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In Defense of Labels

Rachel Tome Valencia Hamilton.

Writer Rachel Tome Valencia Hamilton

Shorter version of this text has been translated and published in Finnish on Tiedonantaja newspaper’s edition 10/2023

Coming out as transgender was a true crash course in the different ways that people react to surprising news. Some were left completely speechless, some reacted with anger or rejection, and others were confused and told me my announcement had come out of nowhere. Some responded with excitement and positivity, others with lengthy accounts of various positive relations they’d had with queer people, and others still with a simple hug.

One of the most common responses to my coming out, however, was one that I’d never anticipated. It involved a relatively consistent line of questioning along the lines of “why do you need to call yourself a woman? Why not just be yourself? Why not just be a person”.” Such a response tended to initiate a lengthy discussion during which I sought to reassure the questioner that I wasn’t caught up on some stereotypical understanding of what ‘men’ and ‘women’ can be and that I wasn’t going to restrict myself to a narrow identity box, whilst at the same time attempting justify why I still desired to use the term ‘woman’.

I always found such conversations unpleasant, dissatisfying, and invasive. The questioners always appeared caring and concerned for my wellbeing, but I was upset by the assumptions they seemed to be making about me: that I was some sort of gender essentialist with a static or reactionary view of what different sorts of people can be. At that time, I was hallway through a PhD applying post-structural, queer and feminist theory to environmental politics, and I couldn’t help but be offended. I wanted to say “do you honestly think I haven’t considered these sorts of matters before? Thinking about them is literally my job!” Even so, such conversations always managed to unsettle me in a way that even the very negative reactions to my transness never did. My sense of self was very fragile at the time, and I remember spending long hours contemplating whether my questioners were right, if only because of how frequently such conversations kept coming up. Why did I need to be a woman? Why couldn’t I just be myself?

In retrospect, however, I don’t think that my initial understanding of what was happening during such dialogues was accurate. For one thing, I no longer believe that a wide variety of friends, colleagues and acquaintances were moved to question transness due to deep-felt concerns that my understanding of the world was insufficiently post-structural. If that had been the case, then surely my well-rehearsed speeches emphasizing the sophistication of my analytical frameworks would have been sufficient to reassure them, and – to my frustration – they never were.

Instead, I now believe that the true aim of this reaction was far simpler – to deny what I was saying and to try and make it go away. I was asking for them to accept me as a woman and, furthermore, to come to terms with the future changes to my body and life that my transition would entail. They didn’t want to do that, and some part of them must have hoped that, by challenging me, they might not have to. The question “Why can’t you just be yourself” really meant “why can’t you just not change”, and by extension, “why can’t the way I relate to you stay the same?”

My current understanding of the meaning of such conversations has developed as a result of going through and witnessing a number of additional ‘coming out’ moments in subsequent years, each of which was met with essentially the same sorts of reactions. For example, both times that I opened up to friends and family after receiving a neurodivergent diagnosis, I was subjected to repeated, detailed interrogations regarding whether I was going to use my new label to limit or caricature myself. When my spouse came out as non-binary, they received

very similar reactions, which is particularly ‘funny’ given that ‘non-binary’ is surely the textbook example of an anti-essentialist label. Apparently not, because the same question was posed. “Why do you need to take on this ‘non-binary’ label? Why can’t you just be you?”

When did everyone become so afraid of labels? Or, to put my concern more bluntly, how have anti-label and anti-essentialist arguments become such a go-to option for those actually seeking to preserve the status quo?

Anti-essentialism, as an intellectual and political idea, has been a major current in the leftist cultural and political sphere for over a century, and particularly since the counter-cultural movements of the 1960s. In broad strokes, it covers perspectives that challenge fixed or binary categories through which we understand the world, social systems and human nature by highlighting the contingent and political histories and power dynamics involved in producing the realities we often take for granted. Such perspectives, having long been championed in various forms by the many of the rockstars of the leftist intellectual tradition including Sartre, Foucault, Deleuze, Butler and Derrida, have become received wisdom within many progressive circles. Indeed, amongst many, essentialism has emerged as the greatest political enemy of all – even surpassing Capitalism – and the work of escaping all fixed identities has emerged as both the pivotal personal/political project and as the surest pathway to a better future.

I do not intend here to integrate the wisdom or validity of such approaches to the theory and practice of social change. Instead, I want to explore how, in the context of an anti-essentialist, label-skeptical cultural milieu, arguments derived from can be used effectively, and with a great deal of apparent legitimacy, for very essentialist, and very reactionary ends – in other words, how they are capable of working in the opposite way to how they were originally intended.

In my experience, being denied the possibility of putting one’s identity into words often feels nothing like freedom – it can feel like having one’s identity and one’s needs banished into an unspeakable void. In a word, namelessness can feel like a prison. Conversely, the moment that a name is given to something is often the precise moment that it becomes ‘real’, ‘tangible’, and actionable. For years I hadn’t given a name to my feelings of gender dysphoria. I didn’t feel them any less, but I couldn’t fully understand or grasp them. I felt deeply, inescapably lost. The moment I finally accepted that I was trans – the moment I said it out loud – was the moment that my life changed – that I was once again able to start living. As a further example, it is impossible to doubt the profound social impacts resulting from the efforts of Marxist theorists to assign existent social dynamics a clear and precise vocabulary. The terms ‘bourgeoisie’ and ‘proletariat’ may not have created these social identities, but it gave those struggling under capitalism a vocabulary to understand their plight. Labels, in this context, have served as a tool in pursuit of social freedom.

Furthermore, irrespective of whether we are personally comfortable with labels, they are applied to us anyway, by social systems which normatively ‘read’ us, assigning us our identities and, to a substantial degree, our fates, without any regard to our active consent. From birth, we are never looked upon as blank slates. When I tell someone “I am queer”, or “I have diagnosed neurodivergence”, I am upending others’ ability to implicitly maintain me within the sphere of their idea of ‘normal’. I am making a clear demand to be seen and engaged on certain terms, and if this ignites resistance, it is often precisely because there is a desire on the part of many to block that from happening. In such contexts, phrases like “why can’t you just be yourself” doesn’t mean “be something truly beyond words, emancipated and free – it means why can’t you just accept the vocabularies that have already applied to you?

In other words, in spite of whatever they might say, I believe many of those who react with knee-jerk anti-label arguments to the efforts of individuals to put their identities into words do so precisely because they acknowledge the power associated with doing so. On a slightly petty note, it has been particularly maddening to receive lectures about essentialism from individuals that had clearly never needed to question the meaning of being “just themselves” because all the labels they had been assigned fit them well enough to require no deeper examination. It must be an enjoyable experience for such individuals – the thrill of getting to poke at the identity of a newly out trans person, sweetened by getting to simultaneously pose as a radical member of the gender avant-garde.

None of this is to say that labels always serve a positive function. Often, we truly are given more room to maneuver through efforts to escape the grip of certain restrictive terminology. I would know – discovering I was not doomed to be eternally defined by the label ‘man’ was one of the most positive realizations of my life. In fact, my perspective on labels is ambivalent. They aren’t good or bad – they are just a fact of life. Language, as a primary tool through which we contemplate and express ourselves and the social realities we live in, brings with it certain structural limits, insufficiencies and constraints. In my opinion, we will find greater value in continuing to develop our ability to work with this medium, with all its limitations, rather than trying to find ways to escape it.

Using language means applying terms to things – that’s just how it works – and we can continue to do this with the aim of forwarding the causes we value whilst remaining critical of the drawbacks and risks that such performative acts bring with them. There will always be risks that the words we use will be coopted so that we can no longer find ourselves within them and must look for new ones. Indeed, in a world defined by entrenched structural antagonisms and class struggles, we could hardly expect otherwise – language is just another register in which such conflicts play themselves out.

As a final point, I do hope that progressive debates about the validity and role of labels can move on from an enduring obsession with personal identity. What about politics? Part of why I felt so disconcerted by the reactions when I came out about my neurodivergence was because there was a huge rift between how I was thinking about my diagnosis and how others seemed to believe I was thinking about it. For me it was simple. My workplace told me that without a diagnosis, I couldn’t receive certain support I needed to stay in my job. Because of this experience, I pursued a diagnosis, and as a result, I hope that I will have an easier time receiving the support I need in the future. Having received my diagnosis, I found added benefit in being connected through a common label to other individuals facing similar struggles within our current neoliberal economic structure. I have found a new community, new sources of solidarity, and a collective political project in which to participate – one built through years of effort of other neurodivergent individuals.

It is undeniable that many such labels were first developed and applied to neurodivergent individuals to control and ‘other’ them, but through the monumental efforts of these labels’ ‘subjects’, they have become rallying points for collective struggle – struggle intimately linked with the fullness of global struggle to enduring economic and political injustice. I’m tired of talking about what my labels make me think about myself. I want to talk about how we can change the world. I want to talk about how the very real, daily efforts of our present social and political system to undermine and destroy my life based on various aspects of my embodied existence can be named, resisted and overcome.

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Report of the meeting with CYM

On 19th September Communist Youth of Finland met with Irish comrade organization Connolly Youth Movement (CYM) for the first time online in order to create connections, share experiences and discuss co-operation in general. 

In the meeting Communist Youth of Finland, represented by General Secretary Jiri Mäntysalo, and CYM, represented by International Secretary Ida Wulff, talked about political situation and atmosphere in both countries, fight for the working class, state of the civil societys, activism in the Trade Unions and internationalism. 

Mäntysalo shed light on the tactic and agenda of Finnish communists in elections in Finland. Next year Communist Youth of Finland’s mother party Communist Party of Finland will participate in the European elections and promote the leftist way out of the European Union’s capitalist structures and frames of austerity policies. Mäntysalo also told about Finnish communists’ work in European Left and ELYN (European Left Youth Network). 

Wulff talked about crises in Ireland that the working class must face, question of Northern Ireland, political awereness and activism of Irish youth and the history and international relations of CYM. Wulff also shared some important advice on international organizational work. 

Both organizations share marxist and leninist visions of understanding the problems in capitalist world and the need of strengthening the class struggle for system change.

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Our new website is out now!

Welcome to the renewed website of Communist Youth! With the renewal, the appearance of the pages has been updated, and usability and mobile optimization have improved.

However, the development of the pages is continuous, so we gladly accept ideas and suggestions for further development.

Currently, only the latest articles from the articles published on the old website are displayed on the new pages, but we strive to make all previous articles visible on the new pages as well.

As before, the pages have their own language versions in Finnish and Swedish too.

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Goal to ban communist symbols is unacceptable

Hammer and circle, our logo and text: 'Our symbols of freedom and justice'.

The latest goal by Petteri Orpo’s and Riikka Purra’s far-right government of investigating the possibility to ban communist symbols in Finland is undemocratic and groundless. It’s unjustified to equate communism with nazism. Communist Youth of Finland will not approve of it.

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nThe government published a statement to tackle rasism and promote equality in Finland after big debate and scandals around several ministers’ and politicians’ rasict texts and comments. Publishing the statement was government’s ‘quick fix’ to calm the discussion. Orpo’s and Purra’s government does not have credibility to antiracist politics since it has been very difficult for government parties’ politicians to apologise their hateful comments and follow their own guidelines.

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nIn that statement, it is said that government investigates the possibilities for criminalizing the use of symbols of Nazism and Communism in political context.

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nNazism as an ideology declares the superiority of one part of the population over others, and justified the killing of millions of those considered inferior. Communism as an idea proclaims the equality of people. The obstacle to equality is the capitalist economic system, and the goal of the communists is to abolish it. Killings and crimes against human rights by leaders of socialist countries were against communist principals and have been denounced by Finnish communists. The communist organizations in Finland are registered, legal organizations.

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nCommunist Youth of Finland demands a correction to point 18 of the statement regarding the symbols of communism.

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Polisario and the struggle for freedom of Western Sahara 50 years

Today, 10th May, 50 years have passed since the founding of the Western Sahara’s Liberation Front Polisario. Communist Youth of Finland congratulates Polisario and shows its support to the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara in their struggle for independence, peace and justice, which is supported by international solidarity.

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Polisario was founded in 1973 – at a time when Western Sahara was still a Spanish colony. After the end of Spanish rule in the region, Morocco considered it as its own and began to illegally occupy Western Sahara. The Polisario declared the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic established and independent on 27th February 1976. So far, 46 UN member states have recognized the independence. Finland is not in this group. In 2012, the Swedish parliament voted in favor of recognizing independence, but the recognition has still not been officially done.

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In its decision in 1976, the International Court of Justice in The Hague testified that Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara is not based on historical ties between the region and the Kingdom of Morocco.

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We demand Finland to recognize the independence of Western Sahara and stronger efforts from the UN to overcome the colonialist and groundless opposition of Morocco and to implement the independence referendum of Western Sahara.

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The UN has agreed to hold an independence referendum in Western Sahara as early as 1992, but Morocco is putting the brakes on the plans. We demand Finland to recognize the independence of Western Sahara and stronger efforts from the UN to overcome the colonialist and groundless opposition of Morocco and to implement the independence referendum of Western Sahara.

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With the joint efforts of various organizations and civil society, it is possible to bring the situation in Western Sahara into the political mainstream and the human rights debate. It is also interesting to talk about Polisario’s views and to keep clear the demands for the recognition of Western Sahara by Finland and, for example, influence to re-sign the EU trade agreements that discriminate against Sahrawis.

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On the basis of the trade agreements between the EU and Morocco, ships from the EU countries have been able to fish in the territorial waters of the Western Sahara, and for example Pirkka tomatoes are sold in Finland, whose country of origin is marked as Morocco, even though the tomatoes are produced in the Western Sahara. According to international law, the natural resources of the occupied territory can only be used after the approval of the local population. The Sahrawis’ position has not been asked, so the trade agreements between the EU and Morocco grossly violate international law. Most recently, in 2021, the EU court found three agricultural and fisheries agreements between the Union and Morocco to be illegal, as the territorial waters of the Western Sahara cannot be considered to belong to Morocco.

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Long live Western Sahara sovereignty and Polisario! The Sahrawi people will win!

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Bex Tapanainen continues as Chairperson of Communist Youth of Finland

Bex Tapanainen.

Communist Youth of Finland elected at its regular Annual Meeting in Turku on March 18 management for the organization and dealt with other annual meeting issues. Bex Tapanainen from Tampere will continue as Chairperson.

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Elia Karlsson was elected as the new Vice Chairperson. Jiri Mäntysalo continues as General Secretary and Erno Haverinen as Financial Manager. Emilia Heikkinen, Tiina Heino, Niila Isojärvi, Arvo Lehtomäki and Ada Robbins were also elected to the Board.

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In the action plan approved by the Annual Meeting, Communist Youth of Finland is aligned as a deviation from the mainstream dominated by capitalist hegemony, as Finland’s reddest, sharpest and most far-sighted youth organization. Our goal is the workers’ revolution and the transition to socialism and joint ownership of the means of production, which will help us move step by step towards a communist society that will make both states and armies unnecessary. We direct our activities to the target group of people under 35 years of age.

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Permanent fix for the funding of well-being and healthcare services!

Kommunistinuorten yhteiskuva Turussa 18.3.2023.

Right-wing talk of cutback lists are based on the false claims that Finland is out of money. In reality money is abundant and a lot depends on value choices and the direction of politics. Big companies are making huge profits while the cost of living for workers continue to rise. The rich and their hired hands cannot be allowed to continue as freeloaders. The Communist Youth works towards social change, in which power and wealth are transferred from the elite to the hands of the great majority of the working class.

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The tax system needs a renovation in which capital and the rich will be taxed more fairly. It is not only a question of putting in place the proper funding needed for welfare and services, but also of justness. The erosion of public services has continued from the 1990s to this day. Governments – regardless of composition – have seen services provided and funded by the state as cutbacks and items of expenditure. This short-sighted policy has now led to a crisis in public services. They can no longer withstand constant cuts, workers have been pushed to the limit, and services are not available for everyone who needs them.

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We have reached a tipping point, in which a choice needs to be made: whether to put things in order, or to continue to distribute tax breaks to the richest and cut services. Overcoming the crises of the welfare state requires a reform of the financial basis, to take money where there is plenty.

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The state must take over strategically important sectors, such as the production of energy and medicine, so that nationalised companies become productive while at the same time improving the resilience of society.

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Necessary changes in the taxation system, for example, the tax base must be harmonised so that capital and wage income are taxed progressively on the same basis, capital income must be subject to municipal taxation, property and capital taxation must be be raised to match the EU average. Reductions in employers’ national pension contributions must be cancelled and the wealth tax, transfer tax on stock exchange transactions and corporation tax must be refunded to 26%. In addition, the huge profits of energy companies must be cut immediately by imposing a tax that cuts unearned profits, which must also apply to TVO and its shareholders. Tax avoidance and harmful tax planning must beprevented, for example by improving tax avoidance investigations and by blocking

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loopholes in tax legislation.

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The state must take over strategically important sectors, such as the production of energy and medicine, so that nationalised companies become productive while at the same time improving the resilience of society. Through these companies, it is also possible to influence employment, provide more affordable housing and return power from companies to people.

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The Communist Youth encourages people to vote for the candidates of the Communist Party of Finland in the parliamentary elections in favour of the workers, radical social change and revolution.

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Communist Youth of Finland’s Annual Meeting 18.3.2023

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The EL Youth Network calls for solidarity with people affected by earthquake

Kuva Euroopan vasemmiston sivuilta, taustalla kuva maanjäristyksen raunioista sekä päällä solidaarisuustekstit englanniksi, turkiksi ja kurdiksi.

The European Left Youth Network (ELYN) expresses full solidarity to Turkish, Kurdish and Syrian people hit by a tragic earthquake on February 6th. It is a disaster that has caused thousands of deaths, wounded and missing people.

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The destruction caused by the earthquake drew attention to a region that had already experienced for several years, economic turmoil, sanctions and the tragedy of war.

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The ELYN is standing close to the peoples involved by this calamity in the time of crisis. We call on the international community to provide assistance with maximum effort, demanding a ceasefire in the area involved and lifting any kind of obstacle to allow the arrival of humanitarian aid in order to help populations already exhausted by years of war.

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Finally, the ELYN supports the Solidarity Campaign active in the EU countries, collecting first aid material in each of our countries.

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Youth and Peoples of Turkey, Kurdistan and Syria: you are not alone!

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The Member Organizations of European Left Youth Network:nSYRIZA Youth (Greece)nYoung Communists (Italy)nUGS ㅡ Union of Leftist Youth (Italy)nMłodzi Razem (Poland)nJovent Republicà (Catalan Countries)nLeft Youth (Finland)nJóvenes Izquierda Unida (Spanish State)ndie Linke.SDS (Germany)nLinksjugend [‘solid] (Germany)nCommunist Youth (Finland)nRed Jeunes (France)nKSV-LiLi (Austria)nLeftist Youth Front (Slovakia)nLevica (International WG) (Slovenia)

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Statement on European Left’s website!

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Questions & answers on Western Sahara

On the bacground, picture of two Sahrawi activists and on the picture the text: 'Questions & answers on Western Sahara'. At the bottom of banner, the logo of Communist Youth of Finland.

This is a Q&A-article in which we’ll try to make Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic more familiar and answer the most common questions about Western Sahara for people who may be hearing about the Sahrawi people for the first time. Answers have been given by Baida Rahal, Western Sahara’s Liberation Front Polisario’s representative in Finland. For Communist Youth of Finland, the solidarity work for the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara is one of the most important international priorities in our activity.

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Q: Does Sahrawi people have the control of the whole Western Sahara?

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A: First of all, I would like to say thank you for all the attention.

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After the Spanish withdrawal in 1976, Morocco occupied 80% of the territory of Western Sahara. This includes all the coastal strip and important lands where natural resources are concentrated. In this occupied part, there is a majority of the Sahrawi people that reject Moroccan rule, for that they are subjected to repression on a daily basis and also they are deprived of the right to express their opinion, even in a peaceful manner. The Internet is full of information regarding human rights in Western Sahara, especially in Spanish and English.

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It is worth noting that Morocco isolates the areas it occupies with a long sand berm filled with types of explosive materials. This wall is known in the North African region as one of the oldest and most well-armed defensive berms.

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Q: The United Nations proposed holding a referendum on independence for Western Sahara. How realistic is the possibility of holding a referendum in the future? What must be done to make it possible?

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A: The United Nations proposed the referendum as part of the 1996 ceasefire agreement. The Sahrawis accepted opening the way for a peaceful solution under the auspices of the United Nations. In fact, the referendum is a tool for consulting the population, giving them an opportunity to express their opinion freely. But Moroccan obstructed the implementation of the referendum. Why? Because the Moroccan regime knows that the Sahrawis were never part of Moroccan society. This obstruction continued for three decades without reaching any result. Despite the efforts made by the United Nations for this purpose, including the census of the population, for example.

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Questioning the reality of the referendum is a Moroccan idea in the first place. The rights of peoples are not forfeited just because of a long period of conflict, or an abnormal situation has passed, such as what happened in Western Sahara. All this does not affect the essence of the right, especially the right to self-determination.

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Doubting the reality of the referendum is a way to impose a fait accompli policy on the Sahrawis, and an attempt to legitimize the occupation of Western Sahara, which was carried out using repression and force, in addition to the process of decolonization, which was not carried out in a legal way from the beginning.

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The referendum was a possible solution in many conflicts in and out of Africa. However, in the case of Western Sahara, the idea of referendum faced a very difficult reality: It is the absence of any kind of democracy and the right to freedom of expression in Moroccan politics. Herein lies the problem.

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Q: Morocco and France has traditionally had close relations. What is the situation today? What kind of international forums exist where people could demand France to end the support of Moroccan occupation?

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A: The situation remains the same. By this I mean the same close relations, the same circumstance inherited from the former colonial power that dominates the political scene in North Africa.

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But there are forums set up for the free expression of the rights of indigenous peoples in their lands. For example, in the European Parliament, there are a number of sessions devoted to discussing peace in the world. As well as the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where Finland is now an elected member.

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In fact, the problem of Western Sahara is a problem that can be discussed in any forum concerned with peace issues, as long as it is democratic. The Sahara issue is one of the challenges facing the international community as it is characterized by sufficient legitimacy and legality. However, all efforts for a solution are obstructed for other reasons that have nothing to do with the values on which the new world was built.

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Q: Why does Morocco occupy Western Sahara? Is there any historical connections between Morocco and Western Sahara?

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A: The Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara is not based on the existence of any historical ties between the territory and the Kingdom of Morocco. This was proved by the ruling of the Hague Court of 1976.

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There are no such links at all. The Moroccan occupation is caused by Morocco’s need for expansion and natural resources. The thesis of common links has been refuted from the outset. Because all North African countries are linked in their Arab origins, as well as religion and language, will Morocco occupy all North African countries due to these ties?

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Q: What is the response of countries in European Union to Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara?

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A: The problem of the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara is not new. Rather, it happened before the founding of the European Union in its current form.

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In the past, the positions of European countries varied. In some countries, there is great popular support for the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination. But at the level of governments, there are other criteria and other conditions. But in general, the Saharawi issue has supporters in Europe and other parts of the world.

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Q: How could you describe Polisario’s political views?

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A: The Polisario is an entity that includes the Sahrawis who reject the situation resulting from Spain’s sudden withdrawal, and Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara by force. All the views of the Polisario are in this perspective. Expressing the thought of the Sahrawis, their different identity, the appropriate form of government for them.

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This is exactly the Polisario, which embodies the system of values that the Saharawi people believe in.

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Q: Which are the main political priorities for Polisario administration?

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A: The priority is to continue to demand the right of the Saharawi people to decide. At the same time, continuing to build the capacity of the desert community and providing it with the ability to withstand the journey of struggle to regain its land.

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Q: In which international forums or unions does Polisario and Western Sahara work and co-operate?

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A: If I understand well here. The Polisario does not have a specific party or political form. Rather, it is a gathering of the Sahrawis, that is, the original inhabitants of Western Sahara, who are struggling for the right to self-determination. Therefore, it deals with all organizations that defend common values such as the right to peace and a decent life.

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For example, there was the attendance of some Socialist International forums by the Sahrawi Youth Organization, as well as the Women’s Organization. In some countries, the issue of Western Sahara is a common point between the different parties in their orientation. There are some names that I can’t remember right now. But, for example, we are a member state of the African Union and attend the gatherings of all its forums. For example, African civil society.

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Q: What are the good ways to support Sahrawi people’s struggle for freedom and human rights?

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A: What a question! Good ways to support the Sahrawi people are determined by how each country’s solidarity policy works. But in a way, there are levels and goals as well. For example, the ultimate goal is to support the efforts of nations to support the proposed peaceful solution for self-determination, and this is the work of governments. But it is a goal that is demanded by all persons, organizations, forums…

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But there are other levels of support, for example visiting the Sahrawi refugee camps in southwestern Algeria. Seeing the conditions of people, what they do daily in one of the longest refugee situations in the world.

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I think that solidarity, and the images to show it, is a creative act. Anyone can do it according to his capabilities and imagination. Recently I saw videos of people who decided to stand in solidarity with the Sahrawi people by making a bike trip that went through forty countries! Can this be imagined? When we have the will to stand in solidarity, we can visualize the way in which we stand in solidarity according to our many possibilities.

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Q: Is there some webpages where could be read more info about Polisario and Western Sahara’s situation from Sahrawi people’s perspective?

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A: Naturally. There are pages on the Internet that carry the Saharawi flag, such as the Sahara Press Service. In Spanish and English. As well as several other sites, for example, there is a site for the Solidarity Committee in Geneva. When we put the name of Western Sahara in Google, there is a lot of information and university studies on the subject.

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Even in Finnish there is enough information to serve as a reference.

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Thank you for the interview.

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Baida Rahal.
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Demonstration for Rojava and Kurdistan in Helsinki on 19th July

Kutsukuva mielenosoitukseen Kurdistanin puolesta 19.7. Kuvitusmateriaalia sekä mielenosoituksen nimi, aika ja paikka.

Everyone along to the demonstration in Helsinki on Tuesday 19th July to demand end to the war and to defend Rojava and Kurdistan! Come to Kansalaistori Square, in front of Oodi in Helsinki on 19th July 2022 at 5 pm.

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On the 10th anniversary of Rojava revolution we march to defend Kurdistan and protest all kinds of invasion and war operations in Kurdistan and North-and East Syria.

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We demand:n- The Finnish government should not allow any deportations of asylum seekers to Turkey nor extradite any kurdish activists to Turkey. These actions would gravely endanger the peoples’ lives and safety. n- Finland should not allow any weapon permits to Turkey. By releasing an arms trade embargo with Turkey, Finnish state would support the Turkish army to commit another genocide against the Kurds.n- Freedom of speech is not for sale. Banning the Kurdish peoples’ political activities in Finland, would seriously damage the principles of democracy and freedom of speech, that people have fought and lost their lives for.n- A dictator and a liar like Erdogan should not have any influence on political decisions in Finland. Instead Finnish state should demonstrate to be on the side of democratic efforts and movements.