May 2001

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Notes from the Fence--
Belle Manif!

Annette M. Ramos, a Cambridge-based volunteer with United for a Fair Economy, is a translator.

As my friend and fellow activist Alain Mignault said recently, "Although I'm nonviolent, I was not too sad when I learned that a section of the fence was torn down." I couldn't agree more. He was referring to the infamous perimeter fence that surrounded Vieux Quebec where the third Summit of the Americas took place last weekend. Indeed, the fence, the huge presence of police in riot-gear, and the incredible amount of tear gas being used against protesters were excessively provocative in a gem of a city that my local hosts described as so peaceful that it's usually boring.

The proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, which was the main subject of discussion at the Summit, would expand to the entire Western Hemisphere the NAFTA right of corporations of any member country the legal standing to sue the governments of other member countries in secret tribunals, with binding rulings costing taxpayers the loss of laws protecting them and millions of dollars. Many think the FTAA is simply US corporate imperialism dressed as a trade agreement, in a bid to compete against European Union and Asian corporate power.

The fence in Quebec City was a symbol of the barriers to personal freedom that the corporate elites and the governments at their service have erected in order to impose their unbalanced project. Resistance to this agenda occurred on several fronts in Quebec City. The Hemispheric Social Alliance put together the forums of the Second People's Summit, which emerged with a ten-point plan against the FTAA (your organization can sign on at www.tradewatch.org) and with a brand new, 70-page draft of "Alternatives to the Americas" (see www.asc-hsa.org). The HSA also organized a permitted march on Saturday 21 April in which 60,000 marched peacefully, despite the tear gas that was wafting down the hill and choking everyone.

The highlight of the weekend of resistance for me was when, with three companions, I skipped a People's Summit workshop and instead joined several labor unions and NGOs that had decided at the last minute to participate in the March Against Capital, planning to support as witnesses some direct actions on the wall organized by several groups not officially part of the HSA.

As we got ready to take off, some Canadian labor unions passed out water bottles. The bilingual sticker covering these otherwise standard plastic containers read in English "Pure Public Water," and in smaller print, "Strengthening public water systems will guarantee safe, clean drinking water, affordable to all. WARNING: Keep out of reach of corporations." By way of context, according to Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke in their excellent book Global Showdown (Toronto: Stoddart, 2001), "In one recent water privatization project, Chile was required to guarantee a profit margin of 33 percent to Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux as a World Bank condition--regardless of how well the company performed."

Our group of about 2000 met up with one of the contingents coming from Laval University and all 6000 or so together climbed one of the many stairs leading to the steep Côte d'Abraham. "UTOPISTE debout" (UTOPIAN stand up) read the red sticker with bright yellow letters on many a protester's clothing. When we were covering the entire length of the street, some members of an affinity group from GOMM (Groupe Opposé à la Mondialisacion des Marchés - Group Opposed to the Globalization of Markets) asked everyone to sit down, and an impromptu spokescouncil meeting was held.

This was conducted in French with English interpretation. The way it worked was that for a few minutes the French speaker would speak and then the audience chanted back exactly what was said, thus affirming the statement and passing it on down the hill through relays so all could hear. The same then occurred with the English interpretation.

The speakers told the crowd that it was time for people who did not wish to risk arrest to move down the hill. My favorite moment came before the group disbanded to proceed to the actions on the fence (almost no one left), and before we were all engulfed in clouds of tear gas as the protesters and police volleyed the canisters from one side of the fence to the other.

Before all that, while the sky was still blue and the sun shone perfectly brightly, one of the French speakers spoke for several minutes, saying that this was one of the most moving street assemblies he had ever seen in Quebec City. The relay voice of a young kid turning toward the crowd down the hill just said "Belle manif!" (Beautiful manifestation, or demonstration). He summed it up right there. That's what we were, a beautiful assortment of all sorts of people forming a movement for global justice whose time is now and which will not be silenced.

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