The world of squats
is a wonder of our age, principally because of the life choices made by the
squatters.
This was demonstrated
to me by Squatney Wick in 2013, and again today on my privileged visit to Cat Hill
Forest Protection Camp.
For both visits my invitation came from Phoenix, the saviour with his Occupy
colleagues of Friern Barnet Community Library, which they reopened in September
2012 and which formed the plot for the documentary film A Polite Revolution, which received its world premiere in the fantastic
world of Squatney Wick.
Today’s invitation
followed ANY QUESTIONS at Friern Barnet Community Library on 18 July, after
which Phoenix, one of the panellists, agreed to a meeting of minds at Cat Hill
to progress ideas for reigniting in Friern Barnet the spirit of enthusiasm
which the Occupy members had brought to the library in 2012 during their period
of five months when they inspired the local community to follow their example
and bring life to the library which Barnet Council had closed.
So I arrived outside the locked gate to the
old site of the Middlesex University Cat Hill Campus. The buildings had been
demolished in preparation for a massive housing development by London and Quadrant Housing Trust. Inside the
gates were the squatters – among them Donny Vortex, Daniel Gardonyi and Petra
Rakoczi who had come with Phoenix
to ANY QUESTIONS. They were in an earnest discussion with a police constable,
which I could see through the wire grille of the tall locked gate.
With me outside the
gate were some members of the Cat Hill residents community who, I soon learned,
had been waging a war for four years with the developers in protest against the
threat of, as they described it,
“one of London’s last ancient
forests, under threat of being destroyed to build luxury housing.”
The earnest
discussion within the gates was because the policeman was asking the squatters
to leave the site, despite their protestations that a court judge had given
them leave to stay. One of the local residents telephoned his solicitor and
asked him to come round quickly to acquaint the policeman of the legal rights
of the squatters. The police constable, realizing that his bluff was being
answered by coherent argument, became less aggressive, and Donny was allowed
out of the gate. He and I sat down in a more relaxed manner and mapped out
plans for the squatters to liaise with the library activists in meeting local
schools in projects for the schoolchildren to research the background to the reopening
of their local library.
The situation of the
police threat to the camp precipitated the camp leaders then to call an
immediate Peace Assembly. Here the tale
really took off. I was privileged to receive an insight into how activists can
and do change societies, by the power of determination and reasoned argument.
The Peace Assembly
was convened at the camp of the squatters, in the wood behind the building site
where the developers were laying the foundations for building what was designed
to become a massive housing development. The residents led me through a gap in
the fence, through this wood, and we arrived at the camp. Here veterans of
Occupy camps from the steps of St Paul’s
Cathedral, and of anti-fracking camps at Balcombe, calmly showed me what they
had created at Cat Hill. A vision of a brave new world.
For three months they
had cultivated the land; planted thriving allotments of vegetables and majestic
sunflowers; planned how the settlement would blossom into
Community garden
allotments,
a library,
a centre for
workshops, classes, lectures, concerts, theatre and cinema, art studios, and
youth and community activities.
I met and chatted to
“Anon”, a “war artist” who showed me on his phone his sketches of the camp over
their three-month occupancy. His anonymity was preserved by his face being
covered by a mask and dark glasses. His manner was totally relaxed.
But the Peace
Assembly needed to be started.
We sat in a circle in
the wood. I had attended similar gatherings before. Phoenix had facilitated four Think Tanks in
Friern Barnet Community Library in September 2012, at which he had calmly and
methodically invited representatives of Barnet Council to explain to residents
of Friern Barnet how the Council wished the community might run the library
there. These Think Tanks had been so constructive that the Council, alarmed at
the prospect of being persuaded to cede the running of the library to the
community, had instead instituted proceedings for the eviction of the
squatters. The eviction was averted by the Court direction to Barnet Council to
negotiate a lease with representatives of the community, and the keys to the
library under these conditions were ceremoniously passed from the squatters to
the Council, and from them to the community trustees.
We sat in a circle in
the wood, twenty of us.
From 6pm till 8pm.
The facilitator
calmly explained how the debate would proceed. A piece of wood, held by each
speaker in turn, would give that speaker the right to explain his or her
thoughts without interruption. The piece of wood would then be passed to the
next person in the circle, and this process could be repeated for a further
round of contributions. We adhered to these rules and listened to each other.
The group was
composed of a wide variety of members, with a wide variety of agendas and
aspirations. The key to the proceedings was a joint respect shown to each
other, which increased both our knowledge of these agendas and thereby our
tolerance of a range of ideas and possible courses of action.
There had clearly, it
became apparent, been tensions among the disparate elements in the camp. What
was wonderful was that these tensions, by being discussed in an orderly,
disciplined and tolerant manner, were released by the process of debate and
dialogue.
The idealists who had
set up the camp and planted and watered the seeds on the allotment.
The residents who had
FOR FOUR YEARS mounted a campaign against the L and Q plans for a massive
housing development on the Middlesex University woodland site.
Nick, the bearded
sage with visions of how the project would become a cultural centre for the
community.
The Hungarians,
veterans of squats at St Paul’s Cathedral,
Friern Barnet Library and The Bohemia
pub, whose recently offered expertise and enthusiasm had rekindled the activism
of the camp.
Thus were the
tensions discussed, and plans formulated for action.
1
Respect and
tolerance for one another.
2
Realisation of
the strengths of the squatters and the weaknesses of the developers.
3
Strengths of the
squatters:
Ability to harness the national media for publicity,
The judge’s ruling that occupation of the land was legal.
4
Weaknesses
of L and Q:
The actions of the police were a bluff and unsupported by legal
documents.
5
A strategy
was needed for future action:
Lock the front gate,
Keep the developers out for a day by non-violent action,
Harness the views of a legal team,
Prepare for the day of action – harness media contacts, film the event
from a helicopter.
Nick’s vision for Cat
Hill to be built as an Eco-village began to be a realistic plan for the future.
An alternative to global warming and a way forward for mankind.
Sean Robert Kelly
StephensHouse&Garden
