If you wanna come, and you want to know what you should know bevor coming and during the camp, there is the perfect thing for you, right here: The “How to Lesvos Reader”.
As always: Check the page How to Lesvos for complete information. And you can always check the How To Lesvos Category for updates, also alvailable as RSS.
Hello from lesvos,
You ‘ve done a good job with the “how to” reader. I would like though to point a couple of things that impressed me negatively (all the others impressed me positively). Before proceeding I would like to say that it is not stated whether the things written in the Reader are views of the composer or decisions made by the organising groups. Since there are several do’s and dont’s, it looks like the Reader contains the decisions of an assembly. Which assembly is this? I am asking this because I am expressing personal views and it is different to debate over personal views and views discussed through an assembly. I think this should be clarified in the Reader.
Point 1: the “no barrios” structure does not exist. There will be a barrio structure since there will be “an area for women, lesbians, queer and transgender people”. I think this is not right, I think that this strategy divides us and makes our approach less targeted. Also, the presence of a womin barrio plus a queer space plus an awareness point gives the feeling that some people’s point in the camp will be mainly to promote queer politics and the fight against heterosexual normativity. Our gathering though has a different target and if we all come there bringing our whole political agenda forefront, we will not be able to have any results at all.
Point 2: The part in page 12 saying what to do if you meet immigrants while walking in lesvos. I think that the approach “refugees want this and that and don’t want this and that” is very problematic, awkard, when coming by a non refugee. Are you sure that a refugee wouldn’t like to live safely, warmly and free for a few days, wouldn’t like to be informed about his options in a place he has just arrived? As for keeping them out of the hands of the police where he or she wants to register, no comment here.
Generally, the idea of a noborders camp that gathers right in the borders and avoids any unplanned contacts with refugees is a bit obscure. That is why I asked in the beginning whether these things have been decisions of an organizing assembly, practices of a certain group participating or plain personal views. That is the only thing I would like to be clarified, since I am not that interested in personal web debates.