[OccupyComms] Safe Spaces Testimony

[Joe]

Thanks for sharing, Mac.

"...have an open heart to keep working.
There are no short-cuts, just to walk the walk!"

Great efforts at Occupy London. Well done front liner 99ers.

On it,

Joe

On 17 February 2012 15:21, Alma Segundo <alma.segundo at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> I am Mac and some of you might know me already. I am Chilean and I am
> active member in the UK Occupy Movement in the National Level in Media and
> Women's Network, and I am currently based in Glasgow.
>
> On Thursday Feb 9th, 2012 I had the chance to participate in the GA in
> Saint Paul's camp, where we agreed on several important agenda points,
> specially: How to enforce Safe Spaces Policies, Occupy LSX Statement of
> Support to their Homeless Community and a proposal of support to Movements
> Against NHS and Welfare Reforms.
> Alongside with Kiki, Didi and Sara, members of the Women's National
> Network, we participated in the Process meeting before the GA, facilitated
> by Phil and we agreed on opening the Safe Spaces conversation with Sara's
> testimony, then mine and finally move into the Stick Exercise to encourage
> people to share their experiences regarding Safe Spaces without
> interruptions or pressures.
>
> The Process meeting was a positive experience where John and Ben joined us
> in the conversation among others, and we managed to make a
> schedule/time/topics plan for the afternoon.
> In the GA, Sara brought our attention to the multiple different people
> that are part of our movement, nevertheless we forget about their
> conditions and we need to work for them too to create a Safe Space, like
> the members of Saint Paul's kitchen, who go through endless shifts to
> prepare great food and keep us fed. Since her work in the Women's Centre in
> London, Sara was able to bring our attention to asylum seekers, immigrants,
> people of colour, single mothers raising families, and our homeless
> community present in every camp and occupation in UK. All of them are
> actual or future members of our camps and need to be respected in a Safe
> Space as we all expect to.
>
> Then, I had the chance to share my experience, meeting Sara, the Women's
> Centre and being part of the Women's National Network. I shared how I
> realized how lucky I've been without knowing it. Before joining Occupy
> Movement, I thought everybody shared the same feeling I felt about my
> position in life. I thought everybody was entitle to share their opinions,
> to put their points across, to feel they are important and they are
> respected.
> Sadly, working with Sara, Didi, Nina, Ruth and Lisa, I realized it is not
> like that for everybody. Many people become invisible and they get used to
> not be heard. Therefore, visible people need to acknowledge the invisible
> and make them bloom.
>
> I shared I believe Safe Spaces is a culture, a way to be with each other
> and that is exactly what I think occupy should be, a safe space for
> everybody to be in this world. I recognized how lucky I've been since I was
> raised to think I am ok just the way we are and that Occupy Movement should
> spread the same message to everybody, you are OK just the way you are!
> Specially to those, who constantly hear it is not true.
>
> After this, everybody shared their experiences and concerns holding the
> stick, a few members decided they didn't want to. It was a beautiful
> experience, which I recorded with my photo/video camera, after asking
> permission to the GA. We realized many people didn't feel safe, or felt
> insecure in the camp or had experienced violence, negligent or mistreatment
> on site. Specially shocking was the testimony of a black/wheel chair user,
> who shared with us that he was beaten and locked for two days in the Bank
> of Ideas and finally spent 3 days in hospital. This story was specially
> outrageous, since we couldn't understand why this person was hit and mostly
> tortured, taking his liberty away inside of one of our buildings in the
> Occupy Movement.
>
> Of course, this needed further research and clarification and support
> mainly for the person involved. The facilitator prioritized to continue
> with the agenda, even when some members in the GA asked for a change on the
> schedule to hear the man's story and help him. We moved on into the agenda
> and we agreed on staying after the meeting to address the safe space issue
> and support this man.
>
> The GA carried on with the Homeless Statement and discussion of the NHS
> and Welfare Reforms. We couldn't agreed at the time on both statements to
> reach consensus and we agreed to work on them further for Saturday's GA.
>
> At the end of the meeting, everybody stood up, some members left and I
> decided to go outside the university tent and take some pictures of Saint
> Paul's under the snow. When I got back I ran into Didi, Kiki, Phil and the
> man in the wheel chair. I realized they had already had discussed with him
> briefly what has happened in the Bank of Ideas, to take further actions.
> They agreed that somebody from the Legal Working Group was going to take an
> statement of the events.
> At that point, John approached the group and started to say to Didi that
> she had affected deeply an other member in the GA, Em, and that she was
> crying because of her behavior. John pressed Didi over and over again to go
> to her and apologize, at the moment I didn't know it was Em. Didi
> explained, Nina, a colleague in the Women's Network was talking with Em to
> find out what has happened and that she didn't think going over there was
> going to help. John was quite pushy about his requirements and he said he
> couldn't believe that Didi didn't have the heart to go over there an
> apologize. Didi kept saying that Nina was taking care of it and that she
> didn't think they attacked the person since it was an straight forwards
> conversation.
> Finally, John left after the requirement of Didi. I though his physical
> behavior and tone of voice were a little aggressive and probably unhelpful
> to clear the situation.
> I asked Didi what has happened, and she said that they approach the black
> man to talk about his story. Em was also part of the group that approached
> him. Since Em, in the GA, didn't agree with the statement of support to the
> homeless community questioning the length and the way to put forward the
> message and committing to work in a new version, the black man asked her if
> she had blocked the document. She said yes and left the conversation.
> Nina went to talk to her and asked why she blocked the document. Em said
> she didn't want to discuss it; and Nina said: Fair enough.
> After that, Em was crying.
>
> The day after, we found out that through group space email list, John had
> sent a letter to the LSX community asking for the Women's group to be
> banned from the GA for 6 weeks after attacking Em. Even when, Em said the
> issue was resolved.
>
> I shared this letter with you and my partial knowledge of the experience
> as I recall it.
>
> I would like to open the conversation to try to understand why are we
> asking for a group of women, where I believed I was included too to be
> banned for the GA. These women have been a major support network for women
> and women's issues in London and in every city in the country where we have
> hold a national conference: Edinburgh and Sheffield.
> Without going into details I have to say that I have been able to count
> with their support, knowledge and friendship to feel safe and secure while
> I am a member of the Occupy movement, even when I had to faced pressures
> and threats, and false accusations among members in Glasgow.
>
> I want to also say, that I had the chance to be part of Occupy Conferences
> in London, Edinburgh, Sheffield and now I am working in the organization of
> the Liverpool one. I have been in LSX a couple of times and I am an active
> member in Occupy Glasgow. And I keep close contact with several occupiers
> in Birmingham, Exeter, Edinburgh, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, London and
> Brighton and I participate in the International European Occupy Movement,
> through internet.
>
> I have realized that many forms of attacks are reaching our community
> everywhere in UK and probably around the world.
> 1. Facebook pages hacked.
> 2. Twitters pages hacked.
> 3. Main Occupy websites temporarily hacked.
> 4. Arson attacks in London and Glasgow.
> 5. Anti-Occupy Media/Bloggers Campaign: Glasgow, Edinburgh, lately The
> Guardian in a national level, though they dropped the article.
> 6. False accusations to core members of being undercover journalists or
> paid policemen, while real one go quite.
> 7. Constant attempt to interrupt process and hold the movement from
> reaching consensus in local and national GAs, specially in the last one in
> Sheffield.
> 8. Secret groups and independent working groups not accountable to GA
> popping out. Autonomous actions drive by ego, power, or money control.
>
> My invitation is to take care of ourselves and of our movement; to work
> hard on process during direct democracy consensus, to grow in the culture
> of safe space and transparency and to have an open heart to keep working.
> There are no short-cuts, just to walk the walk! ;)
> Finally, I want to say that you should take care of Saint Paul's, it is
> our little Zakutti Park, it is the national image of the movement. From
> many cities in the country, we are supporting your and worried about you.
> When I was in London I realized, some people are just waiting for Saint
> Paul's to disappear, also I realized they don't want Saint Paul's to go
> tranquil. Some people want Saint Paul's to fail, go away with no Safe
> Spaces, with no Accountability and no Direct Democracy supported and born
> out of the GA.
> Keep an eye!
>
> Best wishes to everybody,
> Feel free to re-send this letter to other occupiers.
>
> --
> Mac
>
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