Nowadays

RedemptionVisiting a boxing school in Tottenham.

Anarchy!A step inside the world of anarchism.

Are protests here to stay?

Nowadays

Content

“Ghettoised problems”Video

A look inside the infamous council estate ‘Broadwater Farm’ in London, where the girlfriend of Marc Duggan lives.

Protest generationFeature

The Arab spring, the UK riots, student demonstrations, labor protests and now the Occupy movement. Protesting is back.

The right to riotVideo

Economists explain the factors that gave people ‘a lot to be angry about’

Worldwide anarchismInterview

Anarchist Sonya explains the rational behind the movement and why they didn’t partake in the riots.

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Boxing for redemptionVideo

A look inside the boxing school in Tottenham, the district were the youth riots started last summer.

Riot Facts >

Picture thatPhoto essay

People have been protesting for centuries. But who are these people in the demonstrations nowadays?

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FROM THE EDITORA lot has been going on lately. The London riots, the occupy movement, student protests, labor protests, the Arab springs, and so on and so forth. The list is a long one, and the stories being released on these events seems to be inexhaustible. But how do you follow everything at the same time? How do you find the time to read in-depth features, press releases, blogs, and whatnot?

What we’ve done is an attempt to tackle the problem of mass media production, by creating a blogazine that spreads across a wide horizon of current affairs. From anarchy in London, to the occupy movement, and then back to the London riots. The interconnecting features, stories and videos give you a chance to get a personal look at what’s happening at the moment. Our writers have done their best to find stories that tickle your interest and at the same time help fill you in on what’s going on.

The only thing I have left to say is enjoy the read, and stay up-to-date. Remember, there’s a lot going on nowadays.

Editor in Chief: Levi Blokdijk

Editors:Quynh Nguyen

Marjolein BroekhuisenRufus Baas

Regilio KouwenhovenAlexander Beunder

Levi BlokdijkPieter Horstman

Design:Alexander Beunder

Pieter Horstman

Photos:Demandaj

NessterMunzerr

-Minimum cost of the riots so far 100 million pounds-

STAFF

Levi Blokdijk

Feature

By Pieter Horstman

Protest generations come and.... Stay?

Bunny.

The Arab spring, the UK riots, student protests, labor protests and now the Occupy movement. Yet again this year the world witnessed firsthand what it´s citizens are still capable of. Demonstrating seems like it´s gaining momentum nowadays. Protesting is hip again, but there are some old stones to be built on. While the police officers and the media are occupied, trying to cope with the new movement, an elderly man named Bunny and a younger man named Julian are sitting in front of their tent, watching the people with their camera equipment walk by. They continue the legacy of Brian Haw, a peaceful protester who slept at the same place, the pedestrian path across from the Big Ben, for ten years. He died last June.

Bunny and Julian are not alone. Dozens of people sleep

It’s autumn in London, but it doesn’t feel like it. Tourists are roaming around trying to get the best shot of the Big Ben, although the sun proves to be a great adversary. Saturday the 15th of October is a

beautiful day in London and nobody really pays attention to the dozens

of protesters camping across the street from Wetminster Parliament. Everybody however, is paying attention to the people just two metro

stops away. The Occupy movement is coming to London.

at the pavement site, and many others visit throughout the day. They are protesting against the army, uranium shells, dictatorships and generally anything affiliated with war. ‘I’ve been coming here on and off for about eight and half years’, Bunny says. Despite their persistence the men and women across the street want nothing to do with Bunny and his companions.

Stock exchange The Occupy LSX movement however has gotten the full attention of politicians. Today, they want to occupy Paternoster Square, the square in front of the London Stock Exchange(LSX), despite police

and court orders hanging on the walls prohibiting them from demonstrating. Naomi, the main spokesperson for Occupy LSX, says that they are going to go along with it anyway.

The main goals of the Occupy movement are not that different from its older counterpart camping near the Parliament. Naomi describes Occupy as an organization against “corporate greed” and inequality. The protest also is meant to be a peaceful one, aimed at increasing public awareness. Furthermore, just like Brian Haw, the protestors are not leaving until something has been done.

Occupy is however more economical based and unlike in the peace protest it has gotten famous and respected people in the United States > behind the cause: changing the economical system. The movement is next in a long

I’ve been coming here on and off for about eight and a half years.

‘‘

-More than 42 percent of those arrested during the riots received free school meals-Bunny.

line of all kinds of protests this year.

Dr. Faiza Shaheen, a senior researcher at the New Economics Foundation (NEF), notices a trend. “There has definitely been more widespread protesting now

than, say, seven years ago.” According to Dr. Shaheen the increase in protests can be attributed to, among

other things, the state of the economy. “In times of prosperity like the nineties, people have less to protest about,” Dr. Shaheen explains. “The income inequity has risen dramatically in the UK, and people apparently want that to change.”

Dr. Shaheen also thinks the citizens of the UK have lost their faith in the established powers in the country. Three

important pillars on which modern society is based have fallen under attack the last couple of years in Britain.

First there was the banking crisis, with banks still paying employees exorbitant fees. That didn´t go to well with the majority of people. Then the political pillar shook, with the expenses scandal. And finally, this year the media pillar endured its own scandal, in the form of a system of phone tappin done by ‘News of the World’.

People have always been skeptical about the media, politics, and bankers.‘‘

Feature

-More than 90 percent of those arrested were male. More than half were under 20-

pro·test [n. proh-test; v. pruh-test, proh-test] noun1. an expression or declaration of objection, disapproval, or dissent, often in opposition to something a person is powerless to prevent or avoid.

People have been protesting for centuries. From student protests to peace and labour demonstrations. But who are these people in the streets, demonstrating today? Pieter Horstman and Marjolein Broekhuisen pictured that. >

Picture that

Pillars

Occupy London

“People have always been skeptical about the media, politics and bankers, but now it seems like they´ve had enough,” Dr. Shaheen says. Naomi from Occupy London agrees. “People feel like the system has let them down and it now has reached a point where we can’t sit back and watch.”

But what will make the Occupy movement more successful in accomplishing its goals than the guys sitting in front of Parliament or the riots earlier this year? Dr. Shaheen and the Occupy movement

acknowledge that there is a need for the middle class to join in with the protests. “Otherwise it will end up like the riots earlier this year, which was partially based on social problems, but was overshadowed by the looting and plundering. People lost sympathy for the movement,” states Dr. Shaheen.

While the hundreds of policemen are getting ready by ordering large amounts of macchiato coffee at the local ‘Starbucks’, Bunny is just sitting there, watching the majestic sight of Westminster

Parliament. “Dictators”, he calls the people working in Parliament.

He has no clue that a new movement similar to the one his friend started ten years ago has taken the world by storm. He is not going to go to the demonstrations near the stock exchange. “I stick with what I know. You always have to pick your battles.” Meanwhile the 99 percent signs are put up, hoping their goals will be met quicker than those of Bunny. <

-More than 90 percent of those arrested were male. More than half were under 20- -16.000 police officers on the streets, unrest in half a dozen cities over four long nights-

Man in front of St. Pauls Cathedral A protesters rallies the crowd in London.

Picture that

-13 percent of those arrested in the riots were identified as gang members, rising to 19 percent in London-

An Occupy protester in Amsterdam.

Anonymous / Guy Fawkes maskes are worn by dozens of protesters in London.

Lots of veterans join the Occupy and peace protests in London.

Playing dress up is not out of the ordinary for some protesters in Amsterdam.

-More than 42 percent of those arrested during the riots received free school meals-

-Haringey, the borough where the violence began, has the fourth highest levels of child poverty in London-

BOXINGA CHANCE FOR REDEMPTION

Video

How can young people stay on the right path? To find out, we visited a boxing school in Tottenham, the district were the youth riots started last summer.

REGILIO KOUWENHOVEN When you visit the riot areas nowadays, you’ll find a picturesque urban area. But the underlying problems are immense. Many rioters said that the reason for their actions last summer was a lack of a future and a government that didn’t care about them. A boxing school is trying to keep them on the right path.

-In the UK, the richest 10 percent of the population are more than 100 times as wealthy as the poorest 10 percent-

BOXING LONDON RIOTSIS THE BRITISH CLASS SYSTEM TO BLAME?

A look inside the infamous council estate ‘Broadwater Farm’ in London shows the relationship between the riots and the British class system.

QUYNH NGUYEN &JENNIFER POMPE

“We had ‘ghettoised’ many of these problems, keeping them out of sight of the middle-class majority”, Iain Duncan Smith said, the British minister for work and pensions. Londonders, including the editor of The Guardian Weekly, reflect on the relevance of class in the recent riots.

-In the UK, the richest 10 percent of the population are more than 100 times as wealthy as the poorest 10 percent-

“WE HAVEN’T FIGUREDTHAT OUT, YET”

WORLDWIDEANARCHISM

“WE HAVEN’T FIGUREDTHAT OUT, YET”

One could simply assume that the London riots

would have been a perfect opportunity for the anarchists in London to partake in.

Text: Rufus Baas & Levi Blokdijk | Illustration: Levi Blokdijk

Sonya (no last name given), a radical Canadian anarchistvisiting the London Action Resource Centre (LARC),

explains that the contrary actually happened.

“The London anarchists didn’t want to get mixed up with the other gangs involved. It’s true that anarchists spearhead riots, but in London a lot of looting and violence towards each other was involved.” According to Sonya, the LARC, an anti-hierarchy group founded in 1999, and other anarchy groups active in London sent out messages condoning the London riots. “Looting and harming the properties of the working people in London is not what anarchists are out for. It’s not part of the anarchistic ideology.” Sonya believes that there were good reasons for the riots, namely the combination

of a high unemployment rate and the government cuts, and she doesn’t find it surprising that people who have almost nothing steal property to make some money to pay the

rent. “But there is no excuse for violence against innocent people and their properties”, says Sonya. “Anti-police violence and destruction of government property is another story.”

Police violenceAnarchists have a long history when it comes to clashes with the police. “We believe in a society without hierarchy. Above that there are countless examples of excessive police violence against the public”, Sonya continues. “People are born into modern society and just take it as it is, but we believe you shouldn’t limit yourself in

that way. We strive to create a world better for all of us, and not live in one that is based on capitalistic ideals.”

The LARC building’s front

window is plastered with anti-police propaganda, urging people to stand up and rise against the police and other governmental institutions. For many people it is hard to visualize a society without police enforcement. History has shown that without a police force people would generally do whatever they want, which could result in a state of chaos. Sonya has a different view. She thinks that a society does not necessarily need a controlling police force to maintain order. Using a recent issue that occurred in her community as an example, Sonya explains how a community without a police force could deal with conflicts.

No police force“In our community there was a man who allegedly raped other women inside the community. At a certain point he had raped six different women. The different women all wanted justice, but not with help from the police. We as a community obviously couldn’t let it fly. Without laws

Looting and harming the properties of the working people in London is not what anarchists are out for. It’s not part of the anarchistic ideology.“

A police bus trashed during a protest. Source: “Alarm” , an Anarchist Newspaper

Interview

-Total unemployment in England is at 2.5 million or 7.9 percent. The youth constitutes 38 percent of the unemployed.--Youth unemployment in Britain has hit a record high at 20.3 percent-

forbidding rape it was hard to actually punish the man, but something had to be done. A large part of the community got together with the victims and discussed the course of action. We didn’t want to expel him from the community, because we would only be moving the problem on to another group, or to the greater society. We eventually decided on having the offender’s friends talking sense into him. Moreover, at all times at least one of his friends would have to be with him to keep an eye out. The man wasn’t allowed to attend any parties or happenings where the victims would be present. The victims decided on writing a letter, which explained how they were suffering. They were provided the opportunity to read it out aloud to the offender. The offender agreed on all terms.”

Global viewSonya is aware that the solution they came up with is time consuming and that it requires the participation of many different people, including the

offender. “Still, if the police were involved the man would have been sent off to jail, and then nothing would have been accomplished. The offender would be stuck in jail, left to rot, and the victims would still feel the emptiness they would have if the offender wouldn’t have been punished”, says Sonya.

It might seem like a functional solution, but certain questions arise when looking at the bigger

picture. Most importantly: how could this system be implemented on a nationwide or global scale?Sonya agrees that it would be a difficult task: “I truly think anarchistic societies can function, but only on a small scale. With a relative small group it’s easy to discuss things or come up with solutions for small-scale problems. On a larger scale it would be much more difficult to keep track of everything that’s going on.

How anarchism would work on a global level? We haven’t figured that out, yet.”

Future plansCreating awareness is one of the main goals of many anarchistic communities and there are many ways to realize such goals. “You’ve seen the kind of messages we portray on posters, but there are other ways to get our message across. One of our ways to attract

attention is to demonstrate. The demonstrations should be directed towards government establishments. The London riots were a good example of the kind of demonstrations that an anarchistic group wouldn’t participate in”, says Sonya. “The current ‘Occupy’ protests against social and economic inequity are way more appealing. These demonstrations are peaceful and directly aimed at the state.”<

“ I truly think anarchistic societies can function, but only on a small scale.

The London Action Resource Center

A police bus trashed during a protest. Source: “Alarm” , an Anarchist Newspaper

-Total unemployment in England is at 2.5 million or 7.9 percent. The youth constitutes 38 percent of the unemployed.-

A R I G H T T OS M A S H S O M E T H I N G

Video

-More than 1,000 arrests have been made and about 600 people charged over three days of rioting and looting in London-

London citizens, native and foreign, and two economists give their view on what caused the UK riots in August, and what could prevent them in the future.

ALEXANDER BEUNDER &GULGUN DEDECAM Poverty, austerity, inequality, corruption among politicians, bankers greed, youth unemployment and the closing of youth clubs all seem to be part of the explanation – factors that gave people “a lot to be angry about” and made certain Londoners feel they had a “right to smash something.”