london calling!

LONDON CALLING
For Solidarity Groups and Networks across London
Haringey Solidarity Group has been organising locally with relative success for nearly 15 years. But we want to be more than just an example of what community activists can achieve. We want to encourage and enable other people to get active on a community level all over London. As anarchists and anti-authoritarians, we often see our ideas as being different from the rest of society's, yet on every street there are people who despise authority, are sick of their shit working conditions and tired of watching their area turn into a yuppie playground or a neglected wasteland. Groups from the far left and right are trying to move into the vacuum left by the main political parties but they have little to offer local communities. They seek power for themselves rather than encouraging people to take control of their own lives. It is up to us to dismantle the isolated existence of modern capitalism and build on our common dreams. We know we can't change society on our own nor should we want to. Any movement for real social change must come from people organising in every neighbourhood. We need to develop community-based and workplace groups, linked together to improve our lives, and work towards bringing about the total transformation of society. There are already many inspiring examples of activities throughout London and around the country (see box overleaf), whether working in local residents' associations, organising social centres and events, supporting workers' struggles, forming claimants' groups or producing local newsletters. But there could be so much more.
Getting our hands dirty
If you live in London and these words strike a chord with you, but you are not involved in a local group, isn't it about time you were? The worse that can happen is you get to meet like-minded people in your area. There are already groups in Haringey, Walthamstow and Hackney. Individuals in other areas are thinking of forming groups. Where there are local community-based groups, we can put you in touch with them. Where there isn't a group, there may be one or two (or dozens of) individuals who are thinking there should be. If you don't feel confident in starting a group by yourself, we are happy to act as a contact point for you to give us your details. When we have details of people from the same area, we will put you in contact with them. Once a couple of you have taken the plunge and decided to form a group, there will be things like contacting others in your area, writing & distributing leaflets/posters, organising a meeting, etc. If you need practical support and encouragement to get started, HSG is willing to try and provide it. We know setting up a local group can be daunting - most of us have been through it - but, if we really want to change society what's the alternative? If you want to get involved please get in touch.
Kick-starting the process
London Calling, HSG's push for solidarity groups and networks across London, will be kick-started at this year’s Anarchist Bookfair. If you want to get involved in preparation work and publicity in advance, please get in touch. We are inviting other groups who are already organising locally to join up with us to form a space at the Bookfair where community activists can get together. We will be involved in running the following workshops/meetings:

Debate: Residents' Groups - reformist, reactionary, revolutionary or just realistic? A debate about contradictions involved in resident-based organising, introduced by an HSG member who will propose that residents' groups are a pre-condition for social revolution. Why anarchists should organise locally A brief intro by HSG and other local groups, followed by a discussion and contributions from others about the different ways in which groups have successfully organised. Setting up London solidarity groups A practical workshop for people living in London who want to set up or strengthen groups in their area.

Examples in Practice

In Edinburgh there has been an organised claimants' group for the last 20 years. In addition, activists have developed links with local groups, including stopping a landfill site being built in a residential area. They are involved in workers' struggles and gave practical support for last year's G8 protests. When developers tried to close a café in Broadway Market in east London, local activists joined together to occupy the building. When the developers evicted them and smashed the place up, locals re-occupied and repaired the damage. Frequent meetings were held, the café ran regularly and a community spirit is being built on. SchNEWS was born as a local newsletter in a squatted courthouse in Brighton in 1994. 12 years later they are still printing! Schnews comes out every week and has a circulation of 2,000 paper copies and 11,000 email members. The 1 in 12 Club in Bradford started life in 1986. Over a three-year period hundreds of Club members worked voluntarily to reconvert the four storey mill into a social club Their original objectives were to develop and spread the anarchist values of self-management, co-operation and mutual aid. Through gigs, books, records and direct action, they have sought to extend the influence of these ideas throughout Bradford and beyond. It is still going strong in 2006 - 20 years later! Haringey Solidarity Group started life in 1990. In 1995 we supported fast food distribution workers in unionising their workplace. We mail out regular monthly information with local, national and international news to our local contacts (from 120 to over 300). Many of us are active in local residents’ associations