Anna Campbell :Death of a freedom fighter

 It was with sadness, that many have  heard the the news that 26 year old  Anna Campbell from Lewes, East Sussex, had been was killed by a Turkish air strike on the 15th March in Afrin alongside 100 volunteers with the all-female Kurdish protection  unit, the YPG in Syria.
A qualified plumber in the UK, she first travelled to Syria in May 2017 to help the Kurds, who were battling the Islamic State group.
A prominent human rights activist in Britain, she had been been heavily involved  in the Empty Cages Collective a project aimed at building a movement in England, Scorland and Wales to resist the prison industrial complex and organise a prison free world. Through grassroots organising, advocacy and direct action she and her allies challenged the prison system which puts prisoners at risk of dangerous environmental conditions, as well as impacting on surrounding communities and ecosystems by their construction and operation.Well known in Brighton and Bristol anti-fascist, animal rights , environmental protection, anarchist and feminist circles, Anna was an individual who was  known for her passionate idealism, and her commitment to fighting for the causes of liberation.
Until recently, she had no connection to the Kurds, yet  was deeply moved, family and friends have said, by the fight to defend an autonomous, mostly kurdish region in northern Syria, known as Rojava, whose leaders advocate a secular, democratic and egalitarian politics, with equal rights for women.
" She was somebody who saw the injustices of the world and plight of the weak and vulnerable and disempowered, and she also saw the idealism, the amazing utopian vision of Rojava, and she found those two elements irrestible ! her father Dirk Campbell, said in an interview." She wanted to prevent this being stamped out, which Turkey and Syria are trying to do."
It came come as no surprise to anyone that knew her that she would risk her life to defend Rojava and the friends and comrades she met there. In fact, she gave her commanders an ultimatum: ‘Either I will go home and abandon the life as a revolutionary or you send me to Afrin. But I would never leave the revolution, so I will go to Afrin’.

Anna who was given the nom-de-guerre Helin Qerecox, sheer heroism was demonstrated by her insistence on taking part in the Afrin resistance despite the great danger she faced in fighting against NATO's second-biggest army. Eight British fighters have now died fighting in the Rojava revolution though Anna was the first woman.
On Sunday, the city of Afrin was confirmed to be occupied by the Turkish Armed Forces and its Free Syrian Army affiliates. Launched on January 20th, the so-called "Operation Olive Branch" has been subject to criticism from the United Nations, the European Parliament, members of the UK parliament and various humanitarian agencies. Footage taken over the course of the opration shows looting, extrajudicial killings , with estimates of the civilian death toll ranging from 300-500 civilians.
The Kurdish community keeps reminding us that Turkey's invasion of Afrin is illegal and has no basis in international law. Their attack on the convoy which killed Anna constitutes a war crime and they call on progressive fores here in the UK to keep pressuring the UK Government to take firm action against Turkey. The UK Government though is clearly more concerned with selling weapons to Turkey than protecting Kurdish communities. Let's remind ourselves that in May 2017, Theresa May negotiated a £100m deal to help Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan  develop fighter hets and improve trade relations.Also between July and September 2016, the UK sold Turkey £26m worth of armoured plate, body armour, as well as £8.5m worth of aircraft, helicopters and drones, and almost £4m worth of licenses for missiles, bombs and 'counter-measures'
UK companies like Thales, British Aerospace, and Rolls Royce are all raking in profits from arming the Turkish regime, despite it's war crimes, alongside the British Government and Theresa May they have blood on their hands.
Anna's act of bravery will not be forgotten by the Kurdish community, by her friends, family and comrades and all who fight for a better world , in defense of freedom with the firm conviction that her sacrifice will not be in vain. Anna is still with us, the fight goes on. Long live the Rojava revolution. Rest  in  Power rest in Power Anna Campbell.

https://internationalistcommune.com/letter-to-helin/

https://iww.org.uk/news/anna-campbell-rest-in-power-fellow-worker/

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/defending-afrin.html

Supremacy- Le Trio Joubran & Roger Waters

Former Pink Floyd front man, released the following  vocal protest to US President last week in regards to Donald Trump's controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.In what is seen by many to be a major set back in the middle east  peace process.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues in a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, as it is claimed by both sides as its  capital, Israel seizing East Jerusalem from Jordan in the Six Day War which the Palestinians see as their  their future state.
To fan the Palestinians flames even further, Trump announced that this move will take place on May 14 to coincide with Israel's celebration of it's 70th anniversary, a day that also marks what the Palestinians call Nabkka Day or "Day of Catastrophe"  which in 1948 saw the mass deportation of a million Palestinians from their homes, and the razing to the ground of hundreds of their villages.
Accompanied by Nazareth based  Palestinian oud group Le Trio Joubran , Roger Waters recites the verses from the great Palestinian national poet of resistance Mahmoud Darwish's
https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/mahmoud-darwish-poet-of-resistance.html " the Penultimate speech of the 'Red Indian' to the white man,"
In a statement Roger Waters wrote,"On the surface it narrates the last speech of the Native American to The White Man, but it also speaks to Darwish's beloved Palestine and it's indigenous people, in fact it's relevant to all victims of settler colonialism everywhere,"
Le Trio Joubran added , "We have been touring the world with our ouds for the past 15 years, taking with is, from city to city, a bit of Palestine. We honor the struggles of indigenous people across the globe, and through our art, affirm that the relationship between people, culture and their homeland survives history."

SUPREMACY - A Response to Trump - #JerusalemCapitalOfPalestine

 Music - Trio Joubran

Voice - Roger Waters Poem - Mahmoud Darwish

Translation - Dr. Fady Joudah & Roger Waters

Video Director - Adnan Joubran

Music Producer - Renaud Letang Recorded at Abbey Road Studios & Studio Ferber Label - RANDANA Management - Karim Ghattas

 http://www.letriojoubran.com

 https://www.instagram.com/triojoubran/

 https://www.facebook.com/letriojoubran/

Poem - The Penultimate speech of the 'Red Indian' to the white man

A long time must go by 

Before our present becomes history 

Just like us 

We will face the long march 

But first 

We will defend the trees we wear 

We will defend the bell of the night and the hanging moon over our huts
We will defend the leaping deer

And the clay of our pots

And the eagle feathers in the wings of our final songs 

But soon you will erect your world on our remains 

You will pave over the sacred places 

To open a road to the satellite moon 

This is the age of industry 

The age of coal

 Fossils to fuel your thirst for fine wine 

There are the dead and the settlements 

The dead and the bulldozers 

The dead and the hospitals 

There are radar screens to capture the dead 

Who die more than once in this life 

To capture the dead who walk after death 

The dead who breed the beast of civilisation 

The dead who die to carry the earth 

After the relics are gone 

Where, oh white master, are you taking my people... and yours?

سَيَمضي زَمانٌ طَويلٌ لِيُصْبحَ حاضِرُنا ماضياً مثُلَنا ..
 سنَمْضي إِلى حَتْفِنا , أَوَّلاً , سنُدفعُ عن شَجَرٍ نَرْتَديه ...
 وَعَنْ جَرَسِ اللَّيلِ , عَنْ قَمَر , فَوْقَ أَكْواخنا نَشتْهيه
وَعَنْ طَيْشِ غزلانِنا سَنُدافعُ , عن طِينِ فَخْارِنا سَنُدافِعُ

 وَعَن ريشنا في جَناحِ الأَغاني الأَخيرةِ , عمَّا قَليل تُقِمونَ عَالَمَكُمْ فَوْقَ عَالَمِنا: مِنْ مَقابِرِنا تَفْتَحونَ الطَّريق
.
إِلى الْقَمَرِ الاصطناعيِّ , هذا زَمانُ الصِّناعاتِ هذا زَمانُ المَعادِنِ , مِنْ قِطْعَةِ الفَحْمِ تَبْزُغُ شَمْبانيا الأقْوِياءْ

 هُنالِكَ مَوْتى وَمُسْتوطَناتٌ , وَمَوْتى وبولدوزراتٌ , وَمَوْتى وَمُسْتَشْفَياتٌ , وَمَوْتى وَشَاشاتُ رادار تَرْصُدُ مَوتى
 
 يَموتون أَكْثَرَ مِنْ مَرَةٍ في الْحياة , وَ تَرْصُدُ مَوتى
يَعيشونَ بَعْدَ الْمَماتِ , وَمَوْتى يُرَبُّونَ وَحْشَ الْحضاراتِ مَوْت
 وَمَوْتى يَموتونَ كَيْ يَحْمِلوا الأَرْضَ فَوْقَ الرُّفات

إلى أَيْنَ يَا سَيِّد البِيض , تأَخُذُ شَعْبي ,..
 وَشَعْبَك؟

Courage to Resist for Rachel Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003)

Today is the 16th anniversary of the murder of Rachel Alleyene Corrie an American member of the International Solidarity Movement who was murdered by  Israeli Defense Force bulldozers while bravely non violently acting as a human shield against the demolition of Palestinian homes. But her memory is still  alive in the hearts of Gaza  and the Palestinian people still struggling for freedom, and her spirit lives on reminding us to get out of our comfort zones and to act with our convictions. Inspiring us that we can be kind, brave, generous, beautiful, strong  even in the most difficult circumstances. Years later  though sadly Palestinians  are  still being killed and injured as they demand the right to return to lands that have been stolen from them.

Courage to Resist 

Rachel Corrie witnessed the oppression
So she bravely stood with the Palestinian
Shoulder to shoulder in a land of occupation

Her breath full of peace, no room for compliance

With firm belief in heart she stood in front of force
In act of defiant non violent resistance
To try to prevent destructive demolition

Of peoples homes and olive groves 

The world witnessed as she was crushed

By a Israeli bulldozer, and left like a rag doll 

Years later her message of solidarity still strong
Her spirit remains free. moving and inspiring
Because oppressors can never kill a thought
Defiance will always rise, wherever there is injustice
In the town of Rafah their gentle sister is not forgotten 

Her deep passion, courage and conviction honoured

We must continue her brave struggle for freedom

As the skys are still weeping, tears still raining down.

https://rachelcorriefoundation.org/

Stop and Scrap Universal Credit.

Currently Theresa May's toxic Tory government is pressing ahead and rolling  out Universal Credit, at a time when many claimants  are descending into debt, relying on food banks, getting into rent arrears and in many cases getting evicted from their homes because of in-built problems with UC. People with disabilities will be among the hardest hit of these cruel welfare reforms.
UC replaces five benefits - child tax credit, housing benefit, income support, income based jobseekers allowance, income related employment and support allowance and working tax credit. Seven million households will be affected, including one million low paid part-time workers. For the first time ever people actually in work could face being sanctioned, having their benefits stopped if they are unable to prove to the job centre that there searching for better paid work or more hours, in a completely illogical measure by our current government.
The government is imposing UC, despite losing a parliamentary vote on its extension to millions more people. On October 18, Parliament voted by 299 votes to zeros to temporarily halt the introduction of UC. Opposition  parties in Parliament led by Labour, passed a motion calling for the government to pause the rollout of UC. The vote was allowed as part of an Opposition Day Debate.
In the face  of mounting anger in the population, Theresa May's crisis ridden government instructed its ministers and MPs to abstain. This was due to their fear of a rebellion by at least 12 Tories as well as MP's from its governing partner, the DUP, who were prepared to back Labour. The government responded to the vote by declaring it was not binding, and with no regard to the mounting anger will continue to roll out UC regardless.
The entire process is riddled  with problems. Despite having been dreamt up a decade ago and built up since 2010 at the moment, hardly any part of the programme is functioning as it was supposed to. So far UC has been plagued by delays and administrative errors.The Department of Work and Pensions looks to many to be wholly unfit for purpose. Independent analysis has shown that the cuts hidden within UC  will result in three million families losing up to £2,600 per year each.The Charity Child Poverty Action estimates that this will push a million more children into poverty by 2022. And this only if everything  goes as planned.
UC is supposed to be an attempt to make the Benefits system better, but things like housing benefit are all chucked in with everything else, one single payment going to the 'head' of the household, This could put women in abusive relations in a very bad place. All the money for childcare, which once would have gone to her, is liable instead to go to the abusive partner. Financially this will mean that it will be harder for her to be independent and harder for her to leave. Applying to the government for benefits to be paid straight to her would simply alert the abusive partner to her attempts to escape his control. And this is currently happening in the name of 'simplicity.' This is just one example of the flawed nature of UC.
For now the waiting time has been cut from six weeks to five and from next month, housing benefit claimants will continue to receive support for two weeks after making their first claim for UC. It will also be possible to get a 100% advance on the benefit, with a year to pay it back, instead of being allowed only a 50% advance and being given just six months to return the loan.
But lets be honest  nobody seems to know what's going on anymore. Claimants across the country will find their payments being arbitrally cut month in, month out, with no explanation. Random debts  are imposed and retrieved with minimum information. Already as it is claimants, living on a shoestring, this process I fear will make things far worse.The Conservatives claim UC is designed to help help people into work by ensuring they are better off working than the unemployed  but whatever they say the number of families who are in work but still living below the poverty line is continuing to rise. As a result, inequality increases too, with the poorest among us being left behind.All because of their policies.
This is all why on  Saturday 16th May 2018 I will be supporting Ceredigion Disability People Against the Cuts (DPAC) who will be meeting  it, outside the Guildhall, Cardigan 11.a.m, to raise awareness of the impact it will have on our community when it hits us in September. We will have petitions to be signed and latest information on the roll out and how it will affect individuals claiming benefits, in and out of work.
Personally do not believe it can be fixed, or modified it needs to be stopped and scrapped completely. It is crucial that we carry on campaigning against its implementation to defend those on the receiving end of brutal cuts and to push for the complete abolition of these policies that will hurt those who are already the most disadvantaged in our society who are merely being treated as collateral damage and will as a result of UC will be pushed even further into the depths of poverty. We must continue to resist these devastating policies, an end to this cruel austerity measure and give support to all those that currently need it. Remember no one is immune to becoming ill or losing their jobs.

Stephen Hawkings ( 8 /1/42 - 14/3/18) - A Beautiful mind R.I.P

Another star just went out. Professor Stephen Hawking, the renowned British physicist and author of A Brief History of Time, has died at the age of 76. He died peacefully at his home in Cambridge in the early hours of Wednesday morning his family said.
Professor Hawking, one of the world's finest scientific minds, was diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease in 1964 at the age of 21 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and was given only a few years to live. Though 80 percent of those with ALS die within five years of diagnosis, he managed to survive for many decades, perhaps longer than any other patient with the disease in medical history. Eventually  he was completely paralysed, confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak, except through his  trademark computerised voice system for communication.
Despite all this, he continued to travel the world giving lectures and writing scientific papers about the basic laws of the universe, Black holes  and time that earned him comparisons to Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.He also embraced popular culture with enthusiasm  and humour, apprearing in cartoon series the Simpsons, starring in Star Trek and  providing the voice over for a British Telecom commercial that was later sampled by Pink Floyd on their album ' Division Bell. '
This physicists inspiring and turbulent personal story was dramatised in the 2014 movie "The Theory of Everything" which won the actor who portrayed  him, Eddie Redmayne an  Oscar for best actor.
A huge loss to science and humanity, his brilliant and extraordinary mind were obvious, which shined bright to the very end, but it was his courage in refusing to allow a disease that was a death sentence, that faced him daily and  his refusal to  allow it to defeat him, alongside his sense of humor that was to become an inspiration to millions.
He also stood for truth , justice and freedom of Palestine, supporting the academic boycott of Israel, and last year, he asked his millions of facebook followers to contribute financially to the Palestinian Advanced Physics School, a physics lecture series for master students in the occupied West Bank. " I support the rights of scientists everywhere to freedom of movement, publication and collaboration," he wrote.Bravely spoke too against the Iraq war and warned us too about the risk Nuclear weapons pose to the survival of humanity also must not be forgotten. He was also  a vocal champion of the NHS who, in the final months of his life, battled with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt over the future of the health service. He had recently said he would not have had such a long life without the NHS. Less than two months ago a campaign group backed by Professor Hawking was granted permission to challenge MR Hunt in the High Court over plans to allow private companies to play a greater role in the service. The scientist had warned it was an " attack on the fundamental principles of the NHS" to allow commercial businesses to run parts of the health and social services. The judicial review into the proposal was expected to take place as soon as possible after Wednesday incidentally the day that he died.
After his sad passing many people are now sharing his words of wisdom and moving quotes.
I will  add one, he once remarked : " I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God: No one created the universe, and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realisation that there probably is no heaven and no afterlife either. We have one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that, I am extremely grateful."
So long Stephen Hawking, such a beautiful mind. R.I.P your extraordinary legacy will live on for years, may your mind roam the cosmos for eternity.

Defending Afrin

In recent days thousands of Kurdish immigrants have been taking to the streets  of Europe to protest against the Turkish military operation in the Kurdish region of Afrin in the Democratic Federation of North Syria. Afrin is part of the revolutionary process in the region based on multi-ethnic grassroots democracy and women's liberation.
After the US announced the Turkey/Syria Border Security Force, since  January 20, the Turkish military has been attacking and trying  to invade, night and day, towns and villages, refugee camps, historic and sacred sites that  have been  consistently been bombed by Turkish war planes and artillery.During the first 10 days of these attacks, many civilians have been killed and heavily injured. Among the casualties are women, men children and refugees from other regions of Syria.
The regime in Turkey has openly announced   that its aim of military aggression in Afrin is in  wiping out the democratic autonomous self-administration of Rojava (the Kurdish name for Northen Syria) where the Kurds have defended themselves from Isis and set up an autonomous state where equality, civil engagement, and democracy are manifest in every level of organisation.
Turkey's aim is to occupy this region and crush the will of it's people.Turkey's war on Afrin is an attack not only on Kurdish self-determination, but on democracy and women's liberation in the Middle East. The YPG (People's Protection Units) and YPG (Women's Protection Units) have been one of he main forces defeating ISIS, and are in the process of eliminating religious extremism and terrorism from the region. This invasion threatens all of this. Many women joined the YPJ after being liberated from ISIS or to free their families from ISIS.
Whilst the people of Rojava have been organising themselves in networks of grassroot assemblies and co-operatives, using the model of Democratic Confederalism, which emphasises direct democracy, feminism and ecology, and a multi-ethnic society without discrimination , compare this to the Turkish Government, which has been repeatedly criticised by the European Court of Human Rights for torture, enforced disappearances and the mass imprisonment of journalists and politicians.
The Kurdish people have a saying "we have no friends but the mountains" which is  often repeated when referring to the countless massacres, injustices and betrayals that the people of Kurdistan have experienced throughout their history. Stretching over four of the most important counties  in the Middle East - Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria, and constantly threatened with genocidal attacks from all sides, this expression resonates with lived experience far more than it should.
The international community to its shame has basically been silent. Turkey is a NATO country like Britain.The UK government has spoken of its support for Turkey's aggression,  Britain  just happens to be a major supplier of arms to the Turkish state and these arms are being used in a conflict where the deliberate targeting of civilians is taking place.
The Kurdish communities actions across the world, are an attempt to break this silence and International solidarity and the contribution of those not in Afrin canton are vital to help the Kurds struggle.In the battle for Afrin, we see the universal dimensions of popular struggles against fascism, dictatorship and death, and for democracy , freedom and justice.
We should strive to stop  the dictatorship of Turkish President Recep Tayvip Erdogan from spreading further its oppression, building it's road  of terror, full of despotic ambition, racist attitude  any further in the Middle East.
The Kurds deserve more than the friendship of their mountains, they deserve our solidarity, because not only is their existence and identity in danger but so too are the hopes of radical democracy and women's liberation  in the Middle East. Inside and outside Rojava, defending Afrin must become our imperative.
The Turkish army is now just a few kilometres from Afrin city where hundreds of  thousands of civilians are trapped.We must act now before its too late. raise our voices with spirit of the Kobane resistance! Try and find common cause with their struggle, to take a stand against these attacks  against one of the region's and the world's most hopeful movements.Who are currently building a new world in the shell of the old, planting seeds of imagination. Showing us another world is possible. Please join the Kurdish community and their friends in solidarity.No pasaran! defend Afrin , defend humanity.

A New World In Our Hearts - Spaceheads

Have  had a wild weekend dancing my socks off, a magical blend of  musical adventure, a shout out to the wonderful Red and the hogweeds, Becky the Bullet and the Bloody frights, down at my local music venue the Cellar Bar, and the mighty anarcho punk band Mwstard  down at the Small World Theatre where the company of friendship  picked  me up so much, after a rather fraught week, bottom a little tender though , alas one move too far resulted with a collision with dance floor,whilst dancing to following band,  picked myself up again carried on doing what I do. 
I present to you the Spaceheads, trumpet player Andy Diagram and drummer Richard Harrison who last night released a joyful mix of jazzy , free form virtuosity, accompanying my journey with a backdrop of images from one of my favourite films, the 1928 Eisenstein film October: Ten Days That Shook the World, who through the medium of music manage to release a powerful optimistic call for change.http://spaceheads.co.uk/a-new-world-i... Truly fantastic stuff. Which  serves to remind  me of old poem of mine slightly updated. lets all keep laughing in the face of power, and if you can keep on fiercely dancing

Spaceheads Introduce A New World In Our Hearts

Spaceheads - The Revolution Sashays Up the Mall

Spaceheads -  What is to be done

A New World In Our Hearts

We are building a new world in our hearts
Red and black flags united against the system,
With courage to demand nothing for us alone
But everything for everyone else,
Following a map towards tomorrow
Developing our own journeys,
Both individually and collectively
As we travel.

We don't want to rule others
And we will not be ruled,
We have no masters, our thoughts are free,
We have removed the chains that bind us,
Demanding the impossible 
Disintegrating capitalism,
Creating the world we want.

They try to reject us
Degrade us, belittle us,
Shame us and ignore us
Because together we are strong.
In unity we are fearless
As we try to eradicate their consensus
Growing kinder and more content.

Keep on laughing in the face of power
Filling emotions with love and rage,
Travelling far from webs of deceit
The daily delusionary shackles of greed
Living only now to feed our need,
Among widening circles that reach,
                              out across the world,
Believing in hope, it's enduring glow
And the messages that we share,
We fill our pockets with resistance
Keep on building  new worlds in our hearts.

On International Women’s Day solidarity with Yarl’s Wood hunger strikers

At the beginning of the 20th Century women across Europe and America were finding their voice.That wanted and demanded decent jobs, better pay, emancipation and the right to vote and hold public offices. It was out  of this air of dissatisfaction,  that International Women's Day was born. A day that today we can still recognise the oppression that still flourishes, caused by both capitalism and patriarchy. Still an unfortunate and undeniable reality for many women today. The fight for woman's  rights might look a little different today, but many are still facing discrimination and injustices across the globe.
In recent times, issues of woman's political and economic inequality have been joined by broader struggles against racism, war, violence, oppression, for  social justice. So today as I observe International Women's Day, I stand up for all women still trapped by injustices. I believe the women's struggle is a struggle for the freedom of all  people, recuperating the fair value of people over things. I recognise the practice and theory of mutual support that women have laid, that are the foundations of social change that we must keep building.
Today in particular  I acknowledge those who are among the most vulnerable in the present moment of time- the refugees. In the same month that we have celebrated the centenary of (some) women's suffrage in the UK, we should not forget over 100 women who have been on hunger strike since February 21 against the inhumane conditions at the Yarl's Wood detention centre and the government's practice of indefinite detention, and their lack of human rights.
"We feel it is our responsibility to call the Home Office out, and take action with our bodies too," the Freedom Fast Yarl's Wood campaigners said in a statement."It is outrageous that 100 years after some women got the vote, elected governments can still openly enforce these inhumane and racist measures."
Some of the demands include an end to charter flights, snatching people ftom their beds in the night, an end to menial work for £1 per hour and to stop detaining vulnerable people and victims of abuse. They are also asking for adequate healthcare and amnesty for people who have lived in Britain for more than 10 years.The hunger strikers demands are for a fair system and an end to the hostile environment policy towards people with legitimate reasons to remain in the UK.A full list of the strikers demands can be found here:-  https://detainedvoices.com/2018/02/25/the-strikers-demands/
Each year over 1,500 women who have sought asylum in the UK are detained  at this infamous detention centre which has been the site of numerous scandals. Most of the women detained there are survivors of rape, torture ,sexual and gender based violence and  other abuse. The UK is currently the only country in Europe with no time limit on detention. A practice opposed by Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru and many other civic and political organisations. This barbaric policy has no place in a so called civilised society. https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/end-indefinite-detention.html
However the Home Office has failed to acknowledge their demands has since taken punitive action, including attempting to deport two hunger strike participants Florence and Opela Kgare on Saturday 3rd March, before there case was complete. This deportion attempt was halted thanks to pressure from the women's friends, the involvement of Labour MPs and the intervention of Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes.
Today activists from across Britain will be taking part in a 24 hour fast on International Women's Day in solidarity with the Yarl's Wood hunger strikers. Migrant's right campaigners have united with the friends of those in the detention centre to call for a Freedom Fast on this day. They have urged " all people of conscience" to join.We must support the protestors and their demands, and stand with them in denouncing the Uk's  inhumane and fundamentally wrong treatment of them.
This International Women's Day, I simply ask everyone to stand in solidarity with female refugees, whatever the stage of their journey, and keep building a society where women's human rights are respected and in which they are free from persecution. Important  steps are already being taken, but it is a long road ahead. Today celebrate the women who are walking it: migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and women in the wider community working together. On the centenary year of women's suffrage in the UK , lets not forget those women, whose voices are too often not heard.It is also  time to keep on calling for the  closure of Yarl's Wood detention centre.

Yemen concerns

'Currently Tory Prime Minister Theresa May  is welcoming vile and  misogynist Saudi Arabian tyrants with open arms, with the aim of selling them even more British weapons to commit war crimes in Yemen.
Mohammed bin Salman is starting a three-day visit to the UK amid protests planned against his country's role in Yemen.
Jeremy Corbyn has accused the government of "colluding" in war crimes by selling arms to Riyadh.
The 32 year old crown prince,who is seen by some as a modernising force in the Gulf State. He has already had lunch with the Queen and Duke of York, and is due to have dinner with the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge.
The UK hopes to capitalise on the Saudi economy's opening up, but this decision has been met by protesters outside Downing Street against the killing of thousands of  Yemeni civilians in air strikes by a Saudi -led multinational coalition, backed by the UK and US, in what is is considered to be a forgotten war, where this crisis  grows daily, spawning an escalating, political, military and humanitarian crisis.
Also if  this Saudi Crown  Prince is truly a reformer, he must stop the execution of 18 young people for the'crime' of attending protests and put an end  to the shocking abuse of human rights.

Petition here:-

https://act.reprieve.org.uk/page/content/saudiexecutions?source=ansa1

Here is a letter I managed to get published in my local paper Tivy-Side Advertiser yesterday expressing my concerns :-

THIS week the UK Government is rolling out the red carpet to Mohammad bin Salman the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, even as innocent children are being killed by the ongoing Saudi-led coalition bombing campaign in Yemen.
Since 2015 British weapons companies have made a staggering £6 billion from arms sales to Saudi Arabia the country leading the coalition bombing Yemen
At the same time, the British taxpayer is sending more than £200 million in life-saving aid to the Yemeni people.
As one of Saudi Arabia's key allies and arms suppliers, there is a risk that British bombs are being dropped on Yemeni children.
Thousands of innocent young lives have already been lost in airstrikes and explosions, and thousands more from hunger and preventable diseases like cholera and diphtheria.
Yemeni children are dying every day from preventable causes like hunger, disease and war.
It may be a far-away conflict, but I believe Britain has a moral obligation to help end the suffering.
I think our Government should stand up for Yemen's children and ensure food, medicine and fuel get into the country and that children are protected from bombs and bullets.

                                                                                                 Dave Rendle
                                                                                                 Teifi Terrace
                                                                                                    Cardigan

Alan Moore on Art and Magic

Comics legend Alan Moore, who has long been an inspiration is the the author of titles including Watchmen, The league of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta and From Hell.and the epic novel  Jerusalem . Not only being a prolific writer and visionary , he also happens to be a ceremonial magician and co-founded the Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels. Alan also sees an  inextricable link between magic and artistic creativity. Do we not all hold the keys to transformative power that lies within that has also has the power to change society for the benefit of all mankind.
Beyond general consensus, and ideas of conformity, we can find different rules to follow, actually alter the world around us., shape it and in the process create a better society. There is nothing more powerful than when our perceptions can change, collectively can actually impact on others and change awareness.Through art and creativity , we can connect to our senses , bodies and minds  and in the process this can enable us to spur thinking, engagement and even action, that has the possibility to motivate others into new ways of thinking. From the local to the global help us seek solutions to the challenges that face us all in the world today, a necessary persistence of the imagination that in this age of sceptical attitudes can actually alter and change consciousness and at same time, our trapped mindsets.

" Magic is a state of mind. It is often portrayed as very black and gothic, and that is because certain practitioners played that up for a sense of power and prestige. That is a diservice. Magic is very colorful. Of this. I am sure."

" I believe that magic is art, and that art, whether that be music, writing , sculpture, or any other form. is literally magic. Art is, like magic, the science of manipulating symbols, words or images, to achieve changes in consciousness, and  that i why I believe that an artist or writer is the closest thing in the contemporary world to a shaman..."

-Alan Moore

Alan Moore on Magic

Pethau Bychain Dewi Sant - Bob Delyn a'r Ebillion (geiriau / lyrics)

Today as has become traditional I mark St David's Day/ Dydd Dewi Sant. Saint David is the patron saint of Wales. This day was chosen to  commemorate St David's death on this day around 589 AD. It has been celebrated as a national day within Wales since the 18th century.
I love my country,  but avoid the nationalism,  I prefer the  mystical  deep streams.
So here I offer you this beautiful song from Bob Delyn a'r Ebillion called Pethau Bychain Dewi Sant ( St David's Little Things) from the album Dore .Happy St David's Day/ Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus.  Heddwch/peace

Pwy oedd Dewi Sant. Who was St David?
Dewi Sant oedd nawdd sant Cymru. Yn ol straeon amdano, bu fyw  am dros 100 mlynedd a bu farw ar Dydd Mawrth, y cyntaf o Fawrth  (Gwyl Dewi Sant heddiw). Ei eiriau i'w ddilynwyr oedd mewn pregeth ar y dydd Sul blaenoral. Meddai Byddwch yn llawen, a cadewch eich ffydd ac eich cred. Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd yt ydych wedi fy ngweld i yn ei wneud. Fe gerddaf i y llwybr y troediodd ein cyndeidiau.

It is claimed that David lived for over 100 years, and he died on a Tuesday 1 March (now St David's Day) His last words to his followers were in a sermon on the previous Sunday. Rhygyfarch transcribes these as ' Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed. Do the little things that you have seen me do and  heard about. I will walk the path  that our fathers have trod before us.' 'Do the little things in life' ( Gwnewch y  pethau bychain mewn bywyd) is today a very well known phrase in Welsh.

Geiriau

Pethau bychain Dewi Sant
nid swn tan ond swn tant.
Nid derw mawr ond adar mân,
nid haul a lleuad ond gwreichion tân.

Ond o, dyna chi strach, trio cael hyd i sach
 i gadw'r holl bethau bach.

 Pethau bychain Dewi Sant,
 y ll'godan ond nid yr eliffant.
 A darnau'r gwlith nid dwr y moroedd,
 ond yn y briga', stwr y mae.

 Ond o, dyna chi strach, trio cael hyd i sach
 i gadw'r holl bethau bach.

 Pethau bychain Dewi Sant,
swn 'yn traed ni yn y nant.
Yr hada' yn disgyn yma a thraw,
a'r tamad, y tamad ola' o wenith yn dy law.

Ond o, dyna chi strach,
trio cael hyd i sach i gadw'r holl bethau bach.

Map y byd yn llyfr y plant,
pethau bychain Dewi Sant.

Y pellter sydd rhwng dant a dant ar ol nawdeg naw a chant
 pethau bychain Dewi Sant.

Ond o, dyna chi strach,
 trio cael hyd i sach i gadw'r holl bethau bach.

English Translation Lyrics:

St David's little things,
not the sound of fire
but the sound of chords.
Not a large oak but small birds,
not the sun and moon but the sparks of fire.

But oh, what a hassle it is to try and find a sack
to keep all of the little things.

St David's little things,

the mouse but not the eliphant.

And the dew drops, not the water of the seas,
but in the branches, uproar is found

But oh, what a hassle it is to try and find
a sack to keep all of the little things.

St David's little things,
the sound of our footsteps in the stream.
The seeds fall here and there,
and the scrap, the last scrap of wheat in your palm.

But oh, what a hassle it is to try and find a sack
to keep all of the little things.

The world's atlas in a children's book,
St David's little things.

The distance between a tooth and a tooth between ninety nine and a hundred - St David's little things. But oh, what a hassle it is to try and find
a sack to keep all of the little things.

Brexit Bill threatens UK Human Rights warns Amnesty International

According to Amnesty International  the current EU withdrawal bill will "substantially reduce human rights in the UK" and members of the British public " don't even know", it has warned in its latest annual report, The State of the World's Human Rights : https://www.amnesty.org.uk/report-world-human-rights-2017
Amnesty's 409 page report on human rights around the world says the decision to convert the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights into domestic law via the withdrawal bill means British citizens  will be stripped of protection.The Charter is important because it protects fundamental  issues that are important to us all, such as dignity, workers rights, equality, fair trials, free speech, children, LGBTI, disabled people and more. It provides a stronger defense of fundamental rights because it overides acts of Parliament when there is a conflict over basic rights, thus making it a much stronger legal defense when combating violations of human rights.
The Government has decided  not to convert  the Charter into UK legislation after Brexit,https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/678333/Factsheet_6_-_Charter_of_fundamental_rights.pdf  claiming that  human rights will not be jeapordised by Brexit, saying that protections in the EU charter will  still be protected by domestic law, contending that the citizens of the UK are protected through the democratic process, assuming that the ability to elect Members of Parliament is an adequate assurance that our representatives will protect their basic rights. It seems foolish, however, to found an entire group's basic protection solely on the goodwill and moral compass of the government. I personally do not trust their word one bit. The end result being that we will all now face a lower protection of our human rights. Lets not forget that we have been warned, after all our human rights are the basic freedoms that all human beings should be guaranteed.
Kate Allen, Amnesty International's UK  director, said :" You don't have to be pro or anti Brexit to see that without reform the EU Withdrawal Bill is set to substantially reduce rights in the UK.
" Under cover of Brexit the Government is planning to strip the British public of protections, - and people don't even know their hard won rights are under threat."
We should all be very concerned. After all the current government has long had a poor relationship with human rights, having previously wanted to abolish the Human Rights Act and now wants to remove the Charter as well. They should not be allowed to continue with their plans unchallenged.
The report also warned that the Governments drive to secure new trade deals has seen UK ministers and officials " soft pedalling" with regimes who have poor human rights records. Also highlighting recent UK trade delegations to Saudi Arabia,  and  USA, that have shown an "unwillingness to speak publicly about human rights overseas."
The UK is set to quit the EU on 29 March 2019, at 11 pm.Theresa May has said previously that her vision of Brexit will be one that focuses on "the good we can do together in the world as a global Britain." However, any Brexit that ends up, prioritising and promoting  arms sale and building ever closer relationships with human rights abusers is one that will only contribute  further to war, conflict and the further erosion of freedom for people across the globe.
Brexit was just one of many topics  mentioned in their annual report, Amnesty's report  also criticized world leaders for promoting "hate and division to further  their own political ends, suggesting that in the 70th year since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights protections are under serious threat, with authoritarian leaders seeking to narrow  or withdraw them"
The group also highlighted the work of activists and protest movements around the world inspired by what it called regressive policies.

Shape Shifting

Music flows like water
Between shadows and light,
As books are read for therapy
And love returns, carried deep inside,
The alphabet of trees, offers comfort
Some sculptured imagination,
Releases language of truth
Memories of everlasting breath,
In the politics of free fall
Magic remains undiminished,
Takes us back to where we had begun
From outside, rearranges,
Shape shifting, through corridors of time
Allows us to keep on pursuing brightness,
Swallows every thought, beyond constant fear
In a world of confusion, revives tongue,
Communicating to the lonely
Shouting rebellion to those who listen.

Why do we keep offering deference to the Royal family in the 21st Century.

For me the Royal family represents inequality and conservatism, a dynasty that has no place in the modern world. Just look at the above photo, it represents everything that's wrong with the monarchy. The sense of entitlement on one side. the unquestioning deference on the other.
Far from uniting the country, the monarchy's role is seen by many people to be illegitimate and offensive, and simply entrenches hereditary pivilege at the heart of public life. While our government patronisisingly preaches democracy to the rest of the world, they still preside over an undemocratic system at home with an unelected head of state .
With their vestiges of privilege, the royal family continues  to  award themselves medals, appoint themselves to top military ranks that they simply they do not deserve. Allow themselves to be nominated as patrons of charities , degrading the real efforts of those who have really made general contributions. At a time when Britain  is going through a time of national economic and social stress due to Brexit , austerity, incoming roll out of Universal Credit and so on. The Conservative Government currently imposing a draconian, financially crippling sanction on jobseekers because they dont want to pay out any money to those who are unfortunately out of work, while the Royals get there houses refurbished  at tax payers espense, while many people cannot afford to heat their homes or put enough nutritional meals on their tables.
While so many far more importanst issues face us everyday, this continuing fawning to members of the Royal family and their hangers on,I simply find embarrassing. At a time of inequality, when public services, public sector jobs, wages, attacks on the most vulnerable among us continues, in the  most savage round of austerity meaures ever seen in modern times,  how the hell can some people still be proud of this patronage ridden monarchy is beyond my imagination. It certainly reinforces my feelings that some people are born better than others. It's the piacle of the class system which has held or socirty back for so long, enforcing the idea of an elite rling class.
Their nauseating displays of riches, power and privilege ,is simply an affront to human decency.I believe in a society, where we can all look into one another's eyes as equals , whatever our purpose or position in life. This continuing deference to them is simply offensive, and it has its consequnces. Since  you and I, and every taxpayer across the land will have to fork out tens, if not hundreds of thosands  of pounds for the Queens son's forthcoming marriage. The Royals  have claimed that they will be paying, but the truth is, that on May 19 it is the taxpayer who who will be lanfed the enormous bill. I don't believe thiw is ok, they need to pick up the bill. So on this note would urge you to join more than ten thosand people in signing the following petition calling on MPs to make sure the royals pay for their own wedding.https://www.republic.org.uk/petition/royal-wedding
Here's to a better, more egalitarian world, yes a brighter monarchy, confine these pointless ornaments to the dustbins of history

The Last Invasion of Britain - Fishguard 1797

Many remember the name of Hastings as the site of the last invasion of mainland Britain by Norman forces in 1066, but many forget the less successful  French attempt at invasion, which took place in Fishguard,West Wales  on this day in 1797 and  was the last time a hostile foreign force landed on British soil, and is therefore often referred to as “the last invasion of Britain”.

Irish revolutionary leader Wolfe Tone had received support from France to help end British rule in Ireland. Part of this plan was to organise French invasions of Britain to divert and weaken the British forces, with the overall aim of sending a much larger force to Ireland to overthrow the British there.

So on February 18th, 1797, a collection of 1400 French mercenaries and bailed convicts, led by an Irish-American named Colonel Tate set sail from Camaret .

Tate’s orders were to raid Bristol. He was ‘to bring as much chaos and confusion to the heart of Britain as was possible; to recommend and facilitate a rising of the British poor against the government; but whenever and wherever possible, to wage war against the castle, not the cottage.’

Once Bristol had been sacked, they were to march on Liverpool and do the same there. The original expectation had been that they would then traverse the country from west to east and link up with the force that was supposed to have taken Newcastle. All the while, it was assumed, their numbers would grow as the rebellious poor flocked to join them.Tate's orders had been to land near Bristol, England's second largest city at the time, and destroy it, then to cross over into Wales and march north into Chester and Liverpool. 

From the outset though things did not go according to plan. Wind conditions made it impossible for the four French warships to land anywhere near Bristol, so Tate decided to set course to here in Cardigan Bay instead, hoping the Welsh would join their revolt against English rule and join their Revolutionary cause.

 The French force was conveyed in four ships: two frigates La Vengeance and La Resistance, a corvette La Constance and a lugger Le Vatour. The commander was Commodore Jean Joseph Castagnier, and his log gives details of the voyage.

 There were several sightings of the fleet as they made their journey. The ships had been seen on their journey off Lundy Island by the master of a sloop, and he reported the sighting to Samuel Hancorne, the collector of the port of Swansea. He duly reported to the Duke of Portland on 22 February that the master of the sloop St Ives had seen the French ships.

On Wednesday February 22nd, the French warships sailed into Fishguard Bay. Upon landing, the French invasion force seem to have run out of enthusiasm,  which could have been a result of having to survive for years on prison rations, and on all accounts were more interested in the rich food and fine wine of the locals, and after a looting spree many were simply too drunk to do anything.Having angered the Welsh locals by seizing their food and wine, they quickly assembled an army of volunteer militia, army reservists, and sailors to fight the invasion, this attempted insurrection. And  after two days  the invasion had collapsed. Tate's forces surrendering to a local militia force led by Lord Cawdor on Febuary 25, 1797, with the French  being disarmed, and being marched of to imprisonment to nearby Haverfordwest .It is said the treaty was signed in the building that is now the Royal Oak pub.

It is interesting to note  that the surrender agreement drawn up by Tate' officers referred to the British coming at them "with troops of the line to the number of several thousand."No such troops were anywhere near Fishguard , at the time, however hundreds of local Welsh women dressed in their traditional scarlet tunics and tall black felts had come too witness  fighting between the French and the local men of the militia, and under the influence of too much wine, these women could easily have been mistaken for British army Redcoats.

One of the women who is said to be the hero of the hour went by the name of "Jemima Fawr" (Jemima the Great) 47 year old Jemima Nicholas,  who was a local cobbler. She single handedly with nothing more than a  pitchfork in hand rounded up twelve Frenchmen, and locked them inside the local St Mary's Church.

 

She would become a Welsh heroine and was awarded a pension of £50 for the rest of her life. After her death a memorial was raised to her, the lady who confronted the French invader armed only with a pitchfork.

 

There is little doubt that French boldness in Wales jolted Whitehall into realising that further attempts to invade Ireland were only a matter of time.

Wolfe Tone eventually got ashore in October 1798, but only after the rebellion had been bloodily crushed, a small French force had been defeated in September at Ballinamuck, and another flotilla had come to grief off Donegal. Tone’s arrival was as a prisoner of the Royal Navy. He was tried, condemned to death, and committed suicide. 

William Tate and several of his officer were eventually imprisoned on the Royal Oak, a prison hulk in Portsmouth harbour.  (They were released in a prisoner exchange in 1797 and returned to France.  The last record of Tate is of his returning to the United States in 1809 – hch)  In the inn of the same name in Fishguard there are several relics of the invasion, including a musket taken from a drunken French soldier, a French officer’s water bottle, and the table – now converted into a settle-type bench – on which the terms of surrender were signed.  There are also several paintings of 1797-style military personnel gathered outside the inn, even though records indicate that Cawdor’s headquarters was a private house at the time.

As the wars against France stretched on, Napoleon himself made his own plans to invade the UK, plans that were only dashed by his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

For the bicentenary in 1997, the Fishguard Arts Society made a tapestry on the model of the one in Bayeux. With scintillating detail and remarkable wit, the embroidery – thirty metres long and stitched by more than seventy local women – interweaves the stories told by the locals with those of the invaders.

http://www.fishguardartssociety.org.uk/The%20Last%20Invasion%20Tapestry.html  

Also for the bicentenary in 1997, Fishguard held a full-blown reenactment. Yvonne Fox, a local woman, played the role of heroic Jemima and did so until her death in 2010. Fishguard continues to  commemorate the invasion  to this day

Bibliography:

Phil Carradice, The Last Invasion, Village Publishing 1992

Pamela Horn, History of the French Invasion of Fishguard, 1797, Presell Printers, Fishguard 1980

Commander E H Stuart-Jones, The Last Invasion of Britain, University of Wales Press, Cardiff 1947

David Williams, A History of Modern Wales, John Murray, London 1950

 

International Mother Language Day

Click on picture to enlarge

Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education and development are of great importance for people and planet. Yet due to globaliation, they are increasingly under threat. When languages fade, so does the world's rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression, valuable resources, become lost.
Languages,like people are subsequently in a constant battle for survival. It is believed there are about 6000 languages that are spoken in the world of which 3000 are listed as endangered by UNESCO with 10 languages becoming extinct every year. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world.
Consequently International Mother Language is held every year on February 21 since the year 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism/. The day to celebrate this bond was originally chosen by the United Nations in 1999 to celebrate four students who were shot and killed in 1952 by Pakistani police for protesting the right to use their own language, Bengali.
This bond between individuals and their languages, one that if broken is  forgotten for generations the UN recognises as a human right. Also with the rise of populist nationalism the threat of walls andsuspcion of integration , we should also worry what this means for migrant and Indigenous languages. After all language is a salient index of culture, and so any assault on cultural diversity is also an an assault on linguistic diversity.
Languages serves as powerful instrument of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. So all moves to promote the dissemation of mother tonques will serve not only to encourage linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world, but alse serves to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialgue.
International Mother Language Day is also a good opportunity to remind ourselves that children of migrants and Indigenous people have an international right to speak, grow up with, and celebrate their own heritage languages, wherever they reside. Languages enriches society, economic mobility and at end of the day is what makes us human.
For further information visit the UNESCO website http://www.unesco.org/new/en/international-mother-language-day/  or visit the UN's International Mother Language Day web pages.http://www.un.org/en/events/motherlanguageday/
Heddwch/peace.

Against Gun Violence

At time of writing, according to the http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/mass-shooting there have been,975 incidents, 1,922 deaths, 3,330 injuries, 71 children killed or injured, 377 teens killed or injured, 32 mass shooting, 41 officers shot or killed, 312 subject or suspect killed, 235 home invasions, 192 defensive use of guns, and 229 intentional shootings in the United States.
I wrote following poem in response.

Against Gun Violence

Sometimes it seems that hope runs out
There seems no end, to waves of violence.
No prayers or thoughts can break the cycle
This endless primal, destructive spiral,
Innocent lives getting lost everyday

Inflicting  pain  across  the USA.
Can we not simply destroy the ammunition

Have  a timely  needed juxtaposition,
Instead of trigger happiness, stop the madness
So that darkness no longer releases its deadly load,
Is it too late to halt the hate, lament all who've been lost
On blood stained streets, where flowers wither,
Tell the NRA no one has right to bare arms
The second amendment has no moral purpose,
Stop the bullets flying, for killing to subside
With Gun control heal a wounded nation.

https://iamnotasilentpoet.wordpress.com/2018/02/19/against-gun-violence-by-dave-rendle/

Remembering the fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War : The 81st anniversary of the Battle of Jarama

Today in history: marks the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Jarama,in the Spanish Civil War, which   was an attempt by General Franco's fascist forces to dislodge the anti-fascist lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid. Franco's troops forced back the anti-fascists, including the International Brigades, but after days of fierce fighting no breakthrough was achieved. Anti-fascist counterattacks along the captured ground likewise failed, resulting in heavy casualties to both sides. Many American anti-fascist volunteers from the Abraham Lincoln Brigades fought and died in this battle to stop the spread of fascism. 

 Jarama marked the beginning of a bruising and often dispirited campaign and witnessed one of the bloodiest battles of Spain's Civil War.. By the end of the first day of battle, the British batallion found itself with less than half the number they had set out with.On February 12th the British, deployed in the hills on the east bank of the river Jarama, in a place that became known as 'Suicide Valley",  the fascists were able to virtually surround the British Batallion  but even though they were outnumbered, they still  managed to keep the fascists at bay, but suffered  heavy losses.
The volunteers were a mixture of Communists, Labour Party members, socialists, anarchists, trade unionists and other sympathisers, all bitterly opposed to the idea of fascism. They came primarily from the unemployed areas of Mersyside, Manchester, Scotland, Tyneside and London.On February the 18th the brigadiers launched a counter attack, but this was stopped by the fascists. Despite the poor conditons, the brigadiers managed to stand firm ,  As the men made their way up an outcrop that was later known as " Suicide Hill " they were mown down mercilessly  by machine gun fire. They had little chance.Of the 500 brave men only 140 survived, the memory of this battle haunting them for many years later. But the vital road that Franco needed to have cut remained open.
Today I remember those who throughout this conflict their faith and ideals remained intact,with their bravery, sacrifice and committment to their noble cause. Comrades that stood together and fought for good against  the evils of fascism.Ordinary people who made the extraordinary choice to leave their friends and family and fight in a brutal war far away from home, a common cause bringing them together, shoulder to shoulder with the workers and peasants of Spain fighting for their emancipation..

We should never forget this heroic struggle against the forces of fascism that remains today, the struggle continues, they shall continue to not pass. No pasaron. Remember the Internationale unites the human race.’

" It was in Spain  that my generation learned that one can be right but can be beaten , that force can vanquish spirit, that there are times when courage is not its own recompense. It is this doubtless , which so many, the world over feel the Spanish drama as a personal tragedy" -   Albert Camus

Battle of Jarama - John Lepper.

The sun warmed the valley
But no birds sang
The sky was rent with shrapnel
And metallic clang

Death stalked the olive trees
Picking his men
His leaden finger beckoned
Again and again

Dust rose from the roadside
A stifling cloud
Ambulances tore past
Klaxoning loud

Men torn by shell-shards lay
Still on the ground
The living sought shelter
Not to be found

Holding their hot rifles
Flushed with the fight
Sweat-streaked survivors
Willed for the night

With the coming  of darkness
Deep in the wood
A fox  howled to heaven
Smelling the blood.

Jarama Valley - Woody Guthrie
 

Homeless in the World's largest Prison

These photographs were published on Wednesday by the Shehab News Agency, and  show a homeless palestinian family forced to live in a bus stop in the besiged  Gaza strip.
Ths bus stop at Saraya junction in Gaza city is what the family has from the weather - the world outside offers them none.
According to a recent study, 80% of the 2 million inhabitants of the coastal enclave beseiged by the occupier Egypt and Israel , live in poverty and 65%  in extreme poverty, with little access to the most basic serices.
 As over 80%  population depend on aid , the cuts to aid ( which have already been reduced before because of lack of funds )  by the Unied States will only worsen the situation. The U.S  announced on Jan 16 to cut 67 million Us dollars from 125 million dollars that it had planned to provide to the UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza. The blockade has pushed Gaza's population into frther poverty as unemplyment rates hit 45%. The illegal blockade has been in place for over a decade , devastating Gaza's economy , causing widespread destruction and left most people cut off from the outside world. 
The humanitarian needs are enormouse. People struggle to access clean water, food, medical education and to rebild their homes. The blockade  prevents  most of them  from leaving Gaza or trading with the  outside world and restricts vital  reconstruction material from entering.
Over 60% of Palestinian residents in Gaza are living in food insecurity as  many rely on foreign food aid, according to international organizations and United Nations agencies.The Crisis has delibertely been made in the beseiged Gaza by its beseigers and their enablers in the so called 'international community'.
The UN Security Council held a cosultative session on Wednesday to discuss the deteriorting situation in the Gaza Strip following warnings of a possible collapse of basic  services in the Palestinian war-torn enclave, amid calls for urgent intervention to end the suffering of the Palestinians there.

Photos@ShehabAgency

Source

https://english.palinfo.com/articles/2018/01/29/Gaza-deserves-to-live

After Dresden (13/2/45 - 15/2/45).

From 13 – 15 February 1945, RAF and US Air Force planes dropped around 2,400 tons of explosives and 1,500 tons of incendiary bombs on the German city of Dresden. The 805 British and about 500 American bombers inflicted destruction on an unimaginable scale on the virtually-undefended, refugee-crammed city’s old town and inner suburbs.

The hundreds of thousands of high explosive and incendiary bombs caused a firestorm that trapped and incinerated tens of thousands of German civilians. Some German sources put the human cost at 100,000 lives.

The air strike was designed to bring a conclusive end to the Second World War, but the humanitarian catastrophe that resulted from the attack has continued to bring up ethical  questions that are debated to this day.

The bombing of Dresden is sometimes given as an example of modern ‘total war’, meaning that the normal rules of war were not followed. Targets in total war are not only military, but civilian and the types of weapons used are not restricted.The fact that refugees fleeing the Soviet advance from the east caused the population to swell means that the amount of casualties from the bombing is unknown. Estimates put the number anywhere between 25,000 up to 135,000.

During the war American author Kurt Vonnegut was held in Dresden alongside 159 other US soldiers. The soldiers were kept in a meat locker during the bombing, its thick walls protecting them from the fires and blasts. The horrors Vonnegut witnessed in the aftermath of the bombings inspired him to write the 1969 anti-war novel ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’.

The late historian American Howard Zinn, who was himself a pilot in the Second World War, cited the bombing of Dresden, along with that of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Hanoi, as an example of questionable ethics in wars which target civilian casualties with aerial bombs. Here's a poem I've written:

After Dresden

Evil falls from all sides
Spits its deadly poison,
In Dresden everyone felt
Horror unimaginable,
No one left alive could escape
As people burned in flames,
Left a mark that forever stained
Releasing years of mental turmoil,
Burning phosphorus still today falls
From, Gaza, Iraq to Syria,
Civilian casualties lost forever
Vanished under cruel clouds of ideology
Skin and bone melting and disintergrating,
Rising today as spectral ghosts.

Poem can also be found here :

https://iamnotasilentpoet.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/after-dresden-13-2-45-13-2-18-by-dave-rendle/