![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Garzweiler_1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tLife at the Camp: Attentive Co-operation<\/strong><\/h2>\nBefore the Klimacamp started, the police and a significant number of journalists of un-reflected and not well-researched media put the activists into a corner of violent radicals. On the camp I was surprised about the people I found there. Many were very young. Quite a few looked shy and introverted \u2013 people I would not have been surprised to meet in a meditation or yoga class. Some had brought their children. Many activists came by bike from as far as Freiburg or England, cycling for over a week to get there.<\/p>\n
The Klimacamp felt like a safe place. Despite the many people on camp, everything was very orderly and people were very attentive to each others needs. It was very easy to connect with interesting people from all over Europe.<\/p>\n
Deliberate Organization<\/strong><\/h2>\nI was completely astonished when I realized how well organized the camp was:<\/p>\n
There were quiet tents for yoga or resting and a dedicated children area with a trampoline. An awareness team was active 24\/7 to support activists in processing their experiences, especially police violence. A legal team was available 24\/7 by phone and on site to give legal advice when people were frisked on open streets or brought to detention centers after actions of civil disobedience.<\/p>\n
A news-ticker showed which actions were taking place, which coal infrastructure was stopped, which teams were stopped by the police and so on. One board showed media articles from the past days.<\/p>\n
Several cooking collectives \u00a0provided warm meals 24\/7 for activists who were released from the detention holding facilities at night.<\/p>\n
Often vigils (legal gatherings) were quickly organized to take place in front of the detention prisons.<\/p>\n
On the camp there were showers and compost toilets. The sinks were equipped with anti-bacterial hand sanitizers to prevent diarrhea.<\/p>\n
![\"Many](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/P8270445.jpg?w=266&h=150\" "\\"Many")
<\/a> Bikers cycled for over a week to reach the camp <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> ![\"Banner\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/P8270444.jpg?w=374&h=150\" "\\"Banner\\"")
<\/a> Banner <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> ![\"Coal](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/P8270443.jpg?w=644&h=188\" "\\"View")
<\/a> Coal plants and wind energy <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> ![\"Connecting](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/P8270441.jpg?w=486&h=273\" "\\"Connecting")
<\/a> Connecting Movements Tent <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> ![\"Well](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/P8270440.jpg?w=154&h=273\" "\\"Well")
<\/a> Well organized camp <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> ![\"Bilingual](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/P8260403.jpg?w=246&h=448\" "\\"Bilingual")
<\/a> Bilingual news ticker <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> ![\"gathering](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/P8270438.jpg?w=394&h=222\" "\\"gathering")
<\/a> gathering tent <\/div> <\/div> ![\"Chill-out](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.studentoftheworld.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/P8260420.jpg?w=394&h=222\" "\\"Chill-out")
<\/a> Chill-out tent <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\nProfessional Action Planning<\/strong><\/h2>\nBoth legal and illegal protests and actions were well organized. Experienced activists had given workshops on how to behave when encountering the police, how to treat small wounds, informed about legal backgrounds and other useful skills for engaging in civil disobedience.<\/p>\n
The activists had split into small groups with which they planned the actions. Several groups together formed “fingers” with common goals. For communication the large groups used the “mic-check”. A person who wanted to announce something yelled \u201cmic-check\u201d. The crowd repeated that, so everybody listened. Then the announcer spoke in short sentences. The crowd repeated each sentence. Everybody go the message.<\/p>\n
Activists with professional filming skills reported live from the open-cast mining area. The live-pictures were screened in one of the tents in the camp. I could see how the police had closed in on a couple of hundred activists. They fixed limbs on the ground by stepping on them with their heavy (iron plaid ?) shoes. They carried them to police buses one by one in the best cases and dragged them through the stony dirt in the worst cases. A few screamed with pain. Activists later reported that whenever there were cameras, journalists or parliamentary observers the police was less violent.<\/p>\n
Police Violence<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhile many activists engaged in legal protest, others also illegally entered the coal mines to stop conveyor belts and excavators. Many soon had longish bruises on arms and legs: Souvenirs from the police batons. What I never heard at the camp but later read in the press: a couple of activists were hospitalized with broken bones. Broken from beats with police truncheons.<\/p>\n
I did not enter the mines but want to share some of the stories I heard from activists who did: Some reported they had been sprayed with pepper spray even when they were kettled and could not run away anyway. They perceived this as harassment and unnecessary brutality.<\/p>\n
Activists reported that brutality was often started by the police despite peaceful behavior of the activists. Videos in the internet show policemen beating people who were sitting on the ground and didn\u2019t do anything.<\/p>\n
I heard a story of an over 50-year-old man who was carried behind a bus and then kicked in the back by police people. He was unable to carry his bag anymore. In the aftermath he wanted to use legal measures against the police but found no activists who were willing to be witnesses because then they would have to provide information on their identity.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, some activists reported about positive police encounters: they had met police who showed respect and understanding for the cause of the activists.<\/p>\n
I was completely astonished when I realized how well organized the camp was:<\/p>\n
There were quiet tents for yoga or resting and a dedicated children area with a trampoline. An awareness team was active 24\/7 to support activists in processing their experiences, especially police violence. A legal team was available 24\/7 by phone and on site to give legal advice when people were frisked on open streets or brought to detention centers after actions of civil disobedience.<\/p>\n
A news-ticker showed which actions were taking place, which coal infrastructure was stopped, which teams were stopped by the police and so on. One board showed media articles from the past days.<\/p>\n
Several cooking collectives \u00a0provided warm meals 24\/7 for activists who were released from the detention holding facilities at night.<\/p>\n
Often vigils (legal gatherings) were quickly organized to take place in front of the detention prisons.<\/p>\n
On the camp there were showers and compost toilets. The sinks were equipped with anti-bacterial hand sanitizers to prevent diarrhea.<\/p>\n
<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> Professional Action Planning<\/strong><\/h2>\nBoth legal and illegal protests and actions were well organized. Experienced activists had given workshops on how to behave when encountering the police, how to treat small wounds, informed about legal backgrounds and other useful skills for engaging in civil disobedience.<\/p>\n
The activists had split into small groups with which they planned the actions. Several groups together formed “fingers” with common goals. For communication the large groups used the “mic-check”. A person who wanted to announce something yelled \u201cmic-check\u201d. The crowd repeated that, so everybody listened. Then the announcer spoke in short sentences. The crowd repeated each sentence. Everybody go the message.<\/p>\n
Activists with professional filming skills reported live from the open-cast mining area. The live-pictures were screened in one of the tents in the camp. I could see how the police had closed in on a couple of hundred activists. They fixed limbs on the ground by stepping on them with their heavy (iron plaid ?) shoes. They carried them to police buses one by one in the best cases and dragged them through the stony dirt in the worst cases. A few screamed with pain. Activists later reported that whenever there were cameras, journalists or parliamentary observers the police was less violent.<\/p>\n
Police Violence<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhile many activists engaged in legal protest, others also illegally entered the coal mines to stop conveyor belts and excavators. Many soon had longish bruises on arms and legs: Souvenirs from the police batons. What I never heard at the camp but later read in the press: a couple of activists were hospitalized with broken bones. Broken from beats with police truncheons.<\/p>\n
I did not enter the mines but want to share some of the stories I heard from activists who did: Some reported they had been sprayed with pepper spray even when they were kettled and could not run away anyway. They perceived this as harassment and unnecessary brutality.<\/p>\n
Activists reported that brutality was often started by the police despite peaceful behavior of the activists. Videos in the internet show policemen beating people who were sitting on the ground and didn\u2019t do anything.<\/p>\n
I heard a story of an over 50-year-old man who was carried behind a bus and then kicked in the back by police people. He was unable to carry his bag anymore. In the aftermath he wanted to use legal measures against the police but found no activists who were willing to be witnesses because then they would have to provide information on their identity.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, some activists reported about positive police encounters: they had met police who showed respect and understanding for the cause of the activists.<\/p>\n
While many activists engaged in legal protest, others also illegally entered the coal mines to stop conveyor belts and excavators. Many soon had longish bruises on arms and legs: Souvenirs from the police batons. What I never heard at the camp but later read in the press: a couple of activists were hospitalized with broken bones. Broken from beats with police truncheons.<\/p>\n
I did not enter the mines but want to share some of the stories I heard from activists who did: Some reported they had been sprayed with pepper spray even when they were kettled and could not run away anyway. They perceived this as harassment and unnecessary brutality.<\/p>\n
Activists reported that brutality was often started by the police despite peaceful behavior of the activists. Videos in the internet show policemen beating people who were sitting on the ground and didn\u2019t do anything.<\/p>\n
I heard a story of an over 50-year-old man who was carried behind a bus and then kicked in the back by police people. He was unable to carry his bag anymore. In the aftermath he wanted to use legal measures against the police but found no activists who were willing to be witnesses because then they would have to provide information on their identity.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, some activists reported about positive police encounters: they had met police who showed respect and understanding for the cause of the activists.<\/p>\n