Wir stellen uns quer - We will always be in the way!By nina - irati wanti campaign office - ninabrown@iratiwanti.orgInternational solidarity: connecting up with people around the globe that are up against the same giants and the same odds. Travelling to Germany last month to be part of the community resistance opposing the annual nuke waste transport was 'connecting up' and much, much more.Nuclear waste dumping is an issue resonating across every continent as Governments attempt to find `suitable' sites to bury poison that just won't go away. EVER. And neither will the community resistance. Local people, whoever and wherever they are, are resolutely opposed to the dangerous risks associated with the transport and burial of nuclear waste. We arrived in Northern Germany only a week before the transport of highly radioactive nuclear waste was scheduled to roll into Wendland; a peaceful, rural region with storybook houses, small farms and the mighty river Elbe. Every town and farm was alight with an array of yellow wooden crosses hanging from barn doors, gates, tractors, wind turbines and freestanding on potato fields. It was pretty clear that the people of Wendland "will always be in the way!" The waste is transported by train in 12 heavy containers called `Castors' from a reprocessing facility in La Hague on the northern coast of France through densely populated areas and over centuries old crumbling bridges to Splietau. The deadly cargo, weighing in at 1500 tonnes, is then transferred onto trucks for a 20km stretch down winding, country roads destined for Germany's `temporary' storage facility near the village of Gorleben. Two active organisations, the local Farmers Emergency Committee and the Lüchow-Dannenberg Citizens Initiative for Environmental Protection funded our visit, and we stayed with a great family in the small village of Beesem. The main objective was an exchange. Whilst observing, experiencing and participating in the kaleidoscope of creative actions around the Castor Transport, we were also to share the story of Irati Wanti - the Kungka Tjuta's campaign to stop proposed dumping of nuclear waste in the South Australian Desert. There was little time to recover from jet lag or acclimatize to the freezing winter temperatures! On our first day we walked alongside 500 primary and secondary students through thick fog to the police barracks. A force of 13,000 riot police had been mobilised by the German Government at the huge cost of 10 million Euros ($21,400,000 AUD). On every street intersection, no matter how small, there was a police van decked out with surveillance and crowd control equipment, whilst bridges and train crossings were host to water canons and riot tanks. Although the direct actions of Wendland residents are always courageously non-violent the massive police occupation was there to impose a culture of obedience and fear. The kids were not afraid. Day 2 was the kickoff demonstration organised by the Republican Lawyer's Association. Meeting in the small town of Dannenberg, 193 tractors escorted over 5000 people 7kms to an open field near Splietau. Colourful flags blew in the chilling winds as farmers, trades-people, bikies, elderly people, families and drumming troupes shared hot coffee and delicious German cakes. Farmers voiced their concerns for their livelihood and representatives from legal and citizen rights organisations also spoke. We then got up and, through an interpreter, were able to describe that what we were witnessing in Germany was potentially the future for Australia. We also thanked them for the inspiration and strength gained from witnessing such a broad cross-section of the community (and the tractors!) uniting to form such a powerful alliance. We were enthusiastically applauded - it was an unbelievable feeling. It wasn't that we were international superstars; they were cheering for connection, for hope, comforted that there are people from faraway places that give a damn. The feeling was mutual. Over the next few days people dispersed across various sites along the transport corridor. Farmers offered their barns and properties as meeting places, camps were established and hot soup was shared as people planned actions and held cultural events in the lead-up. On Nov 10th the heavy load left France, escorted by three carriages filled with security and surveyed overhead by helicopters. Despite the massive security operation the Castor Train encountered delay after delay. Farmers parked their tractors on the rail line, people chained themselves to the tracks, blockaded on mass, built tree houses and held lantern processions, street kitchens and parties in towns the train was travelling through. Robin Wood, a direct action team, managed to penetrate the high security of the waste storage site and occupy a tower for over 10 hours. Road damage was reported and the good news spread fast! All round it was an inspiring crash course in the diverse tactics used by Wendland residents to protect their future from nuclear waste. Although they were really focused on the Castor, many people were interested to know more about Irati Wanti and around 100 people filled an old pub in Dannenberg to hear more of the story from Australia. We also met and spoke to many journalists and hooked up with French activists also fighting a proposed nuclear waste dump. The day Castor was expected to arrive we visited Lasse - the last village before Gorleben. The well-equipped camp was set up as a safe place for families and they were holding a `culture marathon' so we managed to hear a chapter or so of the new Harry Potter (in German!). We then backtracked, via many camps with energy brewing, to meet the train as it pulled into Dannenberg. Nothing prepared us for the sight of 10 helicopters circling overhead and thousands of police. Obviously overpowered, the people's strength that afternoon lay in their observation; as witnesses. The mood was divided between anger and sadness as the trains pulled in. That night the train was scheduled to leave Dannenberg around 4am. The temperature was below zero and ice was forming on all of the cars. We walked down to Grippel to discover that the freezing cold had not deterred over 500 people who were sleeping on the road, huddling around campfires and serving up soup and coffee. Somehow, a huge contingent of riot police managed to secure the village. Surrounded by four water canons and harsh floodlights they declared everyone under arrest and manhandled each person individually into a heavy circle of police. Like sheep, people were detained until the 12 trucks carrying the Castor's passed by, arriving at their final destination in Gorleben soon after. It was over for another year and our time in Wendland had come to an end. "The police are here in greater force than us. We know that, and we protest netherless - we can't do otherwise. What drives us onto the tracks is more important than our fears and our cold feet. We go out there in desperate hope, and we do it wholeheartedly. We go against the barbed wire, the water canons, the death train, because we have to take responsibility of LIFE. We'll do this for our neighbors, for the children of our children, and also for the children of the police. What we bring with us is the power of our hearts, and that's greater than any water canon." Wendland Resident during the 2002 Castor Transport. And now the waste is sitting in a shed until a `final' storage is found, if ever. The people of Wendland return to their day to day lives and the German Government is no closer to finding a permanent solution to its nuclear waste `problem'. But for two Aussies that experienced an almost apocalyptic portal into Australia's future if the Government proceeds with their plan to construct a nuclear waste dump in South Australia, our resolve has been cemented. We come home with many stories and much inspiration, grateful we are not planning blockades along a waste transport route but still have the chance to stop the dump once and for all. Karina Lester is Eileen Kampakuta Brown's granddaughter. Mrs. Brown has been speaking strong for 6 years in opposition to the proposed nuclear waste dump in the South Australian desert. Nina Brown is living and working with Mrs. Brown and other Senior Anangu Women in Coober Pedy as Coordinator of the Irati Wanti Campaign. For more info on what these two got up to in Germany and loads of photos visit http:// www.iratiwanti.org. Irati Wanti Campaign Office PO Box 1043 Coober Pedy SA 5723 kunkgatjuta@iratiwanti.org http://iratiwanti.org Back to No Nuclear Dump News |