#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #CANADA #ANARCHISM #News #Journal #Update - (en) Canada, Collectif Emma Goldman - #Interview with an activist from the Black Brume Libertarian Network in #Gaspésie (ca, de, it, fr, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 This spring, the Black Mist Libertarian Network kindly accepted our invitation

for an interview about anarchist activism in the unceded Mi'kmaw territories of
the so-called Gaspé Peninsula. Our interest in talking with them comes from
certain similarities in our geographic location (isolation and peripheral region
in particular), but also from the ongoing struggles against extractivism and in
solidarity with the First Peoples on both sides. A Network activist, Nokturn, was
delegated for this interview. ---- BCEG : Hi Nokturn! The Black Mist Libertarian
Network (RLBN) will be four years old this fall, how would you describe how the
network works and where is it active?
nightturn: The Brume Noire Libertarian Network is active on the Gaspé Peninsula.
We name the area so to recognize that it is, for us and others, a territory (that
of Gespe'gewa'gi) unceded Mi'kmaw and because we cover several villages which are
agglomerated to cities since the expropriations because of industrialization. The
Network has a simple objective, that of 'networking'. That is to say, linking
libertarian initiatives, whether already in place or not yet born, in order to
democratize revolutionary points of view in the public and popular sphere. In
other words, to create a local popular education worthy of the name with the
actors of this locality and to create the meetings necessary for the advancement
of joint ideas. We try to remember as often as possible certain principles that
sometimes seem to elude even the most libertarian among us, such as the diversity
of tactics (learning your role from unknown or misunderstood perspectives) or
camaraderie outside of social media and dominant universes. The Network is not
the initiator of an alternative directly, but it sets up opportunities so that
people who want change can find tools or meetings in their community and deploy
means to accentuate the revolution. such as the diversity of tactics (learning
one's role from unknown or misunderstood perspectives) or the camaraderie outside
of social media and mainstream universes. The Network is not the initiator of an
alternative directly, but it sets up opportunities so that people who want change
can find tools or meetings in their community and deploy means to accentuate the
revolution. such as the diversity of tactics (learning one's role from unknown or
misunderstood perspectives) or the camaraderie outside of social media and
mainstream universes. The Network is not the initiator of an alternative
directly, but it sets up opportunities so that people who want change can find
tools or meetings in their community and deploy means to accentuate the revolution.

BCEG : Gaspésie has a fairly rich past in libertarian experiences. On a
philosophical basis, we could go back to the egalitarian political organization
of the Mi?kmaq and the revolt of the fishermen of Rivière-au-Renard (1909), which
Mathieu Houle-Courcelles mentions in "Sur les traces de l'anarchisme au Québec (
1860-1960)". In recent decades, the territory has seen the arrival of a multitude
of counter-cultural and alternative experiences, as well as intentional
libertarian and ecological communities. In this fairly fragmented story, which
has undoubtedly sometimes lacked cohesion, what are the elements that the
animation of an explicitly libertarian political network can bring back in your
opinion?

nightturn: Firstly, the Network tries to bring, in addition to international
struggles and inspirations, a recognition of the local movements that you
mentioned. It is important to understand the geopolitical context and our past in
struggle in order to better understand the current issues that are most likely
related to it. It is becoming important to promote the revolutionary ideas of the
Gaspé, whether they are indigenous or non-indigenous.

Then, by organizing a popular militant culture, these movements become anchored
in our imagination and our collective identity. One of the elements of the
struggles in the examples you mention is spontaneity. As much to react when an
oppressive situation arises, but also to build and demonstrate that other options
are possible and just as valid. You have to be ready to adapt and change methods.

Also, the network makes it possible to connect the libertarian alternatives on
the Point so that they can create a social fabric on the margins and create a
real local economy aimed at a certain sovereignty. By carrying out the struggles
together, it is possible to provide better support in the territory, which is
quite vast. Since the urbanization in Quebec, the remote territories undergo a
counterweight of people who leave the city to resettle in the regions and there
is created a fight of 'rurality versus the suburbs'. People who settle in remote
areas are not necessarily people who want to give up their privileges and rather
even stay in the comfort they know. For these people to be part of the fight,

BCEG : Besides the RLBN, can you give us a brief portrait of the various militant
groups or initiatives that are fighting in the region and the ideas they hold?

nightturn: We had created a small leaflet on the libertarian alternatives in
Gaspésie around the Point. Probably it would be nice to update it! There are
interesting ecovillages and hamlets, community projects such as housing or
solidarity coops, more and more market gardening alternatives in permaculture
(organic baskets, food sovereignty, municipal projects such as Feeding our
world), groups citizens or activists such as The planet invites itself to
parliament or Solidarité Gaspésie, the ZEN committee, self-managed places such as
the local Loco... some media alternatives such as the newspaper La strike also or
the revolutionary archives of La Bardane in St-Louis . The desire and the will to
build on the margins are very present, even in public spheres like with midwifery
care or struggling early childhood centers. Important values are those that
relate to the community. Here, community centers and discussion and support
groups on social media are a regular feature in order to compensate for the lack
of services, distance or other problems related to capitalism, isolation and
rural exodus. There are also of course our Mi?kmaq friends who are present to
defend indigenous movements and issues and with whom we are very ready to help
our decolonization. mutual aid on social media is a regular occurrence in order
to compensate for the lack of services, distance or other problems linked to
capitalism, isolation and rural exodus. There are also of course our Mi?kmaq
friends who are present to defend indigenous movements and issues and with whom
we are very ready to help our decolonization. mutual aid on social media is a
regular occurrence in order to compensate for the lack of services, distance or
other problems linked to capitalism, isolation and rural exodus. There are also
of course our Mi?kmaq friends who are present to defend indigenous movements and
issues and with whom we are very ready to help our decolonization.

BCEG : In recent decades, with the vigor of countercultural movements and
opposition to the holding of major summits on free trade agreements, the
representation of anarchism has been strongly associated with large urban centers
and to the organization of youth and the marginalized groups who live there. How
do you perceive the revolutionary possibilities and the social establishment of
libertarian ideas in rural areas?

nightturn: Personally, I do not believe that this is a possibility, but a
necessity. Capitalism is based on privatization and overproduction, therefore
urban centers. In the Gaspé, it is easy to see in labor history examples of
dispossession of government during post-war centralization and the rural exodus.
Communities were deprived of their services and intellectual poverty was
exploited. Worse, expropriated villages. So, the return to the regions is part of
an anti-capitalist movement, when it comes with a change in lifestyle as well
(because many people want to retain their suburban or metropolis privileges by
returning to the region). Libertarian ideas have a place of choice in the regions
since the militants can concentrate on the construction of alternatives and not
only on the (defensive) reaction, being often on urban fights like gentrification
or the constant problems created by the large centers. Libertarian movements must
take place on the unceded territories of the First Nations also from an
anti-colonial perspective, many of these spaces being part of the regions.

BCEG : What do you see as the biggest challenges that can arise for the
persistence over time (and perhaps also the growth) of militant groups in your area?

nightturn: Retention in the region is a major challenge that leaves marks. The
lack of housing and the people who stay here only in the summer, in addition to
the CEGEP, ensure that a particular dynamic sets in and it becomes difficult to
create a certain consistency in the alternatives. This is also one of the reasons
for the creation of the network, in order to be able to link people through an
autonomous social fabric through projects. Consistency is a virtue that is
difficult in several spectrums, but so important for the creation of concrete
alternatives. Otherwise, of course, the ever tighter grip of capitalism which
poses barriers to the collectivization and decentralization of our spaces and
territories, but that is is the reason why we are libertarian and united.

BCEG: The question I am going to ask you may appear curious, but it nevertheless
calls on your interpretation of the regional situation and the power
relationships, companies, influential personalities and institutions that pull
the strings there. In your analysis, who dominates the so-called Gaspésie (in
unceded Mi?kmaw territory)?

nightturn: From a spiritual point of view, nature rules Gaspésie. Like everywhere
else. We are only a passage on this planet and it will be fine with or without
us. But in a geopolitical context, it is obviously the provincial and federal
governments that have the most power over municipalities. In our view, Bookchin's
theories could inspire municipal movements to gain decentralization. Many
municipalities talk about it, but few make it a practice or form actions to gain
autonomy. The MRCs also have special powers over the municipalities which limit
decision-making in a strange way. With the recent victory over Galt, he does well
to remind us that the power belongs to whoever wants to take it,

BCEG : Thank you for giving us this interview and we look forward to meeting you!

by Collectif Emma Goldman

http://ucl-saguenay.blogspot.com/2022/06/entretien-avec-un-militant-du-reseau.html
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