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About The North Coast times-eagle. (Wheeler, Oregon) 1971-2007 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2000)
PAGE 2 SEATTLE 1999 BY LOIS MORFORD I participated for six days in the protest against the World Trade Organization in Seattle, and I would like to share some of my experiences with you Please remember I was only one among many thousands and saw only a few of the events taking place I arrived on Sunday, November 28, and connected with my friend Ruth Shendan. age 81. who had flown down from Anchorage to meet me We have previously done social justice work together in the refugee camps in Central America Our first stop was the warehouse that Direct Action Network (DAN) had rented, vtfiich I learned of from NPR while driving up Many young people were congregated outside, some on stilts or making parade puppets and signs. The lobby walls were covered with posters and large maps of Seattle indicating march routes and times. Literature tables circled the room, with information from many labor, environmental and international groups about the WTO We signed in, and the first question was, "Have you had non-violence training?" In a back room, draped with black plastic for darkness, several people slept Food was available for the hungry — rice, beans, tofu, veggies, bread Directions were posted for bus or car transport to a place for protesters to stay for $10 a night In another room, people were role-playing in their nonviolence and consensus decision making training. The place was buzzing with high energy and organiza tion. My excitement began Our next stop was to an afternoon session at Plymouth Congregational Church, featunng prominent U.S and Canadian disarmament groups on 'WTO & The Global War System', wrfiich explained how the WTO drives the arms race and uses military power to defend corporate interests around the world. There was standing room only — we had to squeeze in. An enthusiastic crowd gave standing ovations after almost every presentation, vsdiich became the standard for the week We reached our next event half an hour early, but it was already packed It was an Ecumenical Worship & Prayer Service at St. James Cathedral focusing on Jubilee 2000. part of a world wide movement to cancel the crushing debt owed by the poorest countries of the world Jim Wallis of Sojourner’s magazine gave the sermon The Bible verse was Leviticus 25 Read it A competing event we could have attended was at the Museum for Science & Industry, a welcoming for activists called 'Celebrate & Resist', featuring reggae, hip-hop, hardcore, and subversive theater: Activists free: all others $10 On Monday we attended another packed forum at the Methodist Church on Environmental & Health issues of the WTO At noon, as part of the Seattle Tea Party, we all marched to the convention center to hear speakers on a variety of envir onmental and animal issues. At dusk, we attended an Interfaith Gathering & Rally in support of Jubilee 2000, followed by a march to link the arms of 10,000 people around the convention center. The interfaith service was like nothing I have ever experienced The prayers were from Native Amencans with drumming and singing; a Rabbi blowing a ram's hom, a Unitanan, a Moslem reading from The Koran about justice: a Buddhist who had us stand, breathe, om, and chant; a Hindu with a prayer service of bowing with candles: and finally a Christian — a tiny, energetic Asian woman who urged us on.'Sweet Honey In The Rock' sang for us. George Sweeney, president of the AFL/CIO introduced Maxine Waters from California who gave a rousing speech The church was packed, hundreds more watched on video downstairs and out side, and thousands waited on the street for us to finish. Then, 10,000 strong, we marched to nonviolently link arms around the convention center. The organizers calculated it would take 10,000 to complete the circle, as the police had erected rent-a- fences several blocks away We not only completed the circle, in some places we were tw and three deep It was raining, and we chanted, "We're cold, we're wet, cancel the debt'." and "Feed the needy not the greedy'." as well as the standard, "Hey hey, ho ho, the WTO has got to go'." On a signal we all released our arms, symbolizing breaking the chain of debt It was a powerful experience. What to do now? A hundred or so of us walked around to try to get a little closer to the convention center We found a place vtfiere we could look through the rent-a-fence to see the delegates arriving in their stretch limousines and formal attire for the opening dinner about tw blocks away. Seeing us arrive, the police responded A row of fifteen or so. looking like spacemen in their new SWAT gear, came to face us across the flimsy fence It was sort of a Keystone Kops maneuver They planned to march out, then turn in a jump to face us with their weapons. But they had not rehearsed enough. Some jumped one way, some the other, some not at all They looked at each other in confusion Soon they were reinforced by contingents of police on motorcycles, on bicycles, on horses, and even in an armored vehicle which faced us off We began chanting to them, as far- off delegates could not hear us. "Protect the needy, not the greedy' " "Turn the other way'." (They were facing us, with the WTO behind them.) "We wont pay your overtime'." Finally, "We like your boots'." That made some of them smile The feeling was light-hearted Both protesters and police were completely disciplined Then we all broke off and left to find a way home This was a completely nonviolent, prayerful march of over 10,000 people Did you hear anything about that? The next day, Tuesday, was the humongous Labor March for Fair Trade Ruth and I bused to Memorial Stadium, by the Space Needle, to join 30,000 mostly unionists in a rally, then a four mile march to downtown Other marches were forming in other areas of the city; 20,000 here, 10,000 there. In all there must have been 80.000 of us protesting in Seattle on Tuesday, including the thousands who did not march but were forming human barricades around the convention center and the hotels where the WTO delegates were staying The march was amazing Many thousands marched with their unions, such as Steelworkers, Electricians, Public Employ ees, the ILWU (which shut down all West Coast ports for the day), and many many more. Many passed out literature about their causes to other marchers. Many single-interest groups were there an animal rights activist wlh a be'&utiiMi!3-D t)urt|prfly on a pole stating "The WTO Kills Butterflies" fgenefi'cally-engin eered com kills monarch butterflies), a woman with a sign adorn ed with kale, cabbage and broccoli "Support Small Farmers — Buy from Farmers' Markets", a woman with a sign taped on her back "End the Daily U.S. Bombing of Iraq". During the march, everyone was talking together, exchanging information, forming alliances Ruth and I, after a mile or so. would sit out for awhile and watch 3 or 4 blocks of protesters march by. then join in with a new interesting group. For several blocks we marched with French Unionists, chanting (in French) "All together all together — hey hey'." The march seemed endless. I have never participated in such a large protest, and neither had Ruth, in all her 81 years It was thrilling for us both We heard a rumor that after the march there was to be a spontaneous protest at the downtown McDonald's I wauld have much preferred to protest at their corporate headquarters, but we went to see what was happening. There was a large crowd of noisy, peaceful protesters. McDonald's had 2 plastic banners strung up One said "Sundays & Wednesdays — 2 Burgers. 2 Fries, $2" The protesters pulled that banner down, to many cheers. The other said "Now Hinng" I watched a young man climb on the shoulders of another, expecting him to tear it down also. Instead, he pulled out a pen and wrote "SLAVES", so the sign now said "Now Hiring SLAVES" The crowd cheered. The French Roquefort Cheese Farmers were there When the Euro pean Union refused to accept hormone-raised beef from the U.S., the WTO fined them and applied sanctions, specifically against Roquefort cheese by name. The farmers were irate, and were taking the WTO head-on One had driven his tractor through a McDonald's in France They set up a table outside the McDonald's, and were passing out Roquefort cheese and crackers to all the protesters "The Cows Say No'" we chanted The cheese was delicious Then several hoodlums arrived, dressed all in black wth black masks and sticks, and started beating the window No one knew who they were. We were all shocked. People shouted "No violence" and "Hey, cool it," but they trashed the window and ran away I got a good close-up picture of them and was surprised they didn't harm my camera This was the only incident of violence or vandalism I personally witnessed during my six days in Seattle We next encountered a barricade of protesters at the Roosevelt Hotel, barring the entrance to WTO delegates They had been there all day, while the march had passed around , them, and were deciding whether to stay all night or re-group in the morning They also discussed whether to let tvso reporters from France through their barricade. I was very impressed with the democratic process — the bullhorn was passed around, and everyone had a chance to speak until consensus was achieved I heard later that the police were instructed to arrest leaders, but with this kind of decision making there were no leaders When we finally made it home Tuesday evening, we were invigorated, feeling the protest had been phenomenally successful But Wednesday was a shocker We awake to the TV news that the mayor had declared a no-protest zone over down town Seattle At that moment protesters outside the zone were being arrested and tear-gassed, and the zone had just been extended to include their area The violence and vandalism and confrontations between protesters and police the night before were shown over and over on television. The buses weren't run ning People were asked to stay home We managed to make it to the Methodist Church forum, which was on how the WTO impacts democracy, development and the lives of women We heard powerful, angry, articulate wamen from all over the world — Tanzania, Mexico, Philippines, St. Lucia Malaysia. Africa, El Salvador, Canada A women's African drumming group ener gized us, and the 'Raging Grannies' & Street Theater entertain ed us. Ralph Nader addressed us We had permits for a legal, nonviolent march at noon, and the consensus was we should go, even if we faced tear-gas and arrest. It was a touchy situation The church people negotiated with the city, and we got permis sion to go if we absolutely went single-file on the sidewalk, with no signs and no chants, and were not threatening So about 1,000 of us taped our mouths, held hands and walked in silence to face the line of SWAT team-dressed police, with helmets, pads and weapons It felt very powerful After awhile we hum med We Shall Overcome", then returned to the church Seattle on Wednesday reminded me of Central America during the violence of the 1980s Police lines were everywhere, and many intersections were blocked by police or protesters, sometimes both A month before Christmas, there were few others and no shoppers Many stores were boarded up Tear- gassed protesters sought shelter in the church, and one man from Global Exchange was hit in the face by a rubber bullet, which penetrated his lower lip and knocked out some teeth During the afternoon session we were asked to remain in the church because of tear-gas outside and an impending curfew The basement of the church had one room with literature tables, and just about every peace, justice, environmental and faith based group I've ever heard of, plus many unions, were distrib uting literature and networking Jim Hightower, in his cowboy Columbia View Marketplace . 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