ACTION CODEX
This action codex was developed before and discussed at the open meeting in Hamburg on October 13.-14. 2018, as well as on the Free the Soil mailing list. Comments and points of discussion were incorporated by a working group and the codex was adapted at the open meeting in Berlin, January 18.-20. 2019.
ACTION CODEX:
Anyone who accepts the codex is invited to join the Free the Soil action and camp.
In September 2019 we will collectively block the major YARA synthetic fertilizer production site in Brunsbüttel in North Germany, to interrupt business as usual and show that resistance is fertile. The action will be an act of mass civil disobedience, using our bodies and our collective determination to overcome barriers and disrupt one of Europe’s biggest nitrogen fertilizer production plants. We believe that direct action is needed if we are to stop the escalating climate crisis.
We need to take action into our own hands and move beyond public protest and political negotiation to act against the profit driven capitalist system that is destroying the planet. Through our action we will confront the dangerous power of companies, such as YARA, that stand in the way of any real solution, and expose them as climate destroyers.
Everyone who wants to take part and contribute to the action and who accepts the action codex is welcome to participate by, for example, joining the blockades, spreading the message of the protest or providing vital action infrastructure. All participation is of equal importance to collectively build a successful action. Experience with similar protests is not required to take part. During the days leading up to the action we will create space for action trainings, affinity group meetings and action organizing in order for all of us to feel relatively safe and prepared.
During the action we will behave calmly and not trigger escalation or put anyone in danger. We will use our bodies to block and occupy, working collectively and supporting each other. We will move through or around police or company barriers and not be provoked. Our action will paint a picture of diversity, creativity and openness. Our action is not directed against YARA workers, YARA contractors or the police. The safety of the people taking action, of the YARA workers and of all the participants is our highest priority. We will prepare well for save routes and not enter terrain that is life threatening. We will inform ourselves extensively about the safety rules that are associated with industrial spaces.
We acknowledge the right of all people to resist how they see fit, and encourage a diversity of tactics in the struggle. We respect autonomous actions against industrial agriculture and YARA, that give an appropriate amount of time and space from the mass action and camp. This is to make a safer space for people to engage in the mass action and camp.
We come from different social movements and political spectra.
Together we are taking responsibility for the success of the action. We will do our best to create an atmosphere of transparency, collectiveness and support.
With our action we want to create an action culture where participation is not about which bodies we have, but about our collective determination. Our victories are the results of our common effort, not heroic actions by individuals.
We want to create a safer space for challenging ourselves in actions by creating a culture of support. We recognize that hierarchical and suppressive structures of society are present everywhere, also in our movement, and we want to challenge these structures collectively to make our community and the climate movement accessible to more people. We need to remember that we strive to live the alternatives and not just talk about them. When we are consciously embedding feminist, anti-racist, anti-ableist, queer and class perspectives in our movements, we can make them grow stronger.
As we build our own communities of resistance, we aim to challenge the social structures of oppression and power that shape our societies and are some of the root causes of climate change. We need to practice new forms of inclusion and awareness – shaping our actions and communities in the same way as the future we are fighting for.
In our action we are in solidarity with those affected by the social and ecological destruction caused by the industrial agricultural system. Alternatives to industrial agriculture are already carried out by strong peasant movements all over the world. We stand in solidarity with the peasants, small scale farmers and movements bringing forward real solutions.