Today's Topics:
1. solidaridad obrera - PARADOXES OF THE MOMENT: LOOK FOR
ANOTHER WAY OUT - CARLOS TAIBO (ca, it, pt)
[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #304 - Antifascism,
Pandemic: The awakening of anti-Asian prejudices (fr, it,
pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. Czech, afed.cz - Germany: Solidarity action with refugees
[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. Poland, rozbrat Poznan: WE TAKE MATTERS INTO OUR OWN HANDS
[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. Canada, Collectif Emma Goldman - [Covid-19] Portland, OR:
Antifascists Put Their Shoulders On The Wheel (fr, it,
pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. awsm.nz: Solidarity statement with Rojava facing war and a
global pandemic! (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
7. US, black rose fed: In the Fight of Our Lives: Healthcare
Workers Speak Out, Posted on April 16, 2020 - FederationTags:
COVID19, healthcare, Worker Struggle (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
8. France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL translation -
Brazil: Our conception of feminism from the perspective of
organized anarchism (fr, it, pt)[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
9. anarchist communist group ACG: ACG postal workers' bulletin
- issue 1 out now! (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
10. Britain, Class Warr daily 14 April: Fuck off back to bed: No
tears for this ckown (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
In 2016 I published a book titled Collapse. The main thesis that he defended in his pages indicated that the horizon of a general collapse
of the system that we suffer is linked above all to two major issues: climate change, on the one hand, and the depletion of energy raw
materials, on the other. It added, that yes, that in no way it was possible to discard the influence of other factors that, apparently
secondary, could officiate, nevertheless, like multipliers of the tensions. And among them he mentioned, by the way, the weight of epidemics
and pandemics. ---- Although the balance that should be recorded in these hours has to be provisional, it seems to me that a striking
scenario is making its way. This is so, I think, for two reasons. The first calls attention to the weight of these apparently secondary
factors and, more precisely, to the accumulated momentum that they seem to exhibit. At first it was, certainly, the pandemic. But to it have
been added, with enormous speed and intensity, the effects of a social fracture of unfathomable profiles, those of the increasingly visible
crisis of care, those of a financial anxiety that announces conflicts everywhere and, for leave it there, those of another pandemic, now of
a repressive-authoritarian nature, which seems to have come to stay. It is not superfluous, under this accumulation of circumstances, to
suggest,
I am going, however, for the second reason that I invoked. The great paradox of the present moment is that the rules that have been marking
the course of the two great issues that I mentioned in my book - climate change and the depletion of energy raw materials - have changed,
certainly in a light way, for the better . It is known that the levels of pollution have receded in almost the entire planet, that the
consumption of fossil fuels has also declined and that the aggressive touristification of recent years has experienced a brutal brake.
Although everything, or almost everything, announces that these three processes exhibit a fleeting character, they have the virtue of
reminding us that it is possible, that it is urgent, to move the pieces differently.
Neither the international organizations, nor the governments, nor the employers, nor the claudicant unionism seem to have taken note of
this. The bet of all these instances is today, cheekily, for a return to the scenario prior to that of the coronavirus. In many cases,
perhaps the majority, the return would entail, in addition, one more setback, the umpteenth, in the social field, in the workplace, in the
care and in the repressive. That universal wager of the really existing powers means, obscenely, that the great questions connected with the
collapse will once again be put to the benefit of a new flight forward. Unequivocally, the latter will result in the use of a formidable
media machinery at the service of the corresponding project. Only a brief minority has understood, meanwhile,
Someone will think, with respectable criteria, that a project as radical as the one I am proposing is superfluous in a scenario marked by
endless problems of all kinds that harass us at these times. In response, I will limit myself to recovering a piece of information, very
illuminating, that has run around the last few days. According to a study in Forbes magazine , the reduction in pollution registered in
China in recent months seems to be called to save 77,000 lives, a figure 25 times higher than that of the officially recognized victims, in
that country, as a result of the coronavirus. What to think about, right?
solidaridadobrera.org/confederal/2020/04/13/paradojas-del-momento-buscar-otra-salida-carlos-taibo
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Message: 2
In many French newspapers, Covid-19 has often been associated with China by the expressions "Chinese coronavirus" or "yellow peril". This
strategy has a double effect, it clears states not to put in place the measures necessary to manage the epidemic. In addition, it places the
responsibility for the existence of the virus on the country where the first cases were identified causing a wave of racism against people
identified as Asians. ---- Pandemics are not only medical events, they are also primarily social and political events. Their propagation,
their management, the evils and the words they generate are above all political. Associating a nationality with a pandemic is not new in
history, and it is not neutral. There was the flu known as "Spanish" (1918-1919), and further still the syphilis that the French called
"theevil of Naples", the Italians of "bad French" while the Russians spoke to them of "bad Polish"" ! The same was true of the use of the
term "sidaeAimed at using mechanisms similar to anti-Semitism towards HIV-positive people - and advocating the same "treatment" ! - by the
French far-right during the HIV-AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Finally, an epidemic probably tells us more about a society than about the state
of medicine !
Racism: another pandemic to fight
Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic in December 2019, the number of insults, stigmatizing comments and assaults against people of Asian
origin has exploded. Fear of the coronavirus is racially exploited to justify discrimination, such as refusing job applications. Obviously,
anti-Asian racism did not appear with the virus. We can indeed find in this fear of Asians the rhetoric of the Yellow peril, dating from the
end of the 19th centurycentury. This idea according to which the Asians would be barbarians, a threat, and would invade the Western world,
is therefore still present and was reactivated with the rise of Japan on the economic scene in the 1970s and then China in the 2000s. One of
the fears conveyed by this racist discourse is, moreover, the fear of the diseases that this immigrant population from China would bring, a
country which has repugnant culinary traditions. The rhetoric of yellow peril is international. It notably justified the colonization of
Indochina by France or the opium wars against China. So, when the Picard Courier uses "Yellow Alert" in its front page of January 26, 2020,
then "The yellow danger ? To title his editorial of the same day, he does so with full knowledge of the facts, making uncomplicated
reference to this racist concept. Racism against Asians is today often invisibilised and underplayed. The emergence of the coronavirus made
it resurface in the media, we should not, as after 2016 and the murder of Chaolin Zhang, forget that this fight is an integral part of the
fight against racism.
The anti-fascist commission
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Pandemie-Le-reveil-des-prejuges-anti-asiatiques
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Message: 3
A demonstration against racism, nationalism and war took place in Cologne (with prescribed distances).
An unannounced refugee support event took place in the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia on Sunday 12 April. It was attended by about
twenty people, including anarchists. Following the recommended hygiene rules, they moved posters, flags and banners in the park between
Zülpicher and Venloer Straße.
A total of twenty police cars arrived. Police have checked some people's documents to show what democracy looks like in a state of emergency.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/anna.schieh/posts/2812282205535091
https://www.afed.cz/text/7158/nemecko-akce-solidarity-s-uprchliky
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Message: 4
The coronovirus outbreak continues and grass-roots support initiatives are ongoing. One of these initiatives is the action of the Poznan
libertarian community centered around Rozbrat. ---- Keywords coronavirus hygiene masks ---- We took matters into our own hands and in line
with the anarchist tradition of self-help and social solidarity, we decided to sew masks and produce disinfectants for those who often
cannot afford them, or for those who were deprived of state aid. ---- We managed to network dozens of volunteers who, for free, in their
free time, sew masks in homes, which then go to Nursing Homes, Monar centers or hospitals. It is thanks to this voluntary work that we have
produced and handed over 7,000 masks during the three weeks of our action.
Thanks to donors, we have some materials and sewing machines. Thanks to our donors, we can cover the costs of purchasing additional
materials, organize transport or shipping.
We do not intend to sell our masks, they are made for free and are also distributed for free. It is important to us - the state and
capitalism fail, it turns out that for many people buying a pack of masks (3 pcs) for almost 50 PLN is a considerable expense. That is why
we do it for free. Everyone should have access to this basic form of security.
You can support our campaign in various ways: sewing, delivering materials or simply paying to our collection account. All help is important
and every payment will be useful:
HTTPS://POMAGAM.PL/PRODUKCJAMASECZEK
https://www.rozbrat.org/informacje/poznan/4714-bierzemy-sprawy-w-swoje-rece
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Message: 5
Antifascists from the Popular Mobilization organization and street medics from the Rosehip Medic Collective are working hard to make bottles
of hand sanitizer. To date, more than 7,000 bottles have been produced and they are donated to organizations that help the homeless and
others at risk. Thus, organizations such as Sisters of the Road , Portland People's Outreach Project , Outside In , Meals on Wheels and
Street Roots and Voz were able to receive this very popular product for free during these times of the Covid-19 pandemic. ---- Postal
workers, delivery people and workers at TriMet (public transport in Portland) were also able to benefit from a few bottles of hand sanitizer
and Lysol since their employers did not provide them. For Effie Baum, one of the people participating in the project: "We have to protect
ourselves, and only our community can take care of our community. The state is not going to protect us. Our city and county have already
failed to help the homeless even before the pandemic. At least these bottles offer them protection[for the homeless]. This project takes
place at the Q Center, a space for the LGBTQ + community, and is made possible thanks to donations. For those who want to give a little
something to support this project, there is a GoFundMe page .
Photo credit: Jonathan House
In France, anarchist comrades from the Montpellier Communist Libertarian Union also make a contribution:
"A medical care facility for adults with multiple disabilities in the region had launched a call for solidarity to collect materials to
allow its staff to protect themselves and their patients. Among the many people who answered this call, 2 comrades from UCL Montpellier who
sewed and delivered 50 reusable cloth masks. UCL Montpellier addresses all its support to patients and health workers. "
Credit, UCL Montpellier Facebook page .
Collectif Emma Goldman
http://ucl-saguenay.blogspot.com/2020/04/covid-19-portland-or-des-antifascistes.html
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Message: 6
COVID-19, which has quarantined an innumerable number of cities and has paralyzed entire economic sectors, has not yet stopped the
continuous dirty war by Turkey and its ally Daesh against the people of the northern region of Syria. They have had to continue to defend
themselves without any truce. At this time, the dormant siege by Syria, promoted by Russia in its attempt to be hegemonic in the region, has
been evident. It is utilizing these territories as part of a confrontation against American imperialism. ---- Currently, the people of
Rojava have to fight against the propagation of the novel coronavirus in their territories. The Autonomous Administration of Rojava faces
this danger in a state of weakness due to the difficulty of maintaining a functional sanitary system despite the war.
Now, all people's organizations should act together to challenge war and aid Kurdish, Arab, and Assyrian peoples as much as possible, as
long as their autonomy and right of self-determination in their territories are rightfully respected. Facing the cynical and hypocritical
silence of the State and the bourgeoisie, we, anarchists of the world, reiterate once again our internationalist and from-below solidarity
with the revolution in Rojava so that it triumphs over the global coronavirus pandemic and the pandemic of war.
In fact, those who continue to wage war against people whilst healthcare systems are collapsing due to COVID-19 are twice as criminal.
Stop all wars!
FOR LIFE AND FREEDOM! LONG LIVE ROJAVA!
Coordenação Anarquista Brasileira - CAB
Federación Anarquista Uruguaya - FAU
Federación Anarquista Rosario - FAR (Argentina)
Organización Anarquista de Córdoba - OAC (Argentina)
Federación Anarquista Santiago - FAS (Chile)
Grupo Libertario Vía Libre (Colombia)
Union Communiste Libertaire (Francia)
Embat - Organización Anarquista (Cataluña)
Alternativa Libertaria / Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici - AL/fdca (Italia)
Die Plattform (Alemania)
Devrimci Anarsist Faaliyet - DAF (Turquía)
Organization Socialiste Libertaire - OSL (Suiza)
Libertaere Aktion (Suiza)
Workers Solidarity Movement - WSM (Irlanda)
Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group - MACG (Australia)
Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement - AWSM (Aotearoa / Nueva Zelanda)
https://awsm.nz/?p=5152
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Message: 7
From the front lines of struggle against Covid-19 members and allies of Black Rose Anarchist Federation / Federación Anarquista Rosa Negra
came together to produce this video of personal testimony and a collective statements in support of the National Healthcare Day of Action on
April 15, 2020. Watch the video above and we have reproduced their statement below. ---- Heathcare Workers Statement and Demands ---- This
crisis has made healthcare workers around the world realize that we need to stand up and speak out for a new system. Right now thousands of
people are dying and suffering, including hundreds of our colleagues, because of a system that prioritizes profit and competition over human
needs and cooperation. We support the Healthcare Workers National Day of Action because the most important thing for us right now is to
organize and fight.
We know that the lack of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is real. We believe that factories need to be nationalized and converted into
producing PPE and ventilators. We need to recognize medical equipment as a public good. Being able to quickly carry out massive amounts of
testing will be critical in the coming months. We need to void patents that limit the sharing of lifesaving knowledge and fight to maximize
the production of testing mediums.
We need to end international sanctions on countries like Iran and Venezuela so that they are able to access the equipment and medicine they
need. We need international collaboration and solidarity between healthcare workers around the world.
Many people are staying home sick because they are worried about how they will pay for treatment. Millions of Americans have lost their
healthcare coverage through lay-offs. In the coming recession, we are going to watch patients die for senseless reasons like not getting the
cancer screening they needed after losing their healthcare. We need to fight for universal healthcare for all. Right now winning, Medicare
for All is a real possibility if we build a strong movement for it, but we also need to be clear that this is only a baby step forward
towards the kind of healthcare system we need.
Like every crisis, this pandemic has exposed the inequalities created by racism and capitalism in this country. With Black people dying at a
much higher rate than whites, we need governments to shift resources to Black, brown and indigenous communities to combat the inequalities
in the healthcare system.
We need to address the wage inequalities within healthcare. Many of our staff make poverty wages while risking their lives. All front line
workers are equally important and we reject the hierarchical stratification of wages. We need a national $15 minimum wage with hazard pay,
along with adequate sick leave for those who have to quarantine, and paid family medical leave for those who need to stay safe at home or
take care of others.
Our Long Term Goals in This Fight
We hope that you will join with us in fighting for these immediate emergency measures to fight the covid-19 pandemic. But we also know that
we have been fighting since long before this crisis, and will need to keep fighting long after. It is not enough to bandage the wounds of
our wounded society. We need to cure the disease that is killing us and our planet. We need a revolution against the cancer of capitalism.
Although Medicare for All will save many lives, it is only the bare minimum that we need to survive. We will continue fighting for a
healthcare system where patients are not pushed around by a dehumanizing bureaucracy and workers aren't exploited by 20 layers of healthcare
administrators. We will keep fighting to create a healthcare system that is run democratically by workers and patients; and that treats
people as full humans and not just collections of symptoms.
Taking the production and distribution of critical medical equipment out of the private market will help us respond to future crises. But
ultimately we do not want the government or anyone as our boss, and in every workplace we must keep fighting for worker self-management.
https://blackrosefed.org/in-the-fight-of-our-lives-healthcare-workers-speak-out/
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Message: 8
Faced with the current scenario (and, it should be said, a scenario which brings living and living conditions hitherto unimaginable for most
of us), we cannot but debate the way in which women who constitute the most vulnerable sectors of society have felt the restrictions imposed
by this pandemic context much more violently. ---- Social inequalities, the oppressions that founded the Brazilian state and the constant
violations against the people have historically had a particular impact on women. After all, it is they who significantly form the basis of
the labor force exploitation pyramid ; they have the lowest wages ; the vast majority of them represent the body of domestic workers ; they
are the ones who occupy the place of heads of family where the sire not only does not make himself present but also abandons his wife and
his sons and daughters financially and emotionally; They are the ones who are mostly on the front line during the first contacts that occur
when they arrive in health services ; they are also those who are most likely to die in the isolation of their homes, because they share
space in the residence with an abusive partner, a cruel consequence of the macho structures in which we are created.
Besides these realities, we still have misery, unemployment, despair and so many living conditions unfavorable to the recommendations to
protect ourselves from contamination by COVID-19. There are many pockets of poverty in Brazil. Lack of water is a reality in many homes.
Isolation (if recommended by health authorities) is something impossible for many of these workers, especially those working as domestic
workers. It is not for nothing that we recently learned of the death of a cleaning lady, who had continued to work for her employers who
were in quarantine. It should be mentioned: can you guess the color and class of this maid who has been victim of the privileges of these
employers? The pandemic crisis has color, gender and class ! We must demand that our rights be respected and we must continue to fight for a
dignified life !
It is in this sense that we, women of the Brazilian Anarchist Coordination, publish this reflection text which aims to present our
conception of feminism. Our fight is for a society free from all forms of oppression and exploitation. We therefore do not accept in any way
to close our eyes or slow down, even in the context of a pandemic, our analyzes, which point to the fight against racism, against machismo
and patriarchy, against the State and its genocidal project and against Capital in its logic of death to the people and protection of the
bosses. May our debates not stop, just as our struggle and our resistance continue day after day ! For popular power ! Women are resistant
in the fight for a dignified life !
Coordenação anarquista brasileira
Extract from a translation: Find the full article here
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Bresil-Notre-conception-du-feminisme-dans-la-perspective-de-l-anarchisme
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Message: 9
Going Postal is the ACG's new postal worker bulletin. Issue 1 contains the articles ‘Posties on wildcat strike over corona virus', ‘The
Postal Dispute' and ‘A London ACG postal worker writes'.
You can download it here: Going Postal 1 spring 2020 https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Going-Postal-spring-2020.pdf
Also, feel free to print off a copy and stick in a post box near you!
Share this:
https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2020/04/19/acg-postal-workers-bulletin-issue-1-out-now/
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Message: 10
WE KNOW THE DEATHS are being underreported. We know that those who die in care homes or in the community are not yet being counted; people
with underlying conditions are not recorded as corona cases. Even with all those caveats, we have been seeing nearly a thousand deaths a
day. Every one of those deaths is a grieving family - all too often, children mourning the loss of a parent. And at the height of this
crisis, among all the horrors it entailed, we were expected to give thanks that Boris Johnson had come out of intensive care. ---- Quite
frankly I couldn't care less if Boris lives or dies. And before you all clutch your beads in public outrage, let me say I consider that to
be quite a moderate position: it is after all neutral, when his actions have been anything but.
Let's not forget that, despite
their gaslighting and fake
news, Johnson and his Tory
friends have spent not just the
last decade but their whole
political careers destroying
the NHS. This is in keeping
with their party's opposition
to its foundation, when they
openly mocked it, claiming
that the working class would be
queuing up for free gold teeth.
When coronavirus struck, the
NHS had already endured a
decade of Tory cuts, following
on from three decades of
Thatcherite cuts and the
vampirical PFI schemes that
sucked the lifeblood from the
NHS as they claimed to be
investing in it.
What of Johnson himself?
He is on record as arguing
that people would value the
NHS more if they paid for it.
During the election campaign
he hid in a fridge rather than
answer questions about a
four-year-old child forced to
wait on a hospital floor. So
it is hardly surprising that
when coronavirus struck, he
displayed all the callousness
we would expect from his
class when dealing with
FUCK OFF BACK TO BED, LAZARUS
No tears for this clown
working-class lives. While
some countries went for an
early lockdown, he went for
herd immunity. Not a bad
idea in itself - when used in
conjunction with a vaccine
- but through his uncaring
Tory lens it was little more
than herding sheep across a
minefield. So what if herd
immunity required 60 to 70
per cent of the population to
get it? So what if a fatality
rate of 10 per cent would lead
to over four million deaths
in the UK? Keep going to
Cheltenham. Keep going to
work. Keep shaking hands.
Keep calm and carry on.
Keep dying. No PPE? It's
your own fault - you're using
too much, says Matt Hancock.
Priti Patel barks out made-up
numbers, while she and her
chums - who, let's not forget,
consider UK workers to be
"the worst idlers in the world"
- plot ways to get us back to
work as quickly as possible.
Back to the production lines.
Back to zero hours. Back to
making money for them and
their chums.
Given their attitude to
the lockdown, you can bet
your life that they will not
be erring on the side of
caution. And you WILL be
betting your life on it - and
those of your loved ones.
Keep calm and carry
on. Back to normal. And
if some people die - so
what? Because THAT WAS
NORMAL. Back to disabled
people dying in poverty.
Back to homeless dying on
the streets. Back to children
starving in their schools.
No! Not any more!
We've had enough of your
murderous crimes!
Clap for Boris?! Not on
your life. He has not been
a great wartime leader. He
has been Lord Haw-Haw: a
collaborator who has cost
us thousands of innocent
British lives. We will not let
him rewrite history. We will
not let him keep calm and
carry on killing us.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VBg3lsEEMnkqX1uy4nH9n6SUBpgo_ffH/view?
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