Next Saturday, October 19, 2019, at 18h, the CNT-AIT Catalunya will organize on the Angels’ Plaza in Barcelona, ​​an informative and solidarity action with prisoners on hunger strike and with Antoine Nieto Galindo. Antoine, a social and anarchist rebel, is the oldest political prisoner in Europe (and perhaps the world oldest political prisoner, a sad record …) He has been imprisoned for more than 50 years for not having given in to the injustices of the penitentiary system. Although seriously ill, these same prison injustices prevent him from getting out of prison, thus not respecting the bourgeois laws themselves.

These long days of mobilization have shown us that mutual support exists, and that the anarchist utopia is still alive, because for a few days the park of “El Arbolito” and its surroundings became that place, that place where the people defended itself, fed, cared for, cured and attended the people. Food, medicine and clothing arrived without stopping, while in the barricades the popular guard resisted the advances of the police and cleared any tear bomb that could affect the brothers who were inside the park.

By another side, many hands were still available to prepare the food that arrived, the food was never lacking, the bread was never lacking, in each corner someone offered you water, juice, fruit or a “tarrina” (tub) of food, while congratulating you and encouraging you to continue in the fight.

Long chains of people could be seen moving stones to build and supply the barricades, while at the shouting of « Medico ! » the brigade was attending to mobilize and assist the wounded comrades in battle.

Thus, each of us brought and contributed, on the battlefield, in the chain, in the shelter, in the kitchen, in the medical brigade, and in each of the places that allowed this mobilization to be possible.

 »Friday, August 28, 2009 »

I would like to discuss an interesting communiqué from the French Anarchist Federation (FAF) (June 2009) which values ​​ »… practices based on the Amerindian habits and customs and tradition of direct democracy [which] not are not only developped into the « original » (native) peoples communities, but also expading outside those communities.  » Because « These values are joining some anarchist proposals : autonomy from the state and political parties, collective decisions, federalism. »

Anarchists realize that people in the Amazon rainforest are implementing principles that are dear to them, fine ! Although, contrary to what an unrepentant Westerno-centrism makes them write, it is not the Native Americans who « join us » but we who are getting our bearings : after all, their practices pre-exist a few centuries before the creation of the FAF (and of the CNT-AIT) !

The notion of « habits and customs / traditions » remains to be discussed. Presented as it is, it gives the impression that all this is respectable! But seniority does not make quality, and in the Americas, as in Europe, there is obviously a sort to be done in all the traditions ! Finally, the notion of « original (native) peoples » seems to me to be racialist (if not racist).