Why I occupy

On the way to my Shiatsu course, on the pavement of Swanston Street, the police pushed me into the occupy movement. I stopped in front of a wall of police, and when I turned around, I got pushed forward, unaware of the fact that the police decided to herd anyone on the entire width in Melbourne's city centre towards north.



I got really angry, hurling abuse and demanding my right to go to the next tram station. I saw many rallies, but the experience of a human wall forcing everyone around them against their will into a specific direction was new and truly bizarre. I use my hands and my Ki when I practise Shiatsu, and felt incapable of doing my job after this invasion of arbitrary police violence into my life. I stayed in town and saw a crowd of people vanishing into Trades Hall, with the army of police it looked like a trap to me.



As I don't use TV or newspapers as primary source to stay 'informed', I researched a bit more what this global occupation movement is all about. The common global consent, so it seems to me, lays mainly in the commitment to non-violence. When people remember the process while they act within the movement, it opens the avenue to collective creativity, with the tastiest fruits harvested by consent.



Of course, within a growing movement the knowledge of and experience with the process, the ability to learn, accept and apply it, differs among individuals. I met enough people to convince me that the global thing happened also here in Melbourne. I joined the First Aid and Care work group, and benefit each time immensely from the wealth of different expertise coming together on a peaceful lawn in a peaceful park on a sunny sunday afternoon.



Don't get deluded, it's not a talk fest happening here – in a time of civil war against basic human rights like freedom of assembly and freedom of speech many casualties occur. It takes a lot to organise the safety and health needs of a community of sometimes hundreds of people, especially when even people wearing First-Aid vests get clubbed by police while trying to care for pepper-sprayed peaceful protestors.



Even those who only witnessed the police brutality have been left traumatised, often reliving in their minds the memories of a terrifying assault on their believe in justice. The more stories I hear while debriefing the victims of the ongoing psychological warfare against a peaceful movement, the more I feel outraged about the utter disrespect for human life that happens right now in the city of Melbourne.



I chose as my occupation to teach and heal people, after spending some time of my life working as IT specialist mainly for the banking industry. The absurdity of the situation, the constant harassment, nearly daily new eviction orders were issued and executed, means that our team needs to build up an external network to cope with the cases too severe to deal with safely within our capacity.



First Aid usually serves as some sort of insurance policy, good to have around, but depending on the circumstances, hardly ever needed. The circumstance for Occupy Melbourne... well, let's call them sub-optimal from a health care perspective. Melbourne City Council removed shelter from rain and sun, access to water and sometimes the kitchen from Treasury Garden, not only increasing the psychological pressure for the permanent occupiers, but also actively endangering their immediate health.



Some of the occupiers have special needs, like Brandon, whose poetry you can listen to on the frontpage of omdigest. Even Brandon got served an eviction notice and was moved the meat wagon of the police. Others have difficult family backgrounds, and feel safer from violence in the occupation than at home. Many are exhausted from their job as occupier, yet the smallest creature comforts bring with it the threat of immediate eviction.



The re-occurring raids of the police made the First Aid gear evaporate. Just being prepared and equipped for good-case scenarios (prevention material like sun-screen, insect repellent, ponchos and blankets) becomes a logistical challenge. Not even having a minimal sheltered space for treatments available makes our task even more difficult. No time for leadership debates available, and self-organisation provides a level of First Aid and Care that would cost a lot of money if sourced for a commercial event.



Why do I occupy? I want to live in a world where we respect each other, where we care for each other, for all of us. I feel this vision resonating when I collaborate with the occupy movement, and it's happening all over the world right now. Let's organise horizontally and see where it'll lead to.