Young Blood: iProtestor

There's no silencer for this young-gun. 21-year-old activist Raz shows what it is to be a protestor, as he sheds light on the current SmashEDO [1] weekly noise demos against an arms factory in Brighton:

I support SmashEDO because I believe that the only way a positive change can come about is if ordinary people dedicate themselves to resisting tyranny wherever they see it, recognise that their liberation is tied up with that of everyone else in the world, and don't give up. This factory is part of a mechanism which oppresses and murders people throughout the world, and to know this and do nothing about it would be immoral in my eyes. I saw some graffiti once that said "when injustice becomes law then resistance becomes duty..." and I think that sums up my general attitude. Almost everyone knows that these wars our government are engaged in are morally unjustifiable - once you've realised that, I think the next logical step is to look for ways to take action.

The atmosphere at the regular noise demos is usually quite sombre and intense. Though I try and joke with my friends and play my guitar to lighten the mood, I always have feelings of anger at the back of my mind. To see the police there every week in such high numbers, protecting this appalling company from voices of dissent from the community and abusing the processes of law to do so makes you really think twice about the whole nature of the system of government we have in this country. But the protesters are always defiant and determined.

The campaign is partly about building a sense of community amongst those that object to this company, and we have an ever-growing group of dedicated activists who spend huge amounts of their time making links with other groups around the country to organise the bigger national demos like the Carnival Against the Arms Trade [2]in June and Shut ITT [3] in October, as well as regularly blockading the factory through direct action. It does feel to me that we are making a difference. When the campaign started EDO/MBM [4] was operating out of four different locations in Brighton and the surrounding area, and now they are down to just one. We know that we cost them a lot of money, through blockades and the subsequent court cases, and have exposed them in the local press for what they are, damaging their reputation.

Knowing how dedicated most involved in the campaign are I am certain we will close them down one day, whether it takes months or years doesn't matter. But I think that we are also making a difference in a wider sense as well. Whenever I go to national gatherings of activists people seem to be really inspired by SmashEDO. New campaigns in other parts of the country have modelled themselves on SmashEDO by their own admission, and we are working to help build a functioning national network of anti-militarist activists that will hopefully carry on even after EDO/MBM is shut down.

Many people were put off activism after the failure of the Stop the War Coalition [5] protests in 2003, but I think we are gradually winning people back by proving that there are much more effective and dynamic forms of activism than the old traditional marches with placards. So that's what I would say to new people about SmashEDO, that its doing something different from what they've seen before, that it seems to be working, and that if they choose to become part of it then they definitely won't regret it.

Words: Raz
Photo: SmashEDO

For more info on SmashEDO visit www.smashedo.org.uk