 |
|
| • Black Thursday's great moment |
|
| • Reunion of Gaza supporters |
|
| • War in Afghanistan and freedom of speech |
|
| • A Jerusalem-Gaza concert |
|
| |
|
| Black Thursday's great moment |
|
| |
|
| It is the name of a student association called The Collective of the "Slaves of Housing". Since October last, more than forty students have occupied a private hotel of the famous Place des Vosges in Paris. This building had been left abandoned since more than half a century! |
|
| |
|
 |
The Court condemned them to a heavy fine. The police could evict the students. Immediately a press conference was organized. A mob of young reporters, photographers, cameramen, were crowded in the courtyard of this private hotel. |
|
|
| |
|
| Two students gave an account of the trial. They will appeal the judgment and will not leave the premises. Because they do not know where to go and they want to finish the school term without having to struggle for a new place. « We do no harm to anyone. Our presence does not change anything for the neighborhood or the owner. We will pay the monthly due rent. » |
|
| |
|
 |
It was my turn to speak: « these students are fighting in the name of millions of people without housing or ill housed. Since the government does not use the requisitioning law, they themselves as citizens took the initiative. They are doing what the government is not doing. They are fighting a just cause and they are the honor of our society. » |
|
|
| |
|
| Black Thursday organized a night of solidarity. Around 9 p.m. I participated in the celebration with a friend passing by Paris. The courtyard was filled with young people. What a joyous ambiance! Everyone was happy to be together and to talk to one another. In the middle of the yard, a large fire had been lit to grill the sausages. Hot wine was available. I was delighted to see this spectacle. If the cold had not been so intense, I would have stayed until late in the night! |
|
| |
|
 |
|
| |
|
| Reunion of Gaza supporters |
|
| |
|
 |
On the sidewalk of the Embassy of France in Cairo, we had experienced such brotherhood and solidarity that we were awaiting this reunion in Paris. These new friendships called for a reunion. Some women, as it is often the case, had prepared a famous couscous, a meal not found on the sidewalk in Cairo. |
|
|
| |
|
| In the available documentation, I discovered all that has been done to boycott Israel. Actions follow one another: in Paris, the great Grand Continental Hotel had to postpone the Israel Tourism Exhibition. At Place du Bourget, activists made a protest demonstration in front of the stand of the Israeli drones during the visit of President Sarkosy. At the Louvre, during the general meeting of Veolia, the CEO was very embarrassed regarding the management of the tramway that will link Jerusalem to the colonies in the West Bank. A militant action made it possible for the shareholders to hear about this colonial streetcar. At the Fresnes prison, the Basque political prisoners have boycotted Israeli products proposed at the canteen. The deputy-mayor of a city in the outskirts had invited the ambassador of Israel in Paris to dinner, preceded by a meeting with the members of the city council. In front of the City hall, around one hundred activists knew how to welcome the ambassador who will long remember this moment. |
|
| |
|
| The president of the association spoke about the trial held recently in Bordeaux. Legal proceedings were taken by « Carrefour » against a woman activitist concerning the Israeli products. In sign of protest, the actions were made the same day in the « Carrefours » of six big cities in France as well as in Rome and Brussels. |
|
| |
|
| For St. Valentine's day, an action has been planned. It is recalled that the flowers often come from the colonies illegally located on the Palestinian territories of which the inhabitants have been expelled. They are tagged « Made in Holland ». In places where many flowers are sold, there are small posters where it is written: « One cannot say I love you with flowers of lies ». |
|
| |
|
| During school break, at toll gates on the Isle of France, flyers are handed out to the car drivers to inform them of the boycott. |
|
| |
|
| The citizen's commitment is good. The demonstrators of Gaza continue their combat. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
| War in Afghanistan and freedom of speech |
|
| |
|
| The Ministry of Defense has brought legal proceedings against a lady president of an association of whom I am close. It is true that she does not use hackneyed phrases! She speaks against the war in Afghanistan with biting words. |
|
| |
|
| She said: " if it were not for the deaths of French soldiers the medias would not have come out of their silence. The Afghan people are less and less supporting the military occupation of their country. Must there be more ambushes to mobilize public opinion against this dirty war? The pilots of our mirages (French military planes) are causing deaths with little risk... There is chaos, the weapons trade continues...» |
|
|
|
| |
|
| The Court pronounced the release: « The president has spoken within the limits authorized by the freedom of speech. Her words are part of a debate of general interest on the engagement of the French military in Afghanistan. » |
|
| |
|
| The Ministry of Defense appealed the judgment. I went to her trial and sat next to the president of the association. Her lawyer said in my ear: « it is a good thing that you are here». |
|
| |
|
 |
The militants were present to support their president who speaks with conviction. But no journalist was present! The lawyer outlined that there is no military solution to the conflict. |
|
|
| |
|
| Today, dialogue with the Taliban is proposed. The French are hostile to sending soldiers in Afghanistan. It is a debate of general interest that calls for freedom of speech. |
|
| |
|
| The general attorney long insisted on the insults made to the personnel of the French army and requested a fine of 3,000 Euros. The Court adjourned for further deliberation. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
| A Jerusalem-Gaza concert |
|
| |
|
| It is rare that I go to a concert but I was warmly invited by a friend organizer: « Jewish and Arab musicians had accepted to participate in an exceptional program: a solidarity concert. » It was held in a cellar well decorated with stonewalls in the old Paris. The musicians and singers had such talent that they made the audience enthusiastic. |
|
| |
|
| Above all I enjoyed a poem by Mahmoud Darwich, this great Palestinian poet, a man of justice and peace, who sang the sorrow of exile. This poem is called: « under siege ». In fact, it is about the siege of Ramallah that opens our hearts to the sufferings of Palestine. The words accompanied by violin gave profoundness to the words so well declaimed. |
|
| |
|
 |
« Here at the foothills, facing the sunset and the canon of time
Near the gardens with shattered shadows
We do like the prisoners do,
What the jobless do:
We cultivate hope.
A country that prepares itself at sunrise. We become less intelligent
Because we hope for the hour of victory:
Not a word during the night illuminated by heavy bombardment.
Our enemies are watching and our enemies are illuminating for us the light,
In the darkness of the cellars... . » |
|
|
| |
|
| I spoke with a musician who goes regularly to the Fresnes jail, to teach prisoners how to play musical instruments. The music is a language that has no boundaries, to help us communicate and sometimes to be in communion. |
|
| |
|
