The Occupied Dominion Post - Issue 1 Monday 24th October

QUOTE:

"[Nicky] Hager sees himself as an author and a journalist. In the common definition of the journalistic craft, he is not. He is a meticulous compiler and ferreter out of information that some people would wish to keep secret, and he is very good at it.” Dominon Post Editorial 13.09.2011

LEAD:

Occupy Wellington One Week On

The Wellington occupiers have now been camped in Civic Square for over a week, with more than 50 tents at last count, but participants are quick to emphasise that there is room for many more.

The occupation, which started on Saturday afternoon, has attracted over 1000 Facebook supporters and has seen visits from Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, MP Peter Dunne, and MP Catherine Delahunty. Visitors are welcomed to the space on the understanding that they will speak only for themselves, behave respectfully towards others and refrain from oppressive or hateful language.

The occupants come from diverse backgrounds. As well as the people who have decided to stay permanently, many others visit the camp in between work and family responsibilities. The camp itself has been designated as an inclusive, whaanau friendly, drug and alcohol free space.

The camp is highly organised, with a kitchen, library, information and communications centre, and first aid station. There are a number of committees and working groups dealing with practical aspects of the occupation ranging from food to event planning to communications and everything in between. Supporters have donated and loaned tents, bedding, tables and chairs, medical supplies, kitchenware, whiteboards/blackboards, a camp phone and other electronics, as well as a steady stream of food.

Camp life is structured around a morning assembly at 9am, and an evening assembly at around 7.30pm, with the bulk of the work taking place in between these times. Important decisions in the camp are made by consensus, and there are a number of gestures and hand signals that occupants use during their meetings, including ‘sparkle fingers’ pointing up, down or to the middle to signal agreement, disagreement or ambivalence, a raised hand to go on the speaking order, pointing at a speaker to indicate that one wishes to deliver a direct response, arms crossed above the head to indicate that one feels so strongly against a decision that they wish to block consensus. While a number of long and robust group discussions around contentious issues have taken place, all major issues have been successfully resolved within this system.

Ben Knight, who has been in the camp since the first day commented that “one of the most exciting things about this movement is seeing true democracy in action. If a community as diverse as ours is able to make decisions everyone can live with and make sure all voices are heard, the politicians really have no excuse”. - By Mondo

EDITORIAL:

Let’s get something straight: this movement has issued no demands. It is not a protest. It’s an occupation. Rebellions don’t have demands.

The above statement is from issue two of the Occupy Wall St Journal and in that spirit we are currently occupying the heart of our city. We’ve set up our tents and kitchens, we’ve put up our banners, and we are refusing to leave. As we reclaim the city we are reclaiming our own minds.

We are not just a handful of dreamers - we are realists. We are not stupid – we know something is very, very wrong with the world. We are not cowards – we are stepping up and putting ourselves forward to take part in this movement. We are not naïve – we know the problem is not a few greedy people ruining the system, the problem is a system based on greed that ruins people.

We are not alone. We are all over the world. In hundreds of cities on every continent, we are sharing tents, sharing food, sharing ideas and imagining a world where we share everything. We are trying to change it all from the bottom up. We are the 99%.

It has not been easy and it shows no signs of getting easier. Torrential rain and freezing cold temperatures have plagued occupiers from Auckland to Invercargill. There are other threats too - in New York, police brutality has become an everyday reality for the peaceful occupiers in Zucotti Park. In Melbourne and Sydney, our brothers and sisters have been dragged from their beds at 5am to be punched, kicked, elbowed, choked and dragged across the concrete by hordes of police. Across the world, peaceful protesters have been met with the full force of a violent system that will stop at nothing to keep itself alive. The longer we stay, the more people hear our message... and the more desperate the 1% become to shut us up.

Social change is never easy. The transformation of an unjust society into something better was never going to happen overnight, and it was never going to happen without the ruling financial elites lashing out and trying to scare us into backing down. Now more than ever we must stand our ground. We must remain together, we must remain warm, friendly and welcoming to all the people who can be engaged with our message of fairness, freedom and love. We must talk to each other, share our ideas and experiences, and find a way to take this movement forward. This is only the beginning of a struggle to change the world. We are taking on the entire might of the corporate power structure and its servants in the government and the state apparatus. While they have money and guns, we have koha and aroha. It is up to us, the 99%, to show the world which is more powerful. - Alastair and Joel

The Occupied Dominion Post - Issue 1 Monday 24th October
PDF Download - 667kb

© Scoop Media