Edinburgh Anarchists

Hope to have some comments on the film festival later in the week, but first I’ll draw your attention to 2 fun things happening in town this week.

On Wednesday, there’s a celebration of the life & work of Eduardo “Open Veins of Latin America” Galleano. Starts 7.00 at the Tollcross Community Centre, 117 Fountainbridge. Full listing at Indymedia.

On Friday, there’s a 2nd chance to see De Toda la Vida (if you missed it on Saturday) at the Edinburgh Anarchafeminist Kollectiv‘s Social:

Potluck and film night for the monthly social event of the Edinburgh Anarchafeminist Kollective!

Please bring some food to share, and maybe something to eat it with, to ACE at 8pm on Friday March 26th. Film will start at 8.45pm. We hope to be screening “De Toda La Vida: All our lives” – a film about the Spanish Anarcha-feminists Mujeres Libres who were active in the Spanish Revolution, in the 1930′s. We have a second film about the situation of women in Cuba which we will show if time permits.

The Edinburgh Anarchafeminist Kollective hopes to be holding social events monthly, on the last Friday of the month. Check out our website for more information!

It may be the state broadcaster and utterly supine in the face of power, but the BBC has some very useful stuff on it. Among my favourites is In Our Time on Radio 4, where they take a Big Idea, something you may have heard of but not understood, and get experts to answer the question: what’s that all about then?

This week it was The Siege of Münster, which features in Luther Blissett‘s astonishing anti-authoritarian retelling of the Reformation, Q. IOT, available to download (but not for long), has sections about the Peasants’ Revolt, the surprisingly advanced democratic form in Munster and the Anabaptists’ reading of the New Testament leading them to demand all property to be held in common. (Not something you hear from modern Biblical literalists.) At the time of the birth of the merchant / capitalist class, this is early anti-capitalism (communism) expressed in the only language then available to the peasantry, that of the Bible

I can’t recommend Q highly enough, it’s both eye-opening and a rollicking good thriller. In my ideal world, more people read this than the Da Vinci Code.

In one of those happy coincidences, I discovered on the same day I heard this programme, that Luther Blissett (now writing as Wu Ming) have a new novel out in English translation.  deals with the “discovery” of the New World and I’m hoping that it does for that period what Q did for the Reformation – reclaiming history from the bottom up, and giving us new myths to replace those of Empire and Christendom.

History may be written by the victors, but we can still read between the lines.

An opportunity for people to get together to share info and ideas on the border regime and the growing movement against borders and for the freedom of movement for all!

10.30am til 6pm, plus evening social and music @ the Forest Café, 3 Bristo Place, Edinburgh, EH1 1EY

Migration has always been present in human history. Recently, European governments have been developing ever more rigid and forceful immigration control. This dayschool will explore this ‘Fortress Europe’, look at its effects on those who migrate, and explore concrete proposals for what we can do about it.

Workshops include
• Solidarity with asylum seekers – Stopping ‘dawn raids’ – the experience in Glasgow with Unity & community struggles in Scotland

• Migrant Workers – How we can support documented workers and those ‘sans-papiers’? With input from the Industrial Workers of the World.

• ‘Fortress Europe’ & the UK Border Regime – Info on the situation facing migrants in Calais and UK plans for ID cards.

• Destitution – How the UK government deliberately uses destitution as a weapon against asylum seeker families with info on ‘luncheon voucher exchange’ schemes and ‘Section 4’

• Environmental Refugees – Fleeing environmental degradation will soon be the number one reason for migration. How can we make the links, tackle the root causes and show solidarity?

• Migration Profiteers – BMI, Angel, G4S – What we can do about companies making a profit from other people’s misery?

With No Borders UK Info Tour 2009 – an exhibition of striking photographs from Calais by French photographer Julie Rebouillat, along with information displays on the European border regime and the forthcoming Calais No Border Camp, 23-29 June 09 (See Scotland Indymedia for more Tour events)

Plus updates and films on current struggles for freedom of movement and discussion about setting up a Scottish No Borders network.

No Borders is a network of groups and individuals resisting migration controls and the persecution, detention and exploitation of refugees and other migrants, and working for a world without borders.

Supported by:

• Unity Centre Glasgow
• Anarchist Federation
• No Borders.