Transition Heathrow is a grassroots action group working to build resilient Heathrow communities, capable of collectively coping with the injustices and threats of climate change and peak oil.
This Thursday, Grow Heathrow was left virtually empty as everyone got out and about in the Heathrow villages, delivering our newly pressed Newsletter Number 5. Around ten of us delivered nearly 2000 newsletters to residents in Sipson, Harmondsworth and Harlington.
Inside this issue: Tar Sands, Birthdays, Court Dates and more…
A PDF copy of the newsletter can be downloaded here.
The riots over the summer put things into perspective and highlighted the need for community spaces. For me, the riots served as a very harsh reminder of the lack of tight-knit community in our country.
It was sad to see those cases where looting and rioting spread to local community shops, because of the realisation that those involved didn’t feel they were attacking their own community. This is important because it means they don’t share any ownership or have any relationship to their local community in the first place. This surely needs to be addressed before putting lots of people in prison.
In Leeds one day this summer, a group of people gathered to discuss the theme of ‘Communities in Crisis’. The aim was to explore from a variety of perspectives and contexts how and why communities develop qualities of self-reliance, resilience and empowerment in times of crisis. The discussions formed part of a research project led by Paul Chatterton, a lecturer at Leeds University who runs an MA in Activism and Social Change, which is attempting to understand contemporary communities within the dynamics of crisis.
It is now widely accepted that we are currently facing a time of converging crises – a climate crisis, peak oil, and an ever deepening financial crisis. The ‘Communities in crisis’ project defines crisis as “a crucial or decisive point or situation, a moment of ‘creative destruction’ where the dismantling of old infrastructures creates a space for social innovation.” The present moment in UK society, characterised by austerity cuts following a major crisis of capitalism, is creating crises for many communities. However, although lots of people are struggling and being hit hard it’s not all doom and gloom. These moments of “creative destruction” give opportunities for people to discover new ways of being and new ways of claiming power over their everyday lives. Many communities are starting to do this – according to the ‘Communities in Crisis’ research project – “seeking out of necessity or intent, new coping mechanisms based on greater resilience, self-help and participation.”
An Occupy LSX banner on the steps of St Pauls Catherdral
The Occupy movement which continues to grow both globally and in the UK after the occupation of an old disused bank, are leading the way by opening the space for important discussions that need to take place. But what happens when these moments of convergence end? What steps do we take next when we go back to our own communities? This is something which the Climate Camp movement failed to work out and this is where in my opinion long term and sustainable community organising is a necessity.
Starting up a Transition Town has got to be one solution but there are others too. Squatting in the middle of a housing crisis makes sense when there are over 700,000 properties lying empty across the UK. Social centres, info-shops, community gardens – anything which offers an alternative space for communities to gather in times of crises is going to be useful heading into the future. These spaces also build excitement – an excitement that shows we can organise differently.
'Grow Heathrow' photo campaign
On a very basic level this is one of the things we are trying to do with Transition Heathrow. Grow Heathrow – a squatted community garden space, is at its heart a community experiment in action. Everything that happens at Grow Heathrow is an experiment and we are always trying and learning new ways of doing things and new ways of relating to each other. We might not get it right all the time but what is most exciting is the creation of new ways of organising.
Our participation in a ‘Fireworks and Fun Day’ event recently, organised in one of the local Heathrow Villages, may at first appear unrelated to our goal of “building resilient Heathrow communities, capable of collectively coping with the injustices and threats of climate change and peak oil”. However this would be to miss the essential connectedness of our various aims. Events such as these which bring communities together couldn’t be more essential for building resilience and we had a great day with our local community hosting a conker championships and planting up bulbs on the village green. And without strong local communities, we cannot develop the grassroots solutions necessary for combating the global challenges that we face.
Transition Heathrow is delighted at being named the first Tar Free community in the UK. At our recent Resistance Jam weekend, Sue and Emily from the UK Tar Sands Network visited Grow Heathrow to unveil a new banner they had prepared for us and to explain their new initiative.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the capitalist system around us has gone crazy. Our total dependence on oil is socially self-destructing, and the only way our economy can sustain itself is by wrecking everything in its path in a quest for the last remaining dregs of unexploited oil reserves. The environmentally catastrophic Tar Sands extraction in Alberta is the foremost example of this.
Across the world communities are starting to stand up to illegitimate governments and corporations that continue to put profits before people. We need to join the dots between communities under threat. The forces trying to destroy communities around Heathrow airport are the same as those bringing destruction to Alberta. We at Transition Heathrow stand in solidarity with the indigenous communities who face losing their livelihoods, traditions and history through the complete destruction of their local environment.
We felt incredibly honoured when First Nations activists from Alberta chose to visit Transition Heathrow earlier this year, as part of the No Tar Sands UK tour. An evening of discussion and shared stories brought hope and inspiration to our separate struggles. Working together and supporting each other can only help communities under threat defend themselves.
Becoming a Tar Free Town means making a commitment to only using ethical sources of energy. By themselves, our actions may not have much impact, but by acting together we can drive the Tar Sands out of our towns and out of the UK, and create a future where our energy needs are met without the rights of indigenous communities being trampled on.
Earlier in the week some members of Transition Heathrow visited Dale Farm to show a bit of solidarity. We had an amazing time in what was an interesting visit into a really tight knit community that is often lacking from the rest of Britain. The travellers have just received their eviction dates and need all the support they can get.
Dale Farm is the UK’s largest traveller community consisting of nearly a hundred plots and at its peak over a thousand residents. The site is a former scrapyard and is actually owned by the residents – they just don’t have planning permission to live on half the site. After a wave of anti-traveller laws were passed in the 1990s John Major’s government encouraged travellers to buy land and get planning permission to settle down. However, planning permission is not easily available to traveller communities anywhere. According to the Commission for Racial Equality, more than 90% of traveller planning applications are rejected – this compares to less than 20% of rejected applications for everybody else.
The planned eviction is a form of ethnic cleansing which will result in travellers being forced onto the road and their children pulled out of school. They would leave Dale Farm if they could, but the council have refused to fulfil it’s obligations to provide more traveller pitches.
The most ridiculous part of it all is that £18 million has been set aside to remove the 90 families (about 500 people, many of them children). It is a complete waste of time, money and violence to remove the Dale Farm residents who have done everything they can to find a peaceful resolution to avoid the brutal forced eviction. Spending £18 million on an unavoidable eviction in the current times of austerity measures is indefensible – it is a huge waste of public money that should be spent on supporting, not destroying, communities. Even condemnation from the UN is being ignored.
For all these reasons, the residents have vowed to “fight to the very last” and so they should! They have nothing to lose at this point. Supporters are being urged to come to Dale Farm and get involved with ‘Camp Constant’ to stand with the community. What amazed me in my short time at Dale Farm was the amount of respect shown between the local residents and outsiders who have come in to help them defend there homes. Before we had even reached the front gate we had two sets of families gleefully thanking us for coming to support them.
The police and bailiffs are going to try and start securing the site on the 12th September so try and get down there before if you can to help them build the barricades. There is also a march planned this Saturday from 1pm which people are being encouraged to attend.
Jessica Sumerling, BA (Hons) Photography student and member of Transition Heathrow, has won two awards for her project “Grow Heathrow”. Having just completed her photography degree at London College of Communication, this promising photographer created a beautiful exhibition depicting the story of Grow Heathrow.
Jessica received both the Metro Imaging Award and the HotShoe Award for her photographic project, ‘Grow Heathrow.’ She will receive £1000 worth of photographic equipment and a portfolio review from Metro Imaging, as well as a feature in the August/September edition of HotShoe Magazine. A fantastic achievement. Her double-winning piece comprises a series of photographs and an 80-page self-published book documenting life at ‘Grow Heathrow’.
You can purchase the hand-made book on Jessica’s website, where you can also see the photos of ‘Grow Heathrow’ and her other work.
Here’s what our local MP has to say about the recent police intimidation tactics which have been stepped up in the last couple of weeks. If your after a clear explanation as to what political policing means then listen in as John explains it really well from about 3 minutes in.
Here is the video of John Mcdonnell MP speaking in court today about the squat raids that went on across London including the raid of Grow Heathrow. This is yet another example of political policing. Solidarity with those arrested.
More photos from todays raid can be found HERE. 5 squats in total across London have now been raided. And the police claim it is all nothing to do with the Royal Wedding even though the wedding date is tomorrow. It is such an abuse of their power. Lets hope the cost of the whole operation is not being added to the Royal Wedding budget which is all being paid for by the taxpayer.
Grow Heathrow was one of 3 squats across London to be raided so far this morning. 40 Police in full riot gear turned up at 7.15 am this morning to raid the site.
In the same week as the Royal Wedding, the community market garden was raided and occupants were dragged out of their beds and searched. An hour and a half later they all left with nothing – all that was found was vegetables, chickens, bees and an enthusiasm to create a sustainable community in a world threatened by climate change.
The police tactics were completely disproportionate. If all they wanted was a tour round – they could have just taken off their uniforms and we would of given them a full tour. They might have even got a cup of tea.
Unfortunately they did not come round for a friendly visit. The raid was one of many acts of intimidation happening right now across London. This is a crackdown on people who are bored of the state and the police controlling our lives. First signs look like this was quite possibly an illegal raid which is a fundamental breach of democracy and our human rights in the UK.
More photos to follow this blog soon. We will not be intimidated. Stay safe everyone.
This Saturday the 9th April we’re having a day of gardening, tree planting and permaculture skill sharing to get Grow Heathrow skilled up and in ship shape for another year of bumper crops all round.
We will be…
- building and planting “german mound” raised beds.
- planting fruit trees and trees for coppice.
- seeding and potting plants and veg for heathrow and you to take home.
- designing and building a new compost toilet.
-laying the foundations for our permaculture scaffolded highrise garden living space.
- preparing for our rescued battery chickens to arrive!!
And much more.
And all of this to be topped off with an evening of food, campfires and glee. Bring a skill, bring a song and bring a friend,
The day starts at 10am with a glee campfire sing song from 7pm in the evening. There is space for people to stay the night but if you want to guarantee a bed bring a tent and sleeping bag, there’s plenty of space.
“I work as a community gardener and know the huge impact that getting involved in growing things has on people - giving a sense of well-being and satisfaction, bringing together people from all different backgrounds and experiences on a level playing field, helping connect people with what they eat and their wider environment as well as creating beautiful green spaces which are becoming increasingly rarer. Please don't lose this garden and all the benefits it brings.” by HEATHER STABLER, COMMUNITY GARDENER
• duvets, pillows and sleeping bags
• flue pipe
• climate justice
• empty jars
• gardening tools
• tarp
• you
• a chainsaw
• bike parts and bicycles
• piano tuning
• revolution
