Category: Direct Actions

How to get involved in Anti-Deportation Actions

March 15, 2015 by Coggo·1 Comment

It is estimated there are over 30,000 asylum-seekers currently in mandatory detention, or living in the community, who could be deported at any time. The Australian government has no qualms forcefully deporting refugees displaced by wars (in which Australia is partially complicit) back to imprisonment, torture and even death. 2015 has seen a marked rise in deportations and an upswing in Refugee Rights Advocates taking to the streets, the airports and the detention centres in resistance to this cruel policy.

What follows is intended as a LIVING (that is evolving) blog-post to help welcome people new to anti-deportation actions and make us all feel bolder and safer.

So, it you want to get involved and don’t know where to start … you’ve come to the right place!

1: JOIN A PHONE TREE: The Beyond Borders phone tree is particularly responsive. Drop them an email at beyondborderscollective@gmail.com and include your nickname, mobile number, suburb (for carpools) and any additional skills or resources you might be able to bring to the mix.

It also helps to have your name on more than one phone tree, just in case one isn’t functioning at any given time, so also get your name down on the Refugee Action Collective’s list which lives here: http://rac-vic.org/subscribe/

2: PRE-PACK AN ACTION BAG: We never know when the government will trigger a deportation but we can always be prepared. Stuff a small bag with handy items (light weight weather proof clothing, low GI snacks, bottle of water, a torch and any medications you might need) and perch it near your door so you can grab it and be gone in a flash.

3: BUDDY UP: We’re big fans of the Buddy System in the Melbourne Street Medic Collective! We believe there is no safer way to protest … so spare five minute to check out this pro-tip. Also, if you have a whole bunch of friends who want to get involved in helping stop forced deportations maybe you could form an Affinity Group?

4: CAR SHARE: if you drive perhaps consider joining the aforementioned car-pool, or arrange with your friends to pick them up. It’s a good idea to plan the best route to the airport, and Maribyrnong and Broadmeadows detention centres before you leave.

5: SAY “HI”: When you arrive at the protest you are under no obligation to tell us who you are, but it certainly is nice and helps build camaraderie and teamwork if you know the nickname of the person you are standing shoulder to shoulder with on a picket line. We’re a friendly and welcoming bunch and will happily take the time to tell you what is going and to point out who is doing Police Liaison, Media, Legal Observing and Medicking for the action.

6: BRING YOUR SKILLS: You are not just another face in a crowd or simply another set of hands to hold a placard. We all bring something unique and excellent to a protest so have a think about what you could lend to the action. Are you super-hot on Social Media? Are you in a position to bring thermos flasks of comforting warm soup to cheer protesters on the gates at 4am? Are you magic on a mountain bike and happy to help out as scout for the day?

7: DEBRIEF: Always take time after an anti-deportation action to debrief. You are human and it is perfectly acceptable to be moved by the inhumanity of a system that is processing refugees in such a callous, industrial manner. After all, it is your empathy that compelled you to take a stand in the first place. Debriefing helps make sense of challenging experiences, and also helps us learn lessons so we can be even better at what we do at the next protest. You can always debrief with one of our Street Medics if you see us around, if not grab a coffee with a bunch of mates and talk about how you are feeling and how the action was for you. Check out our pro-tip about Debriefing if you’d like to learn more.

8: SLEEP: Sometimes we only get a few hours notice before a deportation takes place. The call could go out in the dark of night or in the cold hours of the morning. Whenever it happens we need to be sharp and be on our best game. Sleep deprivation is accumulative and leads to poor judgement, mood swings and slow reflexes, so when you get the chance to lie-in or go to bed early – give yourself permission to do so! That way you will have some sleep in the bank for when you need it.

Anyway, this post is intended as a welcome to those who wish to take a stand for refugee rights, and we hope it inspires others to join the movement against forced deportations. It is not exhaustive so please, don’t be bashful about leaving a constructive Comment below and contribute to our shared learning and objectives.

Press Release – WACA – Locking down #LockheedMartin

September 26, 2014 by cait.w·Comments Off

This morning in Melbourne a group of anti-war and pro Palestinian activists shut down two buildings of the global arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

The action is on going at the time of this release with the activists locking down Lockheed Martins access gates and dropping a banner off one of their buildings stating ‘Medicare Not Warfare. Scrap the F35 Deal’. Another banner is attached to their fence and can be seen from the Princess Highway, it reads ‘War Profiteers – Your Tax Dollars Making a Killing’

Kaz Cochrane, co-founder of Whistleblower, Activists & Citizens Alliance (WACA) stated:

“As Australia embarks on yet another violent military campaign in the Middle East we’re asked to accept the justification of moral imperative to rescue ‘desperate people’; the same people our political class dismissed through the cynical euphemism of ‘collateral damage’, when they were killed in the 100’s of thousands by our allied forces over the last 10,” she said, adding “given the Federal cabinet have committed us to this destructive and inept war campaign the Whistleblower, Activists & Citizens Alliance are determined to expose the real motivation to perpetual war – Perpetual Profit.”

So who is buying into Lockheed Martin; the world’s largest weapons manufacturer & beneficiary of war & ‘defense’ expenditure?

By far the largest recent investor in Australia is our Federal Government who have handed over $35 Billion of tax payer revenue to acquire a fleet of F35 aircraft from Lockheed widely reputed to be technological ‘lemons’ while attempting to convince the Australian community to sacrifice their ‘free at the point of service’ medical system which is a foundation stone of our community values and wellbeing.

WACA co-founder Sam Castro stated:

“We are paying a visit to this corporate titan of war to highlight the F35 ‘lemon’ aircraft is a complete waste of Australian tax payers money.”

“Further the Abbott Government’s destructive foreign policy propagates an insidious cycle of political donations; funding of influential political think tanks; resulting in profit making collusion with global financial institutions, which create an agenda of perpetual war sold to the political class in advanced economies, who are entirely dependent on the patronage of heavy weight corporate & banking entities”

Sam Castro added,

“We are also here today to highlight Lockheed Martin’s complicity in the death of the Palestinian people in repetitive military assaults by the Israeli Defense Force as Israel continues to enforce the illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Lockheed Martin demonstrates their capacity to generate and exploit ‘war markets’ by extending their 20 year operation in Israel to assist the IDF in their aggressive military campaigns, with their local CEO Mr Land, stating they want to be part of Israel’s ‘ecosystem’, which we believe can only be characterized as ‘genocidal’ ”

A peep hole view into the incalculable wealth generated for the arms industry and the global financiers who invest in the war market reveals in the build up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq Lockheed Martin’s defense contracts increased from $17 billion to $21.9 billion.

In the first month since Obama’s recent announcement of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, Lockheed Martin’s share price increased 7% delivering stunning profits to Australian financial institutions invested in the war contractor, including AMP US$33.5M; Westpac US$20M; Commonwealth Bank US$9M; Macquarie Bank US$51M.

Sam Castro stated,

“WACA calls on the Australian Government to scrap the F35 deal and use that money to fund universal healthcare, tertiary education and Indigenous programs. WACA calls for complete economic divestment by our financial institutions from Lockheed Martin and other arms manufacturers. We ask the Australian community to stand up and speak out against the state of perpetual war that serves only to make private corporations like Lockheed Martin wealthy and destroys Australian’s to make clear our intolerance for industries reliant on the perpetuation of human suffering.”

Banner Drop by WACA for #Gaza

August 5, 2014 by cait.w·Comments Off

On Saturday the 2nd of August a group called Whistleblowers, Activists, and Citizens Alliance (WACA) called for members and allies to unite for an action in the city to show our support for Palestine and Gaza in light of the apartheid and unjustifiable extermination of their population by the Israeli State.

Over the last few weeks we have seen the news reports, personal stories, photos and videos come through from Palestine. For the last 3 weeks in Melbourne there have been rallies in the city to condemn the actions of the Israeli State and raise awareness of the issue within the community. At each rally there has been a good turnout, the speeches have been powerful, the energy in the crowd has been palpable. Last Friday’s action still drew a large crowd in spite of Melbourne weather and we remained in #Solidaritywithgaza in not only the rain but also through 2 hailstorms. As many people in the crowd pointed out “Standing in the rain and hail is nothing when those we are in solidarity with are standing in rocket fire and white phosphorous”.

The reports and images coming through from Gaza has been heartbreaking, seeing the total death toll increase, and the death toll of children rise has been devastating. Listening to the Israeli Government called for the extermination of the Palestinian people has been enraging. The group had decided that more needed to be done to raise awareness in the community, to get the average Melbournian to know about what is happening in Gaza. It was decided that creating as many banners as possible and dropping them around Melbourne’s busiest areas would be the best choice for a snap direct action on a Saturday afternoon.

Sam Castro, one of the organizers of the action and member of WACA had this to say about why we need to have direct actions on the issue of Gaza and Palestine “Nothing can stop the tears and pain that must be flowing in GAZA and around the world for those already murdered in what can only be described as attempted genocide by the Israeli Apartheid State. But we can all resist publicly in our own little ways and in doing so remind each other of our humanity and the truth. We can let the Palestinians known, that if nothing else we bare witness to the horror being inflicted on those in Gaza and the West Bank. In a violent world dominated by corporations and brutal Empires, we see you Gaza and we bare witness to the crimes of the Israeli State”.

For our drop we managed to make 5 banners with various slogans explaining our position and designed to get as much attention as possible. We decided to drop our largest banner from the Arts Centre wall, where it faced back to Flinders St Station so that anyone on the Princess St Bridge would be able to see it.

We then placed 3 of the others on the pedestrian bridge between Flinders St Station and Crown Casino, from here anyone along the Princess St Bridge, exiting the back of Flinders St Station or in any of the Restaurants on South Yarra would be able to see the banners.

Our final banner drop was at Federation Square, this banner received the most amount of positive attention as there was an action going on with the Iraqi Christians against ISIS happening at the other end of the square. Several attendees stopped to have photos with the banner in the back ground and some came and spoke to us as we dropped the banner and posed in our photos.

The banner drops achieved their goal of informing the community about this atrocity. It was clear from the response of people on the pedestrian bridge that there is a large portion of the community that doesn’t know about Gaza and the ongoing genocide of Palestinians. However people were happy to engage on the topic and were just genuinely unaware and horrified to hear about the issue.

Keep an eye out for more direct actions to come across the city in relation to this issue, but also encourage your affinity groups to make a stand and do other direct actions on the issue if you feel strongly about Gaza and Palestine. It is clear that more needs to be done to educate people in the community, and also to continue to show the people in Gaza that we are witness to their suffering and the crimes against them and that we will continue to stand with them in solidarity.

For more details on the action please check out:

WACA facebook page

To watch a video filmed by WACA regarding the banner drop please watch:

WACA video of Banner Drop

For high resolution photos please check out:

Free Gaza album

Writen by CJ.

Street Medic Pro-Tip 32: Foreign Objects in Eyes and Ears

June 2, 2014 by cait.w·Comments Off

There are different types of Foreign objects that you may need to treat in the field including eyes, ears, and embedded/penetrative wounds. For this pro-tip we will cover eye and ear complaints that you may face and our next pro-tip will cover the embedded/penetrative wound treatment.

Foreign Object in the Eye:

Dust/Grit/Eyelash/Insect

Flush the eye using clean water (if you are out in the bush – best to use water from a water bottle instead of a stream or creek).
Tilt the head back
Rinse the eye (use a sport water bottle with a push top or an eye drop bottle).

If there is an object that is protruding out of the eye (e.g. glass or a stick) please refer to our next pro-tip on how to treat it.

Chemical Burn

If a chemical has been introduced to the eye it should be treated as a serious medical problem.

Remove any contact lenses (these will hold the chemical in and cause greater problems if they are not removed quickly)
Rinse with flowing water for 15 -20 minutes.
Cover the eye with a patch
Seek further medical assistance, pain is not an indicator of damage with eyes unfortunately, so it is best to seek immediate medical support for any chemical burns. Be sure to find out what chemical it was that they got in their eyes as this may effect the treatment they receive.

Pepper Spray

In the event of pepper spray be sure to flush the eyes thoroughly if available use LAW mix (50% Liquid antacid and 50% Water) as it has been shown to be more effective than other treatments such as water and milk.

Get the person to lay down/lean back
Ask them to remove any contacts they may be wearing as this traps the pepper spray
Rinse their face first quickly with water to remove residue that may be sweated/rubbed back into the eyes after treatment
Using a spray bottle/sports bottle flush the eye from the tear duct outwards. You may need to hold their eyes open for them.
If using LAW mix be sure to advise the person that they will only see whiteness for 30seconds and then their vision should return.

Street Medics of Tahir treating Pepperspray http://m4t.wikidot.com/contrib:en-law

Foreign Objects in the Ear:

Insect

If you find that an insect has gone into your ear DO NOT try to pull it out with tweezers or stick your finger in your ear. As it is an unknown insect you do not want to make it sting/bite you.

Turn the head so that the ear with the insect in it is facing upwards

**If the insect doesn’t leave itself at this point in time**

Pour some (warm if possible) oil into the ear (if oil isn’t available you can try to this with water), this should cause the insect to float out of the ear.

***If the insect does not come out of the ear once it has been flushed with the oil, seek medical attention***

Object in the Ear

If the object is in the outer canal (protruding from the ear) you may try to remove the object with Tweezers (do not use your fingers)

If the object is a fair way into the ear, or the depth of the object is unknown, seek medical attention before trying to remove the object.

Waging Peace on War

May 25, 2014 by Coggo·1 Comment

Melbourne Street Medic Collective are Record Breakers!

On April 23rd, 2014, MSMC were part of the Wage Peace Convoy which hustled through the crowded streets of Canberra and broke the world record for most protests in one day.

The Canberra Peace Convergence was a call to peaceful arms by IPAN (Independent and Peaceful Australia Network) for all peace activists to gather at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. The First Nation people called upon their allies to come stand with them on Anzac Day. They planned on marching unto the Canberra war memorial to demand the memory of their ancestors -whom perished in the Frontier Wars of Australia’s genesis- no longer be ignored.

What happened on that fateful Anzac Day is the tale for our next blog post, suffice to say the history of white men profiteering from acts of genocide and illegal wars continues to this day. The interconnectedness of big business & government with the war machine was what the Waging Peace Convoy had in its sights

The Wage Peace Convoy consisted of a coalition of ‪ affinity groups, such as WACA (Whistleblowers, Activists & Citizen’s Alliance), The Renegade Activists, Christian Anarchists, Peace Pilgrims and many more.

An affinity group is a set of people who share the same idea. Trust is key for an affinity group. Trust & being able to work together. What follows is a story of how Affinity Groups sharing the same goal can accomplish anything!

So are you & a group of friends incensed by illegal wars being fought in your name? Are you sickened by corporations buying your democracy to make a profit off innocent lives?

If so think about this: the likelihood of an arms dealer, missile maker, lobby group or surveillance merchant having a shop front in your city is very high. These companies hide in plain sight. They use the mundanity of their shop fronts to profit from wars.

So do you think your affinity group could also expose these companies & have a crack at beating our record at the same time?

Protest #1: The Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Since 1972 Aboriginal activists have occupied the grounds of Parliament. We joined them as the sun rose for a poignant reminder of the 200 years of war (physical, economic & spiritual) the First People of this land have endured.

Protest 02: Old Parliament House

We bore witness to the eternal absence of democracy within this relic of a building. Real democracy is not something to be purchased & spun but belongs out on the streets with the people. Senator Scott Ludlam said it best:

Protest 03: Lockheed Martin

No corporations profits more from perpetual global warfare than Lockheed Martin. They are the world’s largest weapons manufacturer & instrumental in propagating these wars by influencing foreign policy through the use of lobbyists, political campaigns and mass media control

Protest 04: Raytheon

The global arms’ company that brought you cluster bombs & Tomahawk missiles. Their weaponry is being used on – civilian – populations all around the world.

Protest 05: K.B.R.

From building military bases to ‘investing’ in post-war reconstruction KBR profit from each and every aspect of war. This private contractor has received U.S. military contracts for WWII, Vietnam, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Protest 06: Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA)

What better place to protest war than on a military base! ADFA is where young people are trained to kill and not to question authority.

Protest 07: Department of Defence

The Department of Defence the Bureaucrats of Evil: complicit in US geopolitical strategy. Illegal wars, mass surveillance, illegal drone strike programs, assassinations, torture and now the persecution of Asylum Seekers, the DoD is busy smearing your tax dollars in blood.

Protest 08: Defence Signals Directorate

You can learn the horrible truth about Canberra’s “Big Eagle on a stick” by watching this video:

Protest 09: ASIO

One of the most normal office blocks in the country. The car park is full of normal sedans and hatchbacks, customised plates and standard commuter motorcycles. Office workers having smoko out the front and a children’s playgroup and playground by the side of the building.

The only difference is that this is the building in which the government monitors and disrupts the lives of normal Australians: Trade Unionists, activists, Muslims, anyone that is deemed a threat or a potential source of use.

And here’s the kicker: ASIO has a long history of seeking out ex-soldiers, patriots and good-minded fellows to work for them, spy and gather intelligence on normal people but, when crunch time has hit, has then left their assets alone and abandoned. The recent TV series “Persons of Interest” had a number of stories from ex-ASIO operatives who described the ultimate feeling of isolation from friends and family and disconnection from wider society as they couldn’t establish real friendships.

If this is what they do to their own people, what do they do to their enemies?

by Zoidberg

Protest 10: Australian Strategic Policy Institute

ASPI claims to be a “non-partisan” Think-Tank that advises the Australian military & gouvernment. It is so “non-partisan” that it is is sponsored by: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, SERCO & Transfield to name but a few from our war profiteers rogue gallery!

To Be Continued …

MelbSMC at Community Tunnel Picket, 6/11/13

November 6, 2013 by admin·2 Comments

This morning a number of medics from Melbourne Street Medic Collective attended the East-West Tunnel community picket of Lend Lease in Docklands in order to support and assist picketers. Lend Lease is being targeted as one of the fore-runners in the bidding process to build the East-West tunnel link. We have supported this campaign as individuals and as a collective for some time and plan to continue this support into the future.

This morning’s action was notable for the level of brutality and violence employed by Victoria Police against picketers. At last week’s picket, organisers arranged to allow non-Lend Lease workers to enter the building after showing ID, and a similar proposal was raised today. However, Victoria Police – seemingly reeling from the positive media coverage generated by last week’s picket – refused to allow this, and instead chose to use workers (mostly from Fujitsu) as tools to create violence and negative press coverage.

Instead of allowing small groups of workers to enter the building calmly and safely, Victoria Police used several members of the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) to break through the community picket and violently thrust workers into the building, while causing distress and injury to those on the picket. Victoria Police did not merely play a passive response to non-Lend Lease employees’ desires to enter the building: on a number of occasions, Victoria Police officers were seen chasing after workers who had decided not to cross the picket line in order to convince them to change their mind and provide another opportunity to inflict violence upon the peaceful picketers.

As a result of Victoria Police’s actions we were required to provide care for a number of injuries. These included minor injuries (cuts and scratches) as well as more serious ones: one person reported an injured shoulder, another received treatment for a sprained ankle. Two people were offered treatment after having their legs trampled and pinned by police and another received treatment for a head injury.

As well as providing care for injuries we provided water and rescue remedy to keep picketers hydrated and in good spirits and we can happily report that the mood was definitely positive.

It cannot be said more clearly that our need to provide medical care stemmed directly from Victoria Police’s decision to employ violence as a tactic to break the community picket. As was acknowledged in the debriefing session after the picket this morning, the Napthine Government’s use of violence to oppose the tunnel picket campaign is proof of their lack of solid justification for the project. The cynical use of workers as collateral in the attempt to destroy the tunnel picket campaign can only be condemned and shows that Victoria Police and the Napthine Government will go to great lengths to ensure this project will continue: even placing the safety of Victorians in jeopardy.

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