Today's Topics:
1. Czech, AFED: The end of oil, the end of Shell [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. AWSM.nz: Events and groups in Auckland (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL Bordeaux - In
Bordeaux as elsewhere, we are hungry ! (fr, it, pt)[machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #305 - Ecology,
Pandemic: No, "nature" does not take revenge (fr, it, pt)[machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. Germany, Wild strike by harvest helpers in Bornheim | Video
of Die Plattform Ruhr (ca, de) (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. AND: Elephant in the Room - Conversation on radical and
anarchist Feminism in Poland (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
7. Britain, freedom news: Rupture Zine Lockdown Special is here
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
8. eleftheriakosxhmapatras: SOCIAL STUDENTS AGAINST THE NEW
PREFECTURE FOR CHILDREN [machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
9. alas barricadas: Anarcho-communism and Islam: Sufis and
Carmats through the thought of Haydar Amoli (ca) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
We are reporting on the Limits initiative on protests against Shell ---- Shell is one of the dirtiest fossil firms in history. Since the
1980s, Shell owners have known that their activities are causing a climate crisis. Yet, all over the world, Shell is involved in devastating
the planet and fighting human rights. Read, for example, how this company was involved in the judicial murder of Ken Saro Wiwa . ----
Recently, this company is asking for public money in order to survive. At the same time, if we want to avoid the worst effects of the
climate crisis, then oil, coal and gas must remain underground. We cannot save the oil industry, on the contrary, we must get rid of it and
help the people who are employed in the oil industry. Shell employees, who earn an average of 170 times less than the CEO, are the same
victims as the worst affected by the climate crisis.
Today (Tuesday, May 19), together with the Extinction Rebellion and the University for Climate Movement, we organized a protest at three gas
stations in Prague. Companies like Shell are making money from destroying the planet for the huge profits of several shareholders who met at
the Hague General on May 19.
However, protests took place elsewhere. Representatives of the Shell Must Fall coalition protest directly in The Hague, the Netherlands,
where the Shell General Assembly is being held. In Groningen and Amsterdam, petrol stations are blocked by Code Rood and Extinction
Rebellion Amsterdam, and in German cities by Ende Gelände!
Together we demand:
1) Termination of Shell's activities and its dissolution by any legal, economic or political means
2) A just transformation for workers in the fossil industry and compensation for all the people who have been harmed by Shell's activity in
history.
3) Energy democracy, ie the introduction of a decentralized network of renewable resources owned by municipalities, communities and local
cooperatives.
Related links:
Photo report: the end of oil, the end of Shell
"The end of oil, the end of Shell." Ecologists occupied the roofs of Prague's gas stations
https://www.afed.cz/text/7175/konec-ropy-konec-shellu
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Message: 2
AWSM Note: Here is a list of groups in Auckland. We have taken this excerpt from the latest newsletter of the Tamaki Makaurau Anarchists.
---- Groups in AKL ---- Tamaki Makaurau Anarchists, location varies ---- First Sunday of the Month, 2pm ---- Anarchist group in Auckland.
---- Contact: tamakimakaurauanarchists@protonmail.com / FB: AucklandAnarchists ---- Tamaki Solidarity Network, location varies ---- Meeting
dates vary, 6.30pm ---- Mutual support network for workers and tenants that are being screwed over by their bosses and landlords. All
workers or tenants welcome. ---- Contact: aucklandsolnet@gmail.com ---- People Against Prisons Aotearoa, location varies ---- Every 2nd
Monday, 7:00-8:30pm ---- Prison Abolitionist Group. ---- Contact: FB peopleagainstprisonsaotearoa
Auckland Peace Action, location varies
Every Second Thursday, 7:00-8:30pm
Group organizing against the arms trade as well as other campaigns.
Contact: FB AucklandPeaceAction
Green Living Savings Pool, 10 Rawhiti Road, Onehunga
Last Thursday of the Month (except Jan), 6pm (potluck)
Community loaning money to those in need and for good with no interest.
Contact: mikeshpatel39@gmail.com
Ihumatao Occupation, Ihumatao
Ongoing
Occupation resisting the proposed development on sacred land.
Contact: FB Kaitiaki Village, SOUL.
Te Reo Lessons, Unitec, AUT, Te Wananga o Aotearoa
Anytime you want
Free te reo lessons offered by multiple institutions at multiple times in multiple locations.
Contact: Unitec, AUT, tWoA
Tamaki Treaty Workers, Cityside Church
Network for all those working towards a healthy treaty relationship
Contact: mikeshpatel39@gmail.com
Tumeke Bike Space, 27 Edinburgh Street, Eden Terrace
Thursdays and Sundays, 17:30-19:30pm and 1:00-3:00pm respectively
Community bike shop run and set up by anarchists.
Contact: FB Tumeke Bike Space
Pacific Panther Network, location varies
Meeting dates vary.
Group for Pacific activists.
Contact: FB PacificPantherNetwork
Auckland Action Against Poverty, 20 Church Street, Onehunga
Open Tues-Fri for advocacy, Mondays open to all for campaigning, 9:00-3:00pm
Advocacy group for beneficiaries. Volunteers welcome.
Contact: FB AAAP
Tenants Protection Association,
Wednesdays and Fridays, 10:00-2:00pm
Advocacy and advice service for tenants. Volunteers welcome.
Contact: tpa@auckland.nz
Food Charter / Sovereignty Meet, location varies
Second Wednesday of the Month, 6.30pm
Creating a food charter for NZ and then a network to push it forward.
Contact: FB Growing Power NZ, mikeshpatel39@gmail.com
Unions Auckland, NZEI office
Second Monday of the Month, 6.30pm
Meetup for the CTU branch in Auckland. Open to all union members.
Contact: sarah.barker@nzno.org.nz
Direct Animal Action
Irregular meeting times
A group that meets roughly monthly struggling for the liberation of other animals.
Contact: FB
Te Homiromiro Reading Group, Online
2nd Friday of the month, 1pm
Online decolonization reading and discussion group.
Contact: alexlbarnes@gmail.com
https://awsm.nz/?p=5371
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Message: 3
A look at solidarity actions and the abandonment of public authorities during the confinement period. ---- In squats in Bordeaux, "people
will starve, not Covid 19" headlined Le Monde on April 2, 2020 to show the catastrophic situation of the poorest populations in the Bordeaux
metropolis. As elsewhere, the state of health emergency and containment measures have not taken into account the fate of people living in
extreme poverty and subsisting in the shadow economy. ---- According to the associations, there are between 2,000 and 3,000 people in squats
or makeshift camps in the Bordeaux metropolis. In the first week of confinement, the humanitarian associations which organized food
distributions found themselves at a standstill or in a very degraded situation. The lack of volunteers and permanent staff on sick leave
were the primary cause. To respond to this situation, many initiatives have emerged in urgency and precariousness thanks to a surge of
generosity and the commitment of many people.
A state that endangers migrants and organizes the suffering of populations
Before taking stock of some initiatives, it is worth recalling that the vast majority of people living in squats are foreign nationals, many
of whom are refugees awaiting status. These people are under the jurisdiction of the state. It is therefore the responsibility of the
prefecture and its directorate of social cohesion policy aimed at people in socio-economic difficulties to implement solutions against
exclusion and poverty. In theory, the role of the state is clear, but in practice it is a whole different story.
Since Papon, the Bordeaux region more often than inherits what is more authoritarian in the prefectural body. After having had the hand
puller, Didier Lallement, we now have the disengaging of the Calais jungle, Fabienne Buccio. Guided by a smoky theory of "the air draw", the
latter has never stopped slowing down all initiatives aimed at people in precarious situations on the pretext of not wanting to work with
associations with which it does was not used to collaborating. The state of health emergency would enable it to regularize the number of
refugees through work. But since the collective of support for refugees · es called on this subject, the prefect Buccio is absent subscribers
The local authorities of the Bordeaux Metropolitan area could have taken up the torch by ensuring the continuity of food distributions.
While the subsidy valve has been opened for certain associations in the field, the communities have nonetheless demonstrated their
incompetence to operate an effective public policy towards people in difficulty since the start of confinement.
The explanation of this situation is in the political domain with a prefecture which develops the "penetration of the spirits" by organizing
the suffering of the populations which it does not want to see on its territory and a local line which caresses in the direction of the hair
its the most reactionary electorate by acting in small numbers. This produces a state of health disaster for the populations furthest from
social protection and failure to assist people in danger.
Our necessary organization
Faced with this explosive situation, relayed by humanitarian associations and social mediation professionals, the activists who supported
the squats and the refugees quickly developed large-scale collections and distributions, with the means at hand. The association Les enfants
de Coluche, known for a long time for supporting squats in the metropolis, provided support to the Roma populations living in the slums. The
distributions organized directly in the camps are an example of the abandonment of public powers towards these populations. If we could see
officials from the town hall, we can say that at no time did the community take responsibility for supporting these initiatives. Nothing to
secure distributions in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic and nothing to protect activists during situations of tension with
hungry and very worried people. To date, we have only a very partial vision of the situation, but we know that the State has completely
deserted its responsibilities under the guise of its leitmotif: "absorption of squats". The prefect maintained her ideological position by
refusing to recognize the work of the association Coluche children because the latter would promote, according to her, the development of
squats. We find here the strategy of Didier Lallement of "we are not on the same side": maintain at all costs the balance of power and the
weakening of what opposes the power in place.
At the same time, the Bienvenue association, a mobilization for refugees, organized jointly with activists operating in squats and social
workers a food distribution for more than a thousand people living in the metropolitan squats. Thanks to its dynamic network of volunteers
and its inclusive management of good wills, it has achieved a tour de force without any prior expertise in this area, drawing on its
experience in cultural action. She also succeeded in making the link between her actions and the demands of the collectives for the
regularization of refugees. This pooling contributed to the support and commitment of volunteers, and led to the success of this solidarity
project. This distribution was carried out thanks to the logistical support of the Darwin ecosystem. It is remarkable that where there is an
abandonment of public powers, the enlightened boss of the Bordeaux right bank, the hummingbird from the large distribution, offers his help.
The counter-gift will be for him the access to an additional symbolic power. By promoting humanitarian actions in its ecosystem, it responds
favorably to the demand of its customers with high purchasing power who are looking for fun and meaning. We can only note the capacity of
this entrepreneur to position himself at the right time and in the right place to exist. We can question the networks that systematically
favor Darwin at the expense of other operators in the charitable sector. The counter-gift will be for him the access to an additional
symbolic power. By promoting humanitarian actions in its ecosystem, it responds favorably to the demand of its customers with high
purchasing power who are looking for fun and meaning. We can only note the capacity of this entrepreneur to position himself at the right
time and in the right place to exist. We can question the networks that systematically favor Darwin at the expense of other operators in the
charitable sector. The counter-gift will be for him the access to an additional symbolic power. By promoting humanitarian actions in its
ecosystem, it responds favorably to the demand of its customers with high purchasing power who are looking for fun and meaning. We can only
note the capacity of this entrepreneur to position himself at the right time and in the right place to exist. We can question the networks
that systematically favor Darwin at the expense of other operators in the charitable sector.
Citizen Oval, an association present in all the mobilizations towards refugees, has opted for another strategy by taking an institutionalist
turn. It has set up a food distribution in its premises and at the same time signed agreements with the State to encourage the hiring of
refugees for agricultural work, made other agreements with establishments under the supervision of the military to accompany young people,
and negotiated with the majority union of agricultural holdings (FNSEA) responsible for the social and environmental degradation of
agriculture in France. This desire for recognition by the institutions therefore distances this association from the militant milieu present
in the struggles against the exclusion of refugees. Unfortunately for her,
New questions arise
After the emergency, the question of the day after arises. If generosity was the key word during the distribution process, the question of
management, inventory of needs and populations will be on the agenda.; first to answer technical questions of supply and redistribution in
order to make distributions consistent with each other and not leave anyone on the way. These questions are not only technical and pose a
major political problem. People living in squats live hidden and avoid being noticed to stay as long as possible under the same roof. With
this distribution, most of the squats will be referenced on lists which, no doubt, will end up on the Prefecture's Squat Resorption
platform. The paradox is that the associations fight so that the populations can eat according to their needs and at the same time offer the
means to the prefecture to carry out in the near future evictions and deportations to the border.
We come to the question of the sustainability of these distributions by people who, in the period of confinement, had time to give. How will
the long period of deconfinement go ? It is to be hoped that the collective force will be able to reorganize by integrating the inhabitants
of the squats and that the charitable associations will resume their activities.
What we must learn from this experience, which is far from over, is first of all this tremendous outpouring of generosity in forms of
self-organization, which puts public authorities face to face with their responsibilities. It is the hope of seeing movements of solidarity
towards migrants coordinate effectively to win struggles locally. We can see that this period of confinement also allowed many people to
discover concrete forms of engagement. That said, we can ask ourselves the question of the duration and the meaning that this commitment
will take. In light of the studies on the subject, the rise to power of pragmatic type commitments is of limited duration. The search for
concrete results translates into an increase in initiatives aimed directly at helping others, without waiting for a political change. Let us
hope that, during this period, the forms of commitment go from volunteering to activism and that concrete action translates into political
commitment.
Libertarian Communist Union Bordeaux, May 3, 2020.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?A-Bordeaux-comme-ailleurs-on-a-faim
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Message: 4
The idea of a struggle between "nature" and "humanity" opens three doors to eco-fascism: the social order would be "natural"; mass deaths
in natural disasters are said to be a matter of legitimate regulation; an authoritarian regime would be necessary to respond to the
ecological crisis. ---- The absence of ecological virtues of the coronavirus is no longer to be demonstrated. However, despite the evidence,
ecological discourses on the pandemic are multiplying: it would be a " revenge of nature " to warn us, the " defense of Gaia ", or even, the
simple reflection of the decadence of our society since " we [humans] are the virus " . These representations of the epidemic constitute the
ideological basis of what must be called eco-fascism. Such readings of the pandemic are based on two concepts: " nature " on the one hand
and " humanity" " the other. These two sets are said to be in perpetual struggle, the second seeking to escape from the first. In other
words, humans and humans would set themselves the permanent goal of no longer undergoing the laws of nature, or rather certain myths
considered as such. This great narrative structures more or less explicitly a number of ideologies, from the so-called " progressivism " of
the ruling classes to the most reactionary conservatism. In the first case, this wrenching from nature would be positive, because
" progressive ", in the second it would be negative, because " decadent ".
Humanity is not homogeneous
Leaving the schema of a struggle between nature and humanity is essential to build a libertarian political ecology. Because this scheme is
not only simplistic, but essentialist. First of all, it is based on an understanding of these two sets as being homogeneous. This is not the
case: humanity is the abstract grouping of all humans in the same entity, but all are far from having the same social position. If fighting
against " nature " there were all humans would not be equally responsible. Certain discourses, despite their recognition of structural
social inequalities, moreover, reproduce this homogenization by assimilating the whole of society to a " virus " " The workers would then
be as responsible as the employers for the destruction of " nature " by participating in the functioning of society. But ecology does not
supplant the class struggle: recalling it is absolutely necessary.
The environment is not immutable
" Nature " is not a homogeneous whole either. Despite its polysemy, the latter most often means " everything that is not of human origin ".
Everything that humans and humans would not have made would therefore be part of it: living beings, minerals ... even humans and their
social structures ! It is their physical and mental fabrications that would be excluded: objects, buildings, art, etc. A whole grouping
together such different things, which have in common only that they are not " human ", cannot be considered relevant (nor homogeneous). But
this understanding of " nature " as a vast grouping of beings and things subject to a set of " laws Remains widely shared. It is the basis
of a number of common representations of the social hierarchy, of the ecological crisis or, in this case, of the pandemic - of its causes
and of its consequences.
In the collective imagination, " nature " is generally considered to be immutable, eternal, because it is distinct from humanity and its
history. When it comes to social situations, mobilizing their " natural " character is never neutral: it serves the interests of the
dominant. Making this observation, political ecology joins here the materialist feminists in their criticism of the political uses of
" nature ". Rejecting such arguments is a prerequisite to avoid the many gateways to eco-fascism offered by " nature " used in this way.
Three of them can be distinguished:
the presentation of a given social order as being " natural " to legitimize it. The immutable nature ofdelegitimizing “ nature ” or even
prohibits any attempt to change it. This submission to a transcendent nature prefers mysticism to social criticism;
the legitimacy of the mass death of human beings in natural disasters, seen as a revenge in the context of the permanent struggle between
" humanity " and " nature ". This reasoning also presents overpopulation as a fundamental ecological problem which would be regulated by
natural hazards (or pandemics);
the need for an authoritarian regime imposing rationing and eugenics to protect " nature " against " humanity ".
Far from being distinct, these three ideas reinforce each other and are a breeding ground for eco-fascism. Many people use one or the other
without always measuring their dangerousness. Fighting ecofascism also involves deconstructing reactionary representations of the world that
nourish it. All the people who mobilize " nature " in their political speeches are of course not eco-fascists - otherwise, the great
recurrence of this notion would be extremely worrying. But, despite its sometimes harmless uses, the idea of " nature " is part of the
slippery slopes.
An ecofascist solution to the ecological crisis? An authoritarian regime establishing rationing (of the dominated classes), even eugenics.
DR
Extract political ecology from the influence of " Nature"
If it seems difficult to completely do without " nature " in everyday language, removing political ecology from its influence remains a
fundamental objective to pursue. Developing a libertarian political ecology can quite be done outside the idea of " nature ". Getting out
is not an easy task, but a multitude of alternative concepts exist which can accompany it: environment, environments, non-humans, etc. This
may seem to be only an intellectual complexification: in reality it is a question of extracting political ecology from the reactionary
biases which found the common conception of ecology.
Toinou
This article is adapted from a longer article on the author's blog, Spring Outlook .
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Pandemie-Non-la-nature-ne-se-venge-pas
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Message: 5
youtube.com/watch?v=qXt5TcpPoIQ ---- What we experienced on the 18th of May during the wildcat strike of the harvest workers in Bornheim
near Bonn is difficult to put into words. Also this video can only give a small impression of the outstanding character of this struggle. On
the other the inhumane treatment of the workers by the bosses. On the other hand the incredible anger of the workers over these conditions.
The exhaustion after days of struggle, the endless hours under the blazing sun, the tumultuous events, the constantly changing situation and
then the class traitor cops who fulfill their function and through that are on the side of the bosses. This time there is no analysis, no
evaluation, no further considerations and no big words from us - only recognition for the fighting workers and for the comrades of the FAU
for what they achieve in this fight. As well as the hope that the small counter-power from below that is opening up here will help the
demands of the workers to break through, that through this struggle there will be a real material effect for all in the end. The gained
experiences of solidarity and self-empowerment cannot be taken away anyway... UP WITH THOSE WHO FIGHT!
FAU Bonn: https://twitter.com/FAUBonn
Zum Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXt5TcpPoIQ
Related Link: https://ruhr.dieplattform.org
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31895
------------------------------
Message: 6
Download https://archive.org/download/feminism-in-poland/Feminism%20in%20Poland.mp3
For a lot of people Poland this days associated with conservative politics, biggest nazi march in Europe and catholic madness. However
beyond those topics reported in the mainstream media there is a lot going on in anarchist organizing in the country.
We invite two people for this conversation on history of feminism in Poland during so called communist regime and after neoliberal reforms.
We also talk about the recent attacks of the government on women rights in the country and the organizational efforts made to fight back.
Music:
The Fight https://thefightli.bandcamp.com/
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Message: 7
Sorry to go all class war on you but fucking hell, class war!: Our friends from Rupture Zine: a publication on squats, social centres, art,
activism and free parties; have produced an online lockdown special and it is full of joys. Below, we publish a sample of what you are to
expect from it. ---- At the beginning of the lockdown, I had grand dreams of the fall of capitalism and visions of a burgeoning anarchist
utopia like a baby deer stumbling to its feet. As time goes by the more foolish I feel about believing in that idealistic dream. I keep
hearing the sentence "what should the world look like after this?". At first, that seemed a positive wave of politicised thought throughout
the country. But now I've started to wonder if sometimes all that is meant by it is that the people who are now furloughed from their
middle-class jobs don't have to go back to working five days a week! Really, there is nothing wrong with that desire...
But it seems to me there are two realities going on right now: 1. People in lockdown are isolated from their lives and support system and
although I don't want to undermine anyone's struggle with this, especially those living in unsafe situations, I am frustrated by that being
the prominent story line being told at the moment. Because reality 2. is the people holding together the situation (and I feel their voices
are being lost) - the delivery people, postal service, the take-away places, the people working in the shops, the cleaners, and the bus and
train drivers; there is still roadwork and construction work being done. We are in a situation where there are people feeling grateful for
work that's putting their lives at risk because keeping themselves and their family's financially stable is more of an immediate worry.
At the beginning of the lockdown, whilst I was lost in my own wishful thinking, I felt sure that the government would have no choice but to
bring in universal basic income. How naive I was - our government doesn't need to keep everyone safe to stay in power, it just needs to
avert attention away from the people it doesn't care about; and they seem to be doing that depressingly effectively.
They encourage us to clap once a week for NHS but have made no comment on the fact they have been systematically destroying it since they
came to power. NHS staff still aren't being sourced enough PPE to keep themselves alive - ALIVE for fuck sake. But still, Boris gets
glorified for catching the virus even though he wasn't following his own distancing rules and most probably infected a multitude of others
along the way.
I have now lost my hope that the current situation will make social change a necessity. Rees-Mogg's been telling clients of his investment
firm "History has shown us that super normal returns can be made during this type of environment". At the same time as the fire service
getting 15% cuts over the next year!
So back to the question - what should the world look like after this? If the narrative is to be based around looking at this time as a
hiatus to imagine the society we want to build after we emerge I don't think we stand a chance. If it's based on making a society that wants
to see an end to a class divide that became more vivid during a pandemic where millions of people weren't privileged enough go on that
hiatus, we might at least start by going in the right direction.
Lucy Hutson
Along with the above text, in the new Rupture you will find:
Lockdown special edition - editorial
Human rights are also for people I cannot fucking stand (rant)
Random Artists presents... Televised Autonomous Art
May Day 2020 - International Workers Day during a pandemic
TAA autumn 2019 writeup
What is TAA?
Guerillas in the Midst (guerilla gardening)
Loving Miss Daisy (story)
Rural Murals (article)
Squatdoku
Update from Disgraca, Lisbon (article)
Proton Art
Frontline magazine news
LOTS of artwork, poetry and prose
DIY or Die guide to making face masks
You can download the whole issue here. https://rupturezine.org/
https://rupturezine.org/pdf/Rupture_zine%E2%80%932020_spring-(lockdown_special).pdf
https://freedomnews.org.uk/sorry-to-go-all-class-war-on-you-but-fucking-hell-class-war-rupture-zine-lockdown-special-is-here/
------------------------------
Message: 8
On Wednesday, April 22, the new bill of the Ministry of Education was submitted for discussion, which includes significant changes in all
levels of education (part of the overall restructuring that has been attempted for many years), which aim to strengthen class barriers,
intensify studies and to the even greater restriction of those admitted to higher education. This bill comes to the fore amid a pandemic and
a traffic ban, at a time when resistance from below is low and mobilization is quite limited, a period when harsh measures of discipline,
control and repression have been imposed by the authorities. Of course, the passage of bills in dead time, that is, in periods of cinematic
calm, does not surprise us, as it is a common practice of domination, if we remember bills like this for asylum and the Gavroglou bill in
the summer and Easter of 2019 respectively. In addition to the latest education bill, it seems that this period is a great opportunity for
the state to attack the society as a whole with a large number of young people, e.g. environmental bill.
More specifically, in terms of secondary education, the new draft law seeks, like the previous one, to restore the theme bank and increase
the number of courses to be examined by turning schools into an exam barrier, with the aim of limiting student admission. in the next level
of education. In this way, in a school-examination center, the sense of competition between students and stress is cultivated, as they are
called upon to constantly prove their "value" and "ability". In addition, the entry of the certificate in the diploma is re-introduced,
which aims at the more intense consolidation of the discipline towards the school rules. At the same time, the evaluation of teachers and
schools is becoming stricter, As a result, teachers are constantly in a state of insecurity, as those who are not evaluated by the
mechanisms with a positive sign, that is, who do not fully comply with the requirements of the system, will be severely punished. Finally, a
new change is coming to hit the daily EPAL, the introduction of which will now be possible only until the age of 17. This will lead to the
reduction of students - departments and therefore to the reduction of the required number of teachers, while at the same time the flow of
students to private IEK is strengthened.
Of course, the new bill could not miss the changes in higher education. In particular, the way is open for the dismantling of the public and
free nature of the university, as the possibility of establishing foreign language departments by universities addressed to foreign students
and the need to pay tuition fees (eg establishing a foreign language) is established. in the philosophy of EKPA at a cost of 6,000 euros).
As an alibi for the above action, the government uses the term "internationalization" of Greek universities and the need to attract foreign
students, while in fact it aims at the future creation and consolidation of private universities and the granting of education to the
respective desires of capital. Another important point contained in the bill, concerns the transfer process. More specifically, the
financial criteria required to transfer a student will now be based on the family or individual income of the last three years, compared to
one year that was valid until now. For example, with this system, a family or student who does not have an income in the last year will
probably not be eligible for a transfer as the income of the previous two years will be calculated. The possibility of transfer becomes even
more difficult with the introduction of the additional academic criterion, ie the possibility of transfer to departments with a limit of
2,750 points of deviation. The above provisions, which are added, reveal in the clearest way the checks of the sovereigns,
Along with the changes in the new bill, the institution of tele-education is also in an experimental stage, a so-called "temporary" and
"necessary", due to the pandemic, a teaching method that takes place in the middle of quarantine in the educational community. The
government and the media, in an obvious way, applaud the "success" and the possibilities of this way of teaching by attempting its social
legitimacy and therefore its future establishment. In particular, tele-education is proposed by the authorities as the ideal solution in
cases of squatting and strikes, as the school will now be able to operate smoothly, via the Internet, even under these conditions. Nouns,
At a time when all this is happening, the Ministry of Education is stepping up its attacks on education with the new amendment passed on May
8. This amendment provides, inter alia, for the direct transmission of the lesson taking place in the classroom, the use of distance
education in the event of an emergency or unforeseen event, and the increase in the number of students a school class may consist of.
Although the government argues that the direct transmission of the lesson is to the benefit of non-privileged students, the reality is that
this movement aims to establish surveillance and control of the educational process and raises a number of serious issues. First of all, The
placement of the camera in the classroom creates an environment in which substantial interaction and interaction between students and the
teacher becomes impossible. However, this communication and the discussion between the members of the class is a central element of the
educational process as it contributes to the socialization of the students, to the strengthening of the bonds between teachers and students
and thus to the creation of a sense of wholeness. At the same time, monitoring the educational process means that teachers will be evaluated
at any time for their work and of course this evaluation will be negative if the teacher chooses to skip the sterile lesson and challenge
the government or the existing one. social and economic system. In this way, teachers and students are effectively deprived of the
opportunity to talk freely and exchange views on deeper issues. Finally, the direct transmission of the course contributes to the increase
of exclusions and class barriers since in fact it excludes from the process the students who belong to the lowest socio-economic strata and
cannot access the PC or the internet but also the students. who face any kind of learning difficulties and will not be able to attend the
course of the course.
Another important point of the new amendment is the increase in the number of students per class. While teachers have been calling for a
reduction in students for years so that communication is more direct and the lesson more effective, the ministry is moving in the opposite
direction, putting even more obstacles to the actual educational process. However, apart from the worsening of the conditions of the course,
this amendment aims at merging (and therefore reducing) departments, which in turn leads to a reduction in the needs of teachers. This
measure will have a particularly high impact on the EPAL as in combination with the age limit of 17 years mentioned above will mean a
drastic reduction in the staff of teachers.
Particularly critical is the point of the new amendment, which refers to "the use of distance education in the event of an emergency or
unforeseen event". In essence, this measure is in line with what we have said above about the implementation of telecommunications in the
university community and shows in the most obvious way that distance education is now entering the educational community and trying to
become permanent. In fact, the state will be able to "baptize" any hostile action (occupation, strike, etc.) as an emergency or an
unpredictable event and use distance learning to overcome these difficulties and bend the resistance. of society.
In closing, we cannot ignore the fact that as early as May 11, schools have gradually begun to reopen (initially the third high school and
the other secondary schools will follow) but without actually taking all the necessary protection measures for them. students and employees
(antiseptics, masks, gloves, preventive mass tests, distances, cleaner during normal hours). As a result, members of the school community
belonging to vulnerable groups or associating with members of these groups are at immediate risk, under the responsibility of the state.
For our part, against the plans of the above and the even more bleak future that they are preparing both for us and for wider sections of
the exploited class, we have to oppose the power that comes from collectivization and struggle. Against the bills, the strengthening of
class inequalities, the individualization and the intensification of our studies, we propose the horizontal organization of the struggles on
the basis of our common material interests, needs and desires. Against the attempt to weaken and demystify the social and class resistance,
we seek to appropriate and transform the university spaces into living centers of struggle, in places of collective discussion,
fermentation, questioning and resistance. By decision-making bodies the general meetings,
AGAINST EVERY ANTI-EDUCATIONAL STATE DESIGN
THE STRUGGLE AND OUR RESISTANCE DO NOT ENTER KARANTINA
NO STEP BACK TO OUR NEEDS
WE WANT EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE
We support-participate in the mobilization called by ELME Achaia on Tuesday 19-5-2020 at 19:00 at GEORGIOU SQUARE
Freedom Figure of the University of Patras
https://eleftheriakosxhmapatras.wordpress.com/2020/05/18/
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Message: 9
1) Anarchists in the Arab and Islamic world ---- The "Libertarian Alternative" (Al-Badil Al-Taharrouri) or the "Libertarian Communist
Alternative" (Al-Badil Al-Chouyouii Al-Taharrouri) in Lebanon is one of the few anarcho-communist groups of which there is (or was) evidence
of its existence in the Arab world. They maintained relations with the French "Alternative Libertaire" who in June 2019 merged with the
"Coordination des Groupes Anarchistes" to found the current platform-oriented "Union Communiste Libertaire". Another Arab libertarian group
would be the Movement of the Libertarian Socialists of Egypt; who opts, or opted, for the term "libertarian socialism" instead of
"libertarian communism", like the Uruguayan Anarchist Federation: a nuance that attracts attention and which, in my opinion,
When we expanded our view to the entire Islamic world (or Islamized since not all the population is Muslim) we have had evidence of other
organizations: a union of anarchists from Iran and Afghanistan, the Revolutionary Anarchist Action (DAF) of Turkey, libertarian guerrilla
groups operating in Syrian Kurdistan, in collaboration with the local branch of the PKK (not without some tension), Indonesian anarchist and
anarcho-syndicalist groups, the Bangladesh Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation(BASF) etc. But in this constellation there are also synthetic
initiatives of which, surely, not all its members are located within libertarian communism. So let us return to the Lebanese of Al-Badil
Al-Taharrouri: in their analysis of the situation in the Arab world they point out as one of their main problems the resistance of Islamic
fundamentalist organizations to the process of secularization of the region.
2) The apparent contradiction of a religious justification for secularism
Regarding this there are two positions. One that affirms a fundamental difference between Islamic and Western civilization that would
impede, or make it very difficult, this process: when Islam appeared, in 7th century Arabia, in a certain context of "institutional vacuum"
and dispersion of human groups , is forced to become a political-religious movement (a process that is accelerated with the flight of
Muhammad to Mecca and crystallized with the so-called "Medina Constitution", which is not strictly speaking, but which Islamism usually
claims as an antecedent ) which contrasts with a Christianity that appears in a context of pre-existence of Roman political institutions,
which will make it easier to conceive the separation of the two spheres ("To God what is of God and to Caesar what is of Caesar").
The other position defends just the opposite: it considers that the differences between the West and Islam would not be so great since one
could not speak of an Islamic political system as such until the election of Abu Bakr as successor to Muhammad and first of the four
Rashidun caliphs("Well guided"). The society established in Medina by Muhammad and his followers would not be properly political (in the
state sense), which would conclude the possibility of having it as a simply religious reference and discarding the caliphal political
system, being able to replace it with a secular state (being, of anyway, after the death of the Prophet). This position would be an Islamic
argument to justify secularism: it is worth reflecting on this because it is something that would attack the ideological waterline of the
Islamists, by dismantling the argument that secularism starts from the western categories imposed by European colonialism.
But the groups of the Arab secular left (neither the moderates nor the radicals like Al-Badil Al-Taharrouri) are not used to using this type
of argument too much. Should they? Perhaps not by system, since it is not in its idiosyncrasy, but it would not be wrong to establish
certain synergies with those who do it from a revolutionary perspective (minority but active groups of the Islamic left as "anti-capitalist
Muslims" of Turkey or "civilizational alliance" from Morocco). This should not sound so strange to us, after all, in late Francoism the
anarcho-syndicalists of the CNT collaborated with the Brotherhood of Catholic Action Workers (HOAC) or the Chilean anarchists with the
Christian revolutionary left of the lautaristas (youth split from another leftist split from the Christian Democracy).
3) Historical bases for an "Islamic anarcho-communism"
On a personal level I consider myself an atheist and a materialist, but if I imagine the fellow Lebanese libertarians enduring the
invectives of the Islamic fundamentalists accusing them of professing a doctrine imported by the perfidious Western crusaders, what could I
answer? In other words, can anarcho-communism be justified by appealing to the Islamic tradition? Is it possible to justify in a Islamic way
a doctrine that is not that it defends a secular State, but that seeks the abolition of any form that it adopts based on a society without
state coercion or private property? It is an exercise in political imagination, I am not aware of the specific debates that are taking
place, or have been taking place, in this Arab country specifically, and even less between these two contenders.
Abdennur Prado, speaking of Islamic mysticism, reminds us that Sufism has two opposed historical dimensions: on the one hand, the reaction
to the objectification of Islam carried out by theologians and jurisconsults, as a desire to return to the spiritual and initiatory bases,
but, on the other, that Sufi brotherhoods have come to have immense economic and political power, to establish dynasties that have governed
large territories, and even to be large owners. In fact, there is a great difference between the first Sufi mystics like the poet Rabi'a
al-Adawiya (717-801 CE) who is credited with the expression that he carried a bucket of water in one hand to "put out hell" and in another a
torch to "light paradise": thus wanting to express that "love for God" had to be done by itself, not as a consequence of the threat of
condemnation or the hope of eternal salvation. Or Al-Hallay (857-922 CE), who even declared that the mystical assumption was not only for
the chosen ones but for all men, for which he was accused by theologians of pantheism and finally crucified.
These beginnings contrast with the institutionalization of the Sufi Muslim brotherhoods ( tariqa) which, since the end of the 19th century,
became the main intermediaries between the Black African Muslim populations and the sub-Saharan state. A clear example is the murides
(followers of the historical sheikSenegalese Ahmadou Bamba) whose activities branch out to various countries, recipients of emigration,
through the initiates who are part of the communities of residents in these. In this context, the original Sufi mysticism can hide a
religious legitimation of capitalist exploitation practices: a kind of hybridization between the values of a traditional-popular Islam and
the corporate culture (organizational form "of transition" between a kind of feudalism and the free market economy typical of hybrid
structures present in "developing" countries). These types of organizations are constantly questioned by the Islamic reform movements (
da'wa) that, on some occasions, are linked to Islamist groups such as the "Muslim Brotherhood" (Al-Ijwan Al-Muslimun).
Apart from the fact that this last assertion would lead us to question the stereotypical vision of Islamism as simply reactionary (seeing
how, on occasions, it can play a "modernizing" role against the more traditionalist Islam) we should reflect on what connection there may be
between the original conceptions of Sufism. and anarcho-communism: from what we have seen, this spirituality had a rather individualistic
character although Al-Hallay extended it to the entire population. Even so, the thought of the "agitator of hearts" was introduced in
Al-Andalus by the Masarrí school in which it exerted great influence. Who were these? The followers of the Cordovan Muhammad Ibn Masarra
(883-931 CE),
Still, for more than a century there were followers of his teachings located, above all, in Córdoba and Pechina (Almería). One of his
disciples, Isma'il al Ru'ayni scandalized the Cordovan masarríes when affirming that God did not know in any way what is going to happen,
that the initiated ascetic did not have to submit to any law, that free love was lawful and that goods had to be expropriated and even those
who did not think in this way had to be killed[1]. Still, al-Ru'ayni's "Masarri communism", as an extreme version of the original Masarrism,
could not be put into practice, not for lack of will but for means. But, then, we would find ourselves with a kind of Islamic communism (or
anarcho-communism) of Sufi influence that did not become established: Isma'il al Ru'ayni would not cease to be a sort of "medieval
Kropotkin" (note the quotation marks) that did not he saw the practical realization of his doctrines.
To find it, we must go back to the year 899 CE where an extreme Shi'ite branch of Ismaili (who do not recognize more than the first seven
imams followers of Ali, son-in-law of Muhammad, unlike the majority Shiites who recognize twelve) known as Carmata established a utopian
republic settled in Eastern Arabia (present Bahrain). Slavoj Zizek, a Slovenian philosopher, tells us how The aim of the Carmata was to
build a society based on reason and equality. The state was governed by a six-member council with a chief who was first among equals. All
property within the community was evenly distributed among all initiates. His rise was instigated by the "Zanj Rebellion" (869-883 CE)
starring more than 500,000 slaves against the caliphal power of Baghdad. Unfortunately, not much is known about them, but their political
and military power began to decline from 939 CE.
4) Concluding ...
Perhaps we want to identify more, as Islamic medieval antecedents of anarcho-communism, the unrealized communal ideals of Isma'il al Ru'ayni
than the "communist state" of the Carmata, but it must be remembered that the first experience of proletarian power in history, the " Paris
Commune "of 1871, is equally claimed by anarchists and Marxists as confirmation of their doctrines. All the more reason to do it equally
with respect to previous communist (or proto-communist) experiences. Still, one drawback, from the point of view of Islamic tradition, is
that one experience comes from Sunni Sufism and the other from Shiism. In this sense,
Thus, Haydar Amoli, the Sufis affirm, are those to whom the name of true Si'a and faithful with a proven heart ( si'at al haqiqiya
wa-l-mu'min mumtahan ) can return . We would already have a mystical referent, then, that would seem to allow the fusion of Isma'il al
Ru'ayni thought and the political praxis of the Carmata. The quotation of the ideas of this mystic, then, must be understood as a way of
theoretically merging both experiences in the search for a legitimation of communism (or anarcho-communism) from the Islamic tradition:
something different from the forceful expression that the disappearance of philosophy and faith for the benefit of the science appearing in
the article The road to the Revolutionfrom the Spanish Bakuninist workers' newspaper "La Federación", dated June 21, 1873, where an
anarcho-insurrectionary position against anarcho-syndicalism was defended. And we have already explained why this historical difference
between Islam and the West is due.
This does not mean, however, that they cannot be convergent and reference may be made, by way of end, to Abdelmumin Aya's Islam without God
work aimed at Muslims who live daily with atheists. In this he affirms that one of the frequent problems in this regard is that categories
from another religion such as Christianity are used to interpret Islam. I understand that the author refers to the fact that Islam is a
religion, but it is not a religion in the sense that Westerners are used to understanding what a religion is, because this sense is
conditioned by our own historical experience of what a religion is. , which is not the same experience of the Islamic world. This is how the
Arabic word din definesas "set of values" (which would include multiple social aspects) and not strictly "religion" as well as the word
Allah as "Reality" rather than as "God".
They are, of course, debatable ideas but, even so, they open new perspectives not only to the justification of anarcho-communism from an
Islamic point of view but to intercultural dialogue. On the other hand, it must be remembered that appealing to tradition may be unnecessary
in highly secularized societies of developed capitalism, but it is not the same in social and cultural models that have been, and are,
victims of colonialism and for which they revalue their cultural heritage. It can be, not only therapeutic, but also constitute its own path
to modernity and revolution.
Stateless soul
Bibliography:
PRADO, ABDENNUR Islam as mystical anarchism Virus Editorial, November 2010. Page 19.
CRUZ HERNÁNDEZ, MIGUEL History of thought in the Islamic world I. From the origins to the twelfth century in Oriente Editorial Alliance,
2017 . Pages 137 and 139-140.
INIESTA, FERRAN (ed.) The Islam of Black Africa Edicions Bellaterra - Library of African Studies, 2009. Pages 45-46 and 94.
CRUZ HERNÁNDEZ, MIGUEL History of thought in the Islamic world II. The thought of al-Andalus (IX-XIV centuries) Editorial Alliance, 2017.
Pages 25, 30 and 32.
ZIZEK, SLAVOK First as a tragedy, then as a farce Akal-Critical Thought, 2011. Page (?).
CRUZ HERNÁNDEZ, MIGUEL History of thought in the Islamic world III. Islamic thought from Ibn Jaldun to the present day Editorial Alliance,
2017. Page 67.
TERMES, JOSEP Anarchism and unionism in Spain (1864-1881) Criticism - Pocket Library, April 2000. Page 205.
MARTÍNEZ DE LA FE, JUAN ANTONIO Islam without God: Review of Abdelmumin Aya's last book http://webislam.com.
[1]These doctrines were collected by the Spanish Arabist Miguel Cruz Hernández in his History of Thought in the Islamic World who,
politically speaking, even though he had militated in the communist "Unified Socialist Youths" during the Second Spanish Republic, held
various positions during the Franco dictatorship, becoming known as the red mayor of Franco . I do not know if his description, in some
respects, of Isma'il al Ru'ayni's thought is conditioned by his ideological turn. Perhaps it is too much to suppose.
Related links / Source:
https://alma-apatrida.blogspot.com/2020/05/anarcocomunismo-e-islamsufies-y.html
https://alma-apatrida.blogspot.com/
http://alasbarricadas.org/noticias/node/43813
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