A-Infos (en) MEDIA ?: Quebec City A Turning Point for Activists

["Viviane Lerner" <vlerner@interpac.net>]

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> http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0425-02.htm
Published on Wednesday, April 25, 2001 in the Toronto Star
Quebec City
A Turning Point for Activists
by Stuart Laidlaw

Tension can be addictive.

Fear of free trade may have brought protesters to the streets in Quebec city
last weekend, but something else kept them there.

As inspired by the fence surrounding last weekend's Summit of the Americas
as they were angered by it, protesters refused to leave when asked by
police.

They were curious about what would happen next, the tension building as they
waited for the police to disperse them, often with tear gas.

Strangely, the gas at times offered some relief from the tension.

Maybe that's because anticipation is more powerful than action. Maybe it's
because of the moments of humanity that followed every volley of gas.
Strangers offered water to flush out eyes. Shopkeepers and homeowners did
the same, with some even opening their washrooms to protesters. Others
blared music from their windows so the protesters could dance to something
other than the incessant beating of drums.

In one incident, as I tried to get near the water cannon, I found myself
overcome by tear gas and stumbled into a doorway hoping to find a pocket of
fresh air.

Instead, the door swung open and a strong arm grabbed me by the shoulder and
dragged me in. A kid in army fatigues whacked me on the forehead with the
heel of his palm, pushing my head back and to the side. His thumb forced
open my eye. With the other hand, he sprayed a jet of water into my eye. He
did the same to my other eye. There wasn't a moment's hesitation.

Before I could mumble much more than a quick "thank you," he had finished
his cigarette, put on his gas mask and was back out the door.

Late Saturday night, a team of paramedics suddenly showed up at the corner
of Côte d'Abraham and Côte St.-Genevieve and began treating protesters for
tear gas out of the back of their ambulance, but had to give up the effort
when a gas canister landed nearby.

Everyone on the street those two days had similar stories.

Throughout it all, the protesters were convinced they were winning. Each
time the fence came down, it was a victory. Each time a politician inside
the fence talked about democracy or human rights, it was a victory.

Victory is what you make it.

Take the final communiqué issued from the summit, which devoted more space
to democracy and human rights than trade. For the protesters, that, too, was
a victory.

But the ultimate impact of Quebec will not be limited to democracy clauses
or commitments to preserve human rights and the environment. It will be in
the unity and organizational skills acquired by the activists.

Organizing the People's Summit and arranging transportation, lodging and
food for thousands of protesters from across Canada and the U.S. has taught
these young activists organizational skills they will continue to use for
years to come.

To pull it off, they needed all the help they could muster, so they made
lasting connections with other activists — connections made stronger by the
bonding that comes with experiencing tear gas together and flushing each
others' eyes out.

With each protest, the ties among activists have become stronger and the
determination to bring about change has grown.

On the buses home, protesters traded stories of what they saw and
experienced, bonding in shared moments that will become part of this
country's history.

The attacks on the fence even helped forge bonds between the peaceful
activists and the anarchist Black Bloc, resulting in a bit of a
rapprochement after the trashing of Seattle left a black eye for many on all
demonstrators.

One sign in the crowd during Saturday's peaceful march read, "God Bless the
Kids in Black."

That's because the fence was equally hated by all the protesters, from the
most pacifist to the most militant. So when the Black Bloc — likewise
showing a higher degree of organization and preparation than was evident in
Seattle — tore the fence down, the crowd cheered. Some even helped.

The crowd also cheered every time a Black Bloc member, in gas mask and
leather gloves, picked up a tear gas canister and threw it back behind
police lines.

By focusing most of their anger at the fence, the Bloc members rebuilt some
of their support among the wider group of protesters.

There were some acts of violence, but they were shut down quickly by other
protesters.

As well, the Bloc did not seem to be displaying the same randomness of
attack that the anarchists had in Seattle. This time, they were focused on
the fence, and it defined for them where and how to act.

At the closing day of the People's Summit, a day after Black Bloc members
had toppled several sections of the fence, Maude Barlow of the Council of
Canadians said reporters had been asking her what she was going to do with
these kids who seemed so determined to take direct action.

"The real question is, what the hell is Jean Chrétien going to do with these
kids?"

After Quebec, and the lessons learned and the bonds forged by the activists,
answering that question could be a lot tougher.

Stuart Laidlaw is a member of The Star's editorial board.


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