The Health Department of ASN-IAA Cologne participated in the anarchist Pentecostal gathering (https://pinksterlanddagen.org) in the Dutch province of Friesland. Since the end of the First World War, libertarian socialists and anarchist antimilitarists have been gathering there for this annual nationwide meeting.
People from other parts of Europe and outside the EU also regularly attend the event, which this year again included numerous discussions, workshops, and lectures. Topics included antifascism, organizing social struggles, and antimilitarism. Antipatriarchal issues and solidarity with national liberation movements (Rojava, Palestine) were also discussed. Comrades from Vrije Bond, a formerly trade union-oriented anarchist organization, were also present with an information booth.The event regularly draws participants from other parts of Europe and from outside the EU. The self-organized weekend festival, complemented by concerts, performances, and a children's program, is not only consciously alcohol- and drug-free, but also strives to be as accessible and inclusive as possible. Great emphasis is placed on overcoming forms of discrimination such as transphobia and gender segregation.
From a health perspective, the readily available allergy-friendly vegan cuisine was particularly noteworthy, as were the free menstrual products and condoms in the gender-neutral restrooms. The toilets and showers were kept clean by volunteers according to a collective shift schedule.
When health (of people and their environment) is understood not merely as a capitalist industry, but as a vital foundation in all areas of life, new perspectives on health-promoting behavior (salutogenesis) emerge. Appelscha offered numerous suggestions in this regard, such as herbalism and the production of plant-based creams and oils.
Not only was access to the hormone testosterone, requested by trans* individuals, self-organized, but first aid and massage were also provided as a form of mutual support. In addition, financial support was raised for an abortion fund, and introductory courses in Tai Chi, yoga, and Muay Thai were offered.
One event featured a report on a community garden occupied by a group, where vegetables are collectively grown and distributed in exchange for donations. A workshop on solidarity-based prepping as disaster relief addressed communication, housing, and nutrition, as well as emergency healthcare within neighborhood networks.
Conversations with other participants also touched on preventing forest fires, as the campsite, surrounded by coniferous forest, is threatened by fire, as is the entire heathland of this region in the northeast of the Netherlands. The increasingly early onset of summer heat due to industrialized global warming and prolonged droughts increase the risk of forest and grassland fires. These fires can not only threaten rural and urban environments through their spread, but the smoke also poses serious health risks.
Unfortunately, the urgent need to adapt to the catastrophic consequences of fossil-fuel-capitalist climate destruction was hardly discussed, but at our makeshift information table, we distributed ASN's English-language flyers on occupational health and safety during heavy rain/floods and heat/sun. Our German-language brochures on sustainable businesses and ecological class struggles also generated interest.
Health Department of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Network Cologne
https://asnkoeln.wordpress.com/fb-gesundheit/
Creative Commons: BY-NC
See also our reports from the Pinksterland Days 2025 (https://todon.nl/@ASN_Koeln/114649125567680027) and from 2023 (https://todon.nl/@ASN_Koeln/110440523996094361)
https://asnkoeln.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/bericht-von-den-pinksterlanddagen-in-appelscha/
_________________________________________
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten