|
May 16, 2001 |
Whose Nemesis?Feminist Action against the FTAA by Barbara Walker Graham |
|
|
Weaving the "Web of Solidarity" at the fence perimeter |
She towered 10 feet over us, her hair a flaming orange, her hands grasping ... when she moved, her green skirts billowed, flaring out in the cool Quebec breeze. She is Nemesis -- the angry and proud spirit of all the women of the Western Hemisphere. Women laboring under hazardous and illegal working conditions; women who struggle daily to feed their children and keep their loved ones alive often under brutish political regimes and a declining standard of living. Nemesis! The peaceful feminist action against the FTAA, "Weaving the Web of Solidarity" drew together a crowd of some 300 women making a powerful statement as Nemesis was pushed through the hilly streets of Old Quebec to the security fence access point at Rene Levesque Blvd.
Prior to the march, women speakers from South America, Canada, and the US had rejected the concept that opening up of a Free Trade Zone here will create better living for all people. • "We are here as women to voice our disapproval of this undemocratic process, of which the implementation of the FTAA will only serve to increase women's poverty." They cited statistics that 80% of the already grindingly poor people in the 3rd world of Central and South America are women or children. The FTAA carries with it the potential for creating sweat shop labor exacerbating existing poverty. It is also feared that the Zone will erode and destroy remaining indigenous cultures, and destroy the fragile ecosystem because of the over-riding corporate economic need to profitably exploit natural resources. Now, led by Nemesis, the women were met with smiles and an open gate at the Rene LeVesque Blvd. access point into the Summit's perimeter fence. Only a minimal police force was visible, with 6 officers standing at ease in the gateway. Many of the women were "disguised" as being pregnant, to evoke the sacredness of life. The Garden Affinity Group fielded two liaisons who negotiated with the police in allowing us to hang our "Women's Mural Against the FTAA" onto the fence, to graphically show the interconnections of life. Actually the mural is made up of many different weavings created by women's groups and Pagan covens from around Canada and the US. The "mural" was quite pretty, with ribbons and string art, many were almost quilt-like, others with banner sized macrame designs and decorated with pretty accouterments. Eager laughter buoyed the women as they tied the hangings and weavings to the chain link fence, as night fell and the stars came out. We circled up for a ritual calling for healing energy and empowerment for all the protesters. A large, joyous Spiral Dance, to further raise and shape the energy, flowed out across the boulevard -- drum beats echoing across the canyon between office buildings. Together, we wove a large ribbon spider's web representing the complex interconnections of life and spirit. We web holders walked in a circle and then pulsed the web up and down gently, wafting it on the chilly air. We began ohming to give structure to the energy, urging it to grow and coalesce around us and our web. We managed to keep up the ohming for quite a long while, even through the inevitable pauses from the wider audience. Focusing, we sent that energy up to the Cosmos and grounded it into the Earth. In the morning, all the artwork and the puppet Nemesis were gone -- seized and destroyed by Summit security.
Next>>> Water is Sacred
|
