Occupy Sydney

As I write this, the Occupy Sydney movement has been evicted from Martin Place and are now preparing their response to this mornings raid. Yesterday I attended the Occupy Sydney rally, in Sydney’s Martin Place at noon, where thousands were expected to attend to show their support and solidarity for the dedicated group of people, who at that point had been occupying for eight days to show their stance against economic and environmental corruption and greed.

The Occupy movement, began four weeks ago in New York, where protesters occupied Wall Street to protest against the 1% in society who thrive on corporate riches while the other 99% are faced with financial and environmental uncertainty and equality. To date there are now 1600 occupations globally.

I first went to inspect the Occupy Sydney movement, last Tuesday and was met with less than 50 people camping out in the upper part of Martin Place, appropriately placed outside the Reserve Bank of Australia. With a few lack lustre police officers standing around, it certainly didn’t demonstrate the same passion and emotion I had witnessed of other global occupations. Attending yesterday’s raid showed quite the opposite, with around 400 people in attendance, it was a lively affair.

In saying that, it certainly wasn’t the thousands people that I expected at the campaign against capitalist greed. It felt like there was a definite core group of passionate protesters who were heavily involved in the democratic proceedings of the general assembly and then a whole load of half hearted spectators and other people using the event as a way to make money, selling t-shirts and pamphlets for unrelated causes (become a Marxist anyone?) Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a stuffy right wing conservative, I fully support the Occupy Sydney movement and all that it stands for, which is an equal society through a fair and true democracy. I felt the other people there were detracting from the whole event and from an outside perspective, made the whole place seem disorganised.

Arriving at the rally, I was met with lively Latin music, with hundreds of people dancing and cavorting around, enjoying a sausage sizzle – it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting of a rally. About half an hour in, the General Assembly got under way and as mentioned before, only a third of the assembled crowd appeared to be involved in the decisions. Whilst a little disorganised, it was great to see so many people out there who are passionate and care so much about the society they live in. Watching the General Assembly communicate via hand signals and pass motions in a wholly democratic way was inspired. There were an array of speakers, and I think this is what is so unique about the Occupy movement; that people from so many parts of society, and so many industry sectors have come together to speak out against the same issues. There were Economic Professors, representatives from various teachers associations, and speakers from another protest happening at the same time, The Chilean Solidarity Movement – who are protesting for the right for free education in Chile.

While all these speakers were excellent and all did an amazing job of articulating the thoughts and feelings of so many, one speaker whose anger and frustration really resonated with me was Warren Smith from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). He discussed how important it was for the MUA to be with the protesters as it showed a sign of solidarity since they (the MUA) believe in the principals of the movement. He was there to speak out against corporate greed to stop the consistent attacks on working men and women. He addressed some really interesting facts about fuel powerhouse Shell, who have been criticised for employing people to work for cheap labour despite the company earning $35, 000 in profit. Per minute. He mentioned that nothing comes without a struggle, but it would all be worth it. He was the only speaker who I could truly say captured the entire crowds attention and really raised the morale.

The Occupy Sydney movement, won’t be in Martin Place tonight as the future direction of the movement hangs in the balance. The eight days that Sydney was occupied, despite in small numbers, did show in incalcuable ways how much the 99% are defiant that things must change and now. Or simply put it’s time for us to ‘unfuck the world’.