1 June 2003
Geneva

Today I woke up, tired already, after 6 hours sleep, on a taekendo matress, or something similar, and a heavy day.
Had breakfast outdoors on the side of the 'Usine', with the group Indymedia Barcelona. Super nice, and we headed to Le jardin Anglais. Meeting point for the demonstration, at 10.00.

The aim was to reach the boarder with france, and meet there the frensh group. It was a super peaceful and colorful demonstration ( after the small riot like events, scatter all over the city centre). We joined most of the time the swiss comunist party, because they had the best mood and songs, and just went through it to have a felling of the groups. When the boarder was reached we wait to see the all demonstration passed, and to have a rest, and a bit of shadow.

On our way back, I saw a van selling the new 'Meca Cola', the alternative Cola, or a 'Cola engage', how is promoted here. Almost reaching the city centre we got in our first confrontation with the intervention police, due to a group that was trying to cause some problem and forced the police to move further and gain some terrain.

We decided to keep it cool and went back to Forde. Had some bread with honey and Banana, and rest for a while. but It is to much going on to be seated still. I went for a recognition tour to see where i could take ACT 2 out today. Soon I realised that the whole city is under pressure, and there's police everywhere and confrontations. Not a good idea to make it today. So I just stayed to witness the confrontations, as I suppose 80% of the people there, or they were tourists or journalists. Actually just a few trouble makers. But the gathering in itself makes the confusion looks bigger.

At one point the city centre, the commercial street where I took the theatre out yesterday was half blocked, and the Police after a few attempts to disperse the crow, change strategy, surrounds the group and charged it, making us run almost one kilometer. And actually in the direction of the usine building, I got there, meet some friends had a relaxed time. The riots where closing on us, and suddentely the police was everywhere blocking streets. In the other side of the building the riots kept going, and for an hour, we had dinner under police surveillance, but things were still relaxed, under surveillance but felling that it would be over soon. Then at one moment a guy appear in on window screaming something. And a group of men, dressed like demonstrators but with orange badges on their arms, reading police, armed with bats, charged on the people seated on the tables, and pushed a group inside the building barricating themselves with them in it. At this time i don't know how i was lucky enough not to get beaten, and get behind the police barricade, allowed to escape. - I guess i don't look punk enough, plus I am a girl.

After that it was a mess in the Usine building, and around it, people got arrested, everything was searched, the media came, tear gas was released. A few hours under siege.

I gave a few interviews, as a eye witness, tried to understand what happen to the people with whom I was eating, and were forced into the building.

When all was done, we were in the building again, safe and sound. I decided to go out again to see how the rest of the riots were doing, but after so much running in front of the police, twice trying tear gas, seeing people get hit by rubber bullets, When I was again in the middle of the situation, seeing the tear gas capsules falling just beside me, I head back, thinking, that this is getting to crazy and I will end up hurt or arrested. But anyway it is strange to fallow this events, to be on the hedge of nothing bad can happen really, and excitement for actually living the riots so closely. being a riot tourist was mainly the felling on this G8, art, rasta and camara summit.

Best Carla.
posted by carla at 1:03 AM