This was such rewarding work. Over the years I saw the musicians who started with us continue to grow: from small, intimate concerts in jazz, punk and blues as beginners with us, to main acts at festivals. It was fantastic to see that growth. I often received invitations, years after their performances with us, to go to their concerts or performances at festivals. More and more, for health reasons, I had to start declining those invitations. During my birthday party, Charles and Colin thanked me. I knew that not everyone associated with the club would like me would have liked.
But Charles and Colin feel appreciation: that was enough. Various videos were made throughout the evening.
I still have them. Those are extremely precious memories. I had entered my 50th year and that year I took part in an activity that would herald some of my most combative years. I participated in the NATO blockade in Strasbourg, as a peace activist and volunteer reporter for Indymedia. NATO turned 60 and an international protest campaign was launched: “BLOCK NATO”, organized by a collective of various European peace and protest organizations. For a week, peaceful protests against NATO were organized from a Peace Camp 6 kilometers away from Strasbourg, the summit of which was then taking place.
This was activism in the heat of the moment. In the camp, food was provided by an organization called “Disaster Plan”. This food was vital, because you cannot protest on an empty stomach. Blocking access routes over which the top members of international politics must travel is not a small operation. Thousands of activists were working on sabotaging actions. The police hit back hard. Of course, some actions got out of hand. There could be thousands of peaceful demonstrators together in a group, with a few rioters. Arson, tear gas attacks by the riot police, throwing stones, general panic... Things could get tough.I reported from a small camper, together with 5 other reporters from Indymedia. Being part of such a large activist movement did something to me. We could move safely back and forth between the center of Strasbourg and the Peace Camp. On our last evening we drove back to camp and came across a police checkpoint. To our great surprise we were allowed to continue driving. We approached the camp and saw more and more police officers. The camp was surrounded.
We were informed that the police would enter the camp – and that resistance would be offered. That meant fireworks and we got scared. Not only for our well-being, but also for our camper. I rented this from a very good friend. The camper was brand new. He had to get back home unscathed – and preferably we did too.
We decided to drive back to Brussels – and quickly.
“Look!” a colleague shouted.
We were just leaving our station and saw the first flare go into the air.
We drove on, as fast as we safely could. We left the camp and arrived at a police checkpoint. We had some official press passes – that saved us. We were allowed to drive on. We looked over our shoulder and saw more and more police officers driving towards the camp. Normally the campsite of activists is a safe haven. Whether this remained the case remains to be seen. Silently, and grateful that our own skin and material had been saved, we hoped that the new friends and fellow fighters we had left behind would also make it out of the camp safely.
In such a situation you quickly learn that you are responsible for your own safety and that you do what you can. I was a fast learner – and I left, empowered by meaning. I participated in No Border camps in Brussels, Bulgaria and Sweden, among others. Just like the “BLOCK NATO” action, these camps rebelled against international political decisions that violate fundamental human rights. Demonstrations and protests are the core of the camp activities. In the safe haven of the camps themselves you feel the great solidarity and warmth. My activist network was now very large – it had started to expand during the climate camps, about 10 years earlier, and had only grown. I was able to help organize the camps and often manned the welcome tent. This was always a very extensive operation: thousands of people came from all over Europe and beyond. Citizens, people without papers, people without homes, political refugees, people who are legally considered illegal asylum seekers: everyone walks around such camps, connected by activism and solidarity. Fortunately my French and English were good enough to help. Even during these often weeks-long manifestations, the rule applies that the activist camps are a safe haven, with medical posts, mediators, meal tents, and so on. In Brussels, on the Tour & Taxis site, things almost went very wrong in 2010 during a NO BORDER camp.
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