of the Rhineland from the 23rd to the 28th of September. The Coal Extension Act will keep coal alive for another 18 years, using billions of Euros. Ende Gelaende are fighting to ensure that coal is phased out immediately and the door to a fundamental system change is opened. They plan on placing themselves between the coal diggers and the threatened villages to protect them. It is to be a publicly announced blockade with a wide range of opportunities to participate. To find out more check their facebook pages or their call to action.

DAVID GRAEBER

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the death of David Graeber yesterday.

David Graeber was an American anthropologist and anarchist activist author know for such books as Debt: The First 5,000 Years, where he explores the violence that lies behind all social relations based on money, and calls for a wiping out of sovereign and consumer debts and Bullshit Jobs in which he argues that most white-collar jobs were meaningless and that technological advances had led to people working more, not less.

Graeber also had a history of involvement in political activism since the 90s including being a member of the Industrial Workers of the World and being a pivotal figure in the Occupy Wall Street Movement in 2011 as well as the Global Justice Movement. He was a professor at the London School of Economics at the time of his death.

You can find links to some of his work on Graeber’s website.

Setting up a new GAF group

So you’ve decided to set up a local GAF group! Amazing! This is how the movement spreads and how we create a vibrant, linked up international movement. The first GAF group, in London, was set up by just a few people – it may seem like an intimidating task, and it takes work, but it’s very doable and the rewards for both yourself, your community, and our planet will be huge.

Mayday Revolt 2020

2020 is turning out to be a year unlike its predecessors, forcing us to redefine how we act and how we react. This May Day, the usual displays of working class radical mass action were off the cards due to COVID-19. However, now more than ever, despite being told repeatedly by the state to “stay at home” and be obedient, radical action was needed to mark this anniversary. Workers’ rights have suffered multiple attacks over the last decade and now the pandemic is shining a bright light on the inequalities of our society and the war that is waged against the working classes by those in power.

This Mayday GAF sent out a call out to all to participate in any way they were able in actions of revolt, small or big, because not even a global pandemic can quell the rage of the oppressed. We were heartened to see how many of you responded to the call as hundreds of autonomous actions against the state and capital took place all across the country. The GAF May Day Revolt saw banner drops, postering campaigns, graffiti and other actions taking place across the country from Devon to Scotland.

Click to read more and see photos

Mayday Revolt Call Out

May 1^st is well known as international workers day across the globe, but this year we want it to be known as a day where anyone who is sick and tired of capitalists and the state threatening their life can step up and fight back by any means necessary.

The Green Anti-capitalist Front (GAF) is calling for May 1^st to be a day of action, where we can all be apart physically but united as one cause against the rich and the state.

These actions should be done to maximise the amount of damage inflicted upon the ruling class while staying safe and observing social distancing. Each action should be done safely and in small crews or alone. Use the hash tag #MayDayRevolt to show what you find on the day.

We called this day of action alongside comrades from a range of different organisations across the globe to show that we are angry.

How many deaths could have been prevented if governments didn’t act purely to keep their own class’ power? How many loved ones will be lost because they prioritise economic growth over people’s lives? How many times can the police abuse their power and see no consequences?

Let’s make them scared to ever risk our lives again.

Solidarity and good luck.

Click on the images below to download printable pdfs of the flyers.

Why I’d be Happy to see Boris Johnson Dead: Structural Violence and COVID-19

Happy might be an overstatement – while there’s some catharsis in seeing butchers like Johnson bite it off the back of their own hubris, ultimately it wouldn’t help those who still suffer at the hands of his toxic party and ideology. That said, the world would undoubtedly be a better place had Johnson never existed, and I daresay will in the future be a better place if he ceases to exist. This probably seems cruel, callous, and unkind. In some ways it is, but now that’s out the way, I want to spend the rest of the article explaining myself.

Reflections on Covid-19: it’s not the virus that is killing us, it’s capitalism

Over recent weeks, the business as usual that activists have been fighting against for decades has been abruptly suspended in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although many expected such a crisis could occur around this time, what could not have been predicted is the form and magnitude of the upheaval. Not just governments, businesses and heath-services, but also activists and grassroots organisations – we have all been caught with our proverbial trousers down. In this short period of time we have experienced significant changes to our lives and daily routines. Some have been able to adapt quickly, immediately getting involved with setting up mutual aid initiatives around the country. Others have needed time to recover, reflect, and regroup.

Statement in reference to the RCG

The Green Anticapitalist Front, as stated in its Aims and Principles is committed to organising in a way that is supportive and inclusive, and therefore to driving out abusive or bullying behaviour wherever it presents. This includes the challenging of perceived tolerance of sexual violence and/or covering for abusers.

Recently, allegations of such nature were brought to the attention of GAF London regarding the Revolutionary Communist Group (RCG), who have organised under the GAF banner. Link 1 Link 2 Link 3

The Rally Against Capital

At the Rally Against Capital, the Green Anti-capitalist Front wanted to show that it’s not regular working people but the rich, the bankers and those who protect them who are causing climate change. We led our demonstration to the London Stock Exchange, a centre of finance and capital for some of the most destructive companies on the planet, to attempt to disrupt some of their capitalist system.

Statement in relation to Revolutionary Communist Group

The Green Anticapitalist Front, as stated in its Aims and Principles (https://greenanticapitalist.org/aims-principles/) organises in a supportive, inclusive way, free from bullying or abusive behaviour. This includes sexual harassment and abuse, as well as covering up and tolerating such behaviour. GAF London has been approached several times by people outside the organisation about why we were organising with the RCG (Revolutionary Communist Group) who are accused of all the aforementioned actions.

We want to assure everyone that we are taking these accusations very seriously and are in the process of investigating them and holding discussions with the RCG. A decision and statement will be released as soon as all parties are satisfied.