Anarchists should never be "know-alls" but should always be prepared to listen, seek information to reinforce any truths they hold, always be open to new information that may come forward, and assess it, never hold to dictate, ideology or accept things because that's the way they have always been. However, who am I to give advice, instead let's listen to a voice from the grave. A letter from Élisée Reclus seems a better source of advice than anything I could ever pour out.

     This from VOID:

A letter to the young Anarchists- by Élisée Reclus

To the editors of la Huelga General in Barcelona.
Brussels, Dec. 4, 1901.
Corresp. III:238-240.

Dear comrades,
        We have an ingrained habit of exaggerating both our strengths and our weakness. During revolutionary periods, it seems that our most minor actions have incalculably great consequences. On the other hand, during times of stagnation, though we may be totally dedicated to our work, our entire lives seem barren and useless, and we may even feel swept away by the winds of reaction.
       What then should we do to maintain our intellectual vigor, our moral energy, and our faith in the good fight?
        You come to me hoping to draw on my long experience of people and things. So, as an elderly person I give you the following advice:
        Do not quarrel or deal in personalities. Listen to other people’s arguments before you present your own. Learn how to remain silent and reflect. Don’t try to get the better in an argument at the expense of your own sincerity.
      Study with discretion and perseverance. Great enthusiasm and dedication to the point of risking one’s life are not the only ways of serving a cause. It is easier to sacrifice one’s life than to make one’s whole life an education for others. The conscious revolutionary is not only a person only of feeling, but also one of reason, for whom every effort to promote justice and solidarity rests on precise knowledge and on a comprehensive understanding of history, sociology, and biology. Such a person can incorporate his personal ideas into the larger context of the human sciences, and is sustained in the struggle by the immense power he gains through his broad knowledge.
       Avoid overspecialization. Side neither with nations nor with parties [ni aux patries ni aux partis]. Be neither Russians, Poles nor Slavs. Rather, be men of truth, free from any thoughts of particular interests, and from speculative ideas concerning the nature of peoples, whether Chinese, Africans, or Europeans. The patriot always ends up hating the foreigner, and loses the sense of justice that once kindled his enthusiasm.
       Away with all bosses, leaders, and those who treat language as if it were Sacred Scripture. Reject such idolatry and value the words even of your closest friend or the wisest professor only for the truth that you find in them. If, having listened, you still have some doubts, turn inward toward your own mind and reexamine the matter before making a final judgment.
      So you should reject every authority, but also commit yourself to a deep respect for all sincere convictions. Live your own life, but also allow others the complete freedom to live theirs.
      If you throw yourself into the conflict to sacrifice yourself on behalf of the humiliated and the downtrodden, that is a very good thing, my companions. Face death nobly. If you prefer to take on slow and patient work on behalf of a better future, that is an even better thing. Make it the goal of every instant of a generous life. But if you choose to remain poor among the poor, in complete solidarity with those who suffer, may your life shine forth as a beneficent light, a perfect example, a fruitful lesson for all!

Greetings, comrades.
Elisee Reclus.

source: Anarchy Archives

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Right-wing Greek Government Attack On Liberated Spaces

 

       I have been a frequent visitor to Athens, and have visited the district of Exarchia several times and found its mix of cultures, cafes and squats as well as its activities to be a liberating feeling. It is with a heavy heart that I heard of the latest state attack on this area of free and liberated spaces. There must be an international response and resistance to this clamp down on the liberty of the people to form their own communities. Watching the rise of fascism across Europe and elsewhere and since the rightwing government was voted in at the last Greek election, I always felt that it was inevitable that they would make Exarchia their first battle ground against the left and libertarian section of the Greek communities. For Exarchia to survive as a libertarian centre in an authoritarian regime will require a tremendous and sustained effort from the international left community. Athens today, who's next?

 This from Void:

      EXARCHIA area under police attack by the new right government in Greece
in Global movement
     Exarchia area in Athens Greece under police occupation! Time to show your solidarity!
      The famous rebel and solidarity district of Athens is completely surrounded by huge police forces: many riot police buses (MAT), anti-Terrorism Police (OPKE), motor bike policemen (Dias), members of the secret police as well as a helicopter and several drones. Unique place in Europe for its high concentration of squats and other self-managed spaces, but also for its resistance against repression and solidarity with the precarious and migrants, Exarchia has been in major focus of the right government since its election on July 7th. The new right Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis had made it a personal matter, especially since he had been mocked in early August for not having achieved his goal of “cleaning Exarchia in a month” as he had announced in great pumps.

      This morning, 4 squats have been evacuated: Spirou Trikoupi 17, Transito, Rosa de fuego and Gare. The offensive is for now the northwest part of the neighborhood, with the remarkable exception of the squat Nottara 26, known to be best kept and very important symbol for the neighborhood as the first historic squat of the “refugee crisis” in the center City of Athens. We are currently counting about a hundred arrest, as well as brutal attacks against people trying to film.
In total, there are 23 squats in Exarchia plus 26 others around the neighborhood, which is a total of 49 focused on a small area. 49 squats to which you need to add other types of self-managed places, some of them for rent (Free Social Space Nosotros, free shop Skoros, etc) as well as dozens of private housing groups of activists, often near the terraces to allow access over the streets. Of the squats that is officially inside Exarchia, 12 are accommodation squats for refugees and migrant and the other 11 are squats of political anarchist, autonomous groups anarchists. Most refugee squats are also of course very political as they are organized through horizontal assemblies where the refugees can take their lives to their own hands and organize their every day decisions equally and in solidarity of each other and every one of them. Nottara 26, 5th High School of Exarchia and Spirou Trikoupi 17 have a lot of links with the rest of the social movement and international solidarity support. In the squats of Spirou Trikoupi 17 and Transito, that the jacks of power now attack and destroy, more than a dozen children have been ripped away from a peaceful and happy existence to be suddenly sent to camps. The sinister and overcrowded camps, where the migrants they are poorly fed and suffer from temperature variations. New Prime Minister of Greece Kiriakos Mitsotakis requires that all refugees will be well closed in concentration camps and completely cut off from the rest of the society. The face of Europe keeps getting hard like what is also happening elsewhere. This ever more authoritarian evolution of capitalism leads to questions about what the current era announces: attacks against the pockets of utopia combined with the confinement of the emissaries reminds of the dark hours of history. The whole world becomes fascist and Greece is, once again, one of the laboratories.

       But nothing is over. August ends. The social movement is gathering and organizing again. Places like the Nottara 26 and the K*VOX ARE UNDER HIGH surveillance. Responses are getting ready, as well as several major mobilizing events. Autumn will be hot in Athens. Resistance!
text: Yannis Youlountas

translated in English by Pia Klemp – edited by Void Network / athens

       PS: PLEASE republish this article. We are counting on your own reports and photos as these news to go international. Please protest infront of the places representing the Greek state in your country in defense of Exarchia. Solidarity is our weapon.
       The response of the movement was immediate with a demo organised spontaneously in the neighborhood. Talks and assemblies are taking place organizing the next steps of resistance. Also 3 days of self-organized concerts in defense of the neighborhood will take place in Exarchia square from 29/8 to 1/9- more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/728132344308674/ 

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