(Statement from one person in the forest, not from the whole movement.)
Throughout a history of relentless and brutal police interventions, those occupying Hambacher Wald in opposition to RWE’s ecological devastation and structural violence, have been forced to seek recourse in even more inventive methods of non-violent resistance, often putting their own safety at risk.
Over the years many of us have been physically violated, persecuted and put in jail for defending life in Hambacher Wald and beyond. Incessantly the police has chased us down – in this fatal instance in a tragically literal sense.
Even if no direct causation can be established between police activities and Stefan’s lethal fall, throughout the current police operation a series of life-threatening interventions have been observed, such as the cutting of traverserses with people in them and – Germany, what?! – the emission of carbon monoxide in a subterranean chamber.
How many more broken bones do we need, how many more fatalities, until we will collectively open our eyes to the reality of police violence, to the role of the police in perpetuating mass-destructive corporations structural violence and to the police’s institutional function of protecting the interests of the wealthy to the detriment of the oppressed?
The sudden death of Stefan has not altered our initial motivations for being here. However shamelessly the police may proceed to evict the Hambacher Wald occupation, we shall not flinch, we shall not surrender – we are here, and if we must, we will come back.
For the forest and for Stefan.
How many people are there with you? In the end it doesn’t matter until you find a way to battle them in the courts. Here in the US thousands of people can come in protest and still nothing will happen.you are brave and I honor your dedication to the natural world.
Tree fourth of the German population agree with what we are doing. And more and more are getting active. It’s not only those who are living in the trees. There are supporting groups in the cities, who organise local support. People come to the forest, their number is growing and growing. Last Sunday the estimated number of visitors was between 4000 (police) and more than 10,000 (us). There are lawyers who support us without taking money for it. There are more people who battle them in the courts. Six years ago there were some people who went into this magnificent old forest to stay, in order to save it. Now it is one of the biggest mass movements after many years. Sometimes very different people. Some just want to save the forest, but a growing number sees, that there is more. The climate, and above all, a system that can exist only by growing. But our planet is not endless!