*Spodnja izjava je spremljala današnjo intervencijo pred veleposlaništvom Republike Francije v Ljubljani. **Več sledi.***
## Potovanje za življenje: naši svetovi se ne končajo na vaših mejah
Zapatistično gibanje, ki se že več kot tri desetletja v Chiapasu na jugovzhodu Mehike bori za življenje ter proti režimu kolonialnega kapitalističnega pustošenja, je za letošnje poletje napovedalo invazijo na Evropo. V okviru »Potovanja za življenje« naj bi se skoraj dvestočlanska in večinoma ženska zapatistična delegacija srečala z mnogoterimi, ki se po vseh kotičkih Evrope tudi sami borijo za življenje in dostojanstvo, proti režimu meja, siromašenja in vojne ter zato proti kapitalizmu. Ena od točk na poti naj bi bila tudi Slovenija, kamor smo tovarišice _e povabili v sklopu predloga za skupno Balkansko zapatistično pot. V načrte za »Potovanje za življenje« pa so grobo posegle oblasti francoske države, ki so se odločile, da zapatistični delegaciji ne dovolijo vstopa v Francijo in s tem v Evropsko unijo.
Odločitev francoskih oblasti predstavlja grob akt državne samovolje, ki pa nas svoji nesprejemljivosti navkljub ne preseneča. Ustreza namreč parametrom nove normalnosti, ki nam jih oblasti v imenu skrbi za zdravje vsiljujejo po celem planetu. Upravljanje s pandemijo nevarne bolezni ni zgolj opomnilo na absolutno nujnost univerzalnega dostopa do zdravstva, temveč je izdatno osvetlilo obstoječa protislovja politično-ekonomskega sistema. Spomnimo zgolj na minulo zimo, ko isti delavec, ki je moral vsak dan v zaprto in slabo prezračeno skladišče, da ohrani bedno plačano službo, dolgo ni smel na svež zrak na protest. Prav tako ista delavka, ki je morala vsak dan na delo v hipermarket, kjer je bila v stiku s stotinami strank, več mesecev ni smela s člani svojega gospodinjstva na protest, pa četudi je imela na sebi isto masko kot v službi. Tudi v Sloveniji je to temeljno protislovje razkrivalo, da odziva oblasti na pandemijo v izdatni meri niso usmerjali interesi javnega zdravja, temveč predvsem interesi kapitala in varnostnih struktur na večnem lovu za novimi pooblastili in orodji.
Pandemija je razblinila številne floskule. Prost pretok blaga in kapitala? Seveda, evo vam še subvencije za črpanje nafte iz skrilavcev in plina s hidravličnim drobljenjem, ropanje rudnin in razbijanje sindikalnih organizacij. Prosto gibanje ljudi? Seveda, a le za biznismene, lastnice in posestnike, turistke ter za delavce v okviru delovnih nalog, nikakor pa ne za osebe, ki potujejo iz drugih razlogov, najsi bodo ti prisilni ali prostovoljni, politični ali preživetveni. Svoboda zbiranja? Seveda, a le v službi oziroma za represivne organe.
Tudi prebivalci in prebivalke Evrope smo zadnje leto na lastni koži občutili trdo realnost nadzorovane svobode gibanja, ki jo že dolgo in v še mnogo hujši različici živijo številni ilegalizirani po celem svetu. To, kar se nam sedaj kaže kot nova omejujoča realnost, ni zares novo, saj je ta že dolgo časa resnica tako imenovane evropske svobode gibanja, realnost ustoličene v režimu Trdnjave Evrope, vključno z nasiljem, pridržanji, deportacijami, nedotakljivostjo, umori, mučenji itn. Kar je bila prej izkušnja manjšega dela prebivalcev in prebivalk, ki so bili z uporabo razvejanega aparata rasizma prikladno izločeni iz družbe, je sedaj postalo otipljiva realnost za precej širši krog ljudi. Z množenjem omejitev, so se množile tudi nove kategorije ljudi, ki jih je zapovedano sumničiti: mladi, žurerji, nočni sprehajalci, necepljeni, prijateljski krogi.
Danes tudi potni list evropske države ni več garant svobode gibanja niti znotraj evropskega kontinenta, saj oblasti za prehode meja zahtevajo vse več potrdil. Slednja že postajajo bolj potrdila o ekonomski priviligiranosti, neposredni koristnosti vsake posamezne poti za krogotok kapitala in evidentiranju popotnika v neki centralni evidenci in le v manjšem delu dokumenti, ki bi lahko bili relevantni za javno zdravje. Bitka za priznavanje posameznih znamk cepiv pa kaže, da gre tudi za potrdila o 'pripadnosti' pravemu geopolitičnemu bloku.
Režim gibanja ljudi so oblasti v času pandemije izdatno zaostrile ter mu nadele nova, tokrat zdravstvena opravičila, ki pa imajo po svojem karakterju predvsem izrazito razredno komponento. Ljudje na poti, gibanja za svobodo gibanja in solidarnost z migranti so in smo pred nekaj leti sredi t.i. migrantske krize opozarjali, da bodo rezilna žica, vojska na mejah nacionalnih držav in znotraj njih, nova policijska pooblastila še prehitro namenjene tudi nam, takrat v splošnem še imetnikov 'pravih' prepustnic. Ta trenutek je sedaj tu, v njem pa so francoske oblasti ujele tudi zapatistične tovarišice in tovariše, s katerimi je Evropa od spodaj želela preživeti poletne in zgodnjejesenske dni.
Jasno je, da so sleherne ideje o obstoju zdravstvenih razlogov za to, da birokrati francoske države zapatistični delegaciji ne dovolijo vstopa vanjo, izmišljeni. Zapatistične skupnosti so se z epidemijo COVID-19 vse od začetka dokazano spopadle z vso dolžno resnostjo in skrbjo ter z dvojnim ciljem preprečevanja širjenja okužb in ohranjanje življenja skupnosti. Vse članice in člani zapatistične delegacije so pred odhodom čez Atlantik dolgo časa preživeli v karanteni in pod strogim očesom zdravstvenih strokovnjakov, ravno z namenom, da bi kar najbolj zmanjšali možnost okužbe. Zdravstveno-varnostni argumenti francoske in evropske birokracije v odnosu do zapatističnega potovanja v Evropo nimajo nikakršne legitmnosti tudi zaradi protislovja, ko so na vrhuncu epidemije delavce in delavke naganjale na delovna mesta, hkrati pa jim odrekale sleherni glas v družbi in jih kriminalizirale.
Vseeno pa razumemo, zakaj francoska država prihod zapatistične delegacije v Evropo obravnava kot grožnjo, ki jo je potrebno na vsak način zatreti. Zapatistke in zapatisti so namreč po lastnih besedah nosilci virusa in sicer virusa odpora, upora, življenja in možnosti drugačnega sveta onkraj kapitalistične normalnosti.
Razumemo, da v režimu vsiljene digitalizacije družbenega življenja, namen zapatistične delegacije, da se osebno srečajo z ljudmi v boju, da z njimi in nami spregovorijo neposredno, da poslušajo, da iz oči v oči delijo stremljenja, potrebe, poraze, načrte in težave, deluje kot varnostna grožnja.
Razumemo, da radost, dostojanstvo, skupnost in predvsem zmožnost kolektivnega upora in odpora državno-kapitalističnemu nasilju v času splošnega drsenja Evrope v novo avtoritarno realnost, pomenijo glavobol za francoske in evropske varnostne birokrate.
Razumemo, da gradnja zavezništev na globalni ravni za uničenje kapitalizma in z njo vzpostavitev možnosti za skupnostne alternative režimu klimatskih sprememb, uničenja narave in okolja ter izkoriščanju večine za profit peščice, nažene strah v kosti vsakega pravega 'sledilca ukazom' in oblastnika.
Kot del mnogoterega gibanja za svobodo gibanja zahtevamo prost prehod brez omejitev za zapatistično delegacijo in to takoj. Prav tako zahtevamo prost prehod evropskih meja za vse ostale, tudi za ilegalizirane, ljudi brez papirjev, državljane ali ne, tako za tiste, ki bežijo pred vojno kot za one, ki bežijo pred revščino, klimatsko krizo ali družbeno zatohlostjo. Ograje Trdnjave Evrope morajo pasti.
Ne domišljamo si, da si bodo birokrati francoske države v zadnjem hipu premislili in spremenili svojo odločitev. Zato že vnaprej razglašamo, da smo v vsakem primeru kot skupnosti, kolektivi, mreže ter posameznice in posamezniki še naprej zavezani namenu zapatističnih tovarišev in tovarišic, ki so se namenili v Evropo zato, da bi poslušali, da bi izmenjevali izkušnje in analize, da bi govorili.
**Naši svetovi se ne končajo na vaših mejah. Za svet mnogoterih svetov. Za življenje.**
*Koordinacija za pripravo in izvedbo zapatističnega srečanja na ozemlju Slovenije*
*The following statement accompanied an intervention in front of the embassy of Republic of France that took place today. About the obstacles that the Zapatista delegation is facing while trying to enter France and Europe. **More to follow...***
##Journey For Life: Our Worlds Don't End At Your Borders
In Chiapas, south-east Mexico, the Zapatista movement has been fighting for life and against the regime of colonial capitalist devastation for more than three decades. Couple of months ago it has declared that this summer it will conduct an invasion of Europe. In the framework of »Journey for Life« the Zapatista delegation of almost two hundred persons, majority of them women, was to meet many that are fighting in all corners of Europe for life and dignity, against the border regime, impoverishment, war and thus against capitalism. Their journey should take them also to the geography of Slovenia, responding to the invitation of compañer@s organizing a common Balkan route. Yet, the plans for »Journey for Life« were aggressively undermined by the government of France, which has decided that it will not allow the Zapatista delegation to enter the territory of France and by extension, the territory of the European union.
This decision of the French authorities represents a serious case of state's arbitrariness. But even if it’s unacceptable, it is not surprising. It fits neatly within the framework of a new normality that the authorities throughout the world have been imposing on the respective populations with an argument of public health. The management of the pandemic of a dangerous disease has not only established a clear case for the necessity of a universal access to healthcare, it has also highlighted the contradictions of the current political and economic system. It is worth reminding ourselves that during the last winter the same worker that was forced to go daily to a poorly-ventilated warehouse so he kept his poorly paid job could not go out on the fresh air and join a protest gathering. Or that the same worker that daily had to work in a supermarket, where she was in contact with hundreds of customers, for months was unable to join a protest together with the members of her own household, even though she wore the same mask as at work. This fundamental contradiction – not only in Slovenia - indicated that the reaction of the state authorities to the pandemic was not led predominantly by the interests of public health but above all by interests of capital and security structures in their constant lookout for new powers and tools.
The pandemic revealed the truth behind many famous phrases. Free flow of commodities and capital? Of course, here, have some more subsidies to produce oil from tar sands and natural gas by fracking, to plunder the minerals and break-up workers' organizations. Free movement of people? Of course, but only for business persons, owners, tourists and for the workers while they are on assignments and surely not for people traveling for other reasons, whether compulsory or not, political or related to mere survival. Freedom of gathering? Of course, but only while on the job and for the members of forces of repression.
Throughout the last year the also European residents personally felt the harsh reality of controlled freedom of movement that has been for a long time and in much more extreme versions the reality of illegalized people throughout the world. But what is now being presented as a new and limiting reality is not really recent as for a long time it is the truth of the European freedom of movement, epitomized in the regime of Fortress Europe and its violence, detainments, deportations, impunity, murders, torture and so on. What was before the experience of a minor part of the population who was, conveniently, excluded from the society through the use of a widespread apparatus of racism, has now become a tangible reality for a much wider circle of people. With the proliferation of limitations, new categories of people that were officially chosen to be treated as suspicious proliferated as well: the young, the partygoers, the nightwalkers, the unvaccinated, those that socialize with close friends.
Nowadays even the passport of an EU country does no longer guarantee a freedom of movement, not even within the European continent itself. The authorities now demand further certificates for travel, which are linked to the concerns of public health only to a smaller degree. Increasingly their function is to certify the economic privilege, confirm immediate usefulness of each particular travel for the flow of capital and register the traveler in one of the central registries. The battle of the vaccines indicates that what is certified as well is the supposed 'affiliation' with the desired geopolitical bloc.
The regime that the authorities impose on the movement of people was seriously tightened during the pandemic. Even if it was given a new public health-related justification, a class character of the restrictions is obvious. A few years ago, during the so called 'migrant crisis', people on the move, movements for freedom of movement and solidarity with migrants have been warning that soon a razor-wire, military on the national borders and on their territories, new police powers etc. will be used also against us, who at that point still carried the 'proper' passes. This moment has now arrived. And the French authorities have entangled in it also Zapatista compañer@s with whom the Europe from below planned to spend this year’s summer and early autumn.
Any ideas that there are legitimate public health reasons behind the decision of the French state bureaucrats not to allow entry to the Zapatista delegation are clearly made up. It is the matter of public record how from the very beginning Zapatista communities have responded to the epidemic of COVID-19 with all due seriousness and care. Their approach followed the goal to prevent the transmission while maintain the life of the community. All the members of the Zapatista delegation have spent several weeks in quarantine and under strict supervision of health experts before their planned departure to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean with the purpose to minimize the risk of transmission. In justifying the decision to deny entry to the Zapatista delegation the French and European bureaucracy refers to the reasons of public health. This explanation has no legitimacy as it is undermined by the fact that at the height of the epidemic that same bureaucracy was forcing people to their working places, while stripping them of any voice in the society and criminalizing them.
Having stated all of the above we understand why the French state decided to treat the arrival of the Zapatista delegation to Europe as a threat that needs to be dealt with by any means necessary. According to their own words the Zapatistas really are the carriers of a virus. They carry a virus of resistance, rebellion, life and of the possibility of another world without constraints of capitalist normality.
We understand that to the regime of imposed digitalization of social life, the purpose of the Zapatista delegation to meet personally with people who fight, to speak with them and us directly, to listen, to share the aspirations, needs, defeats, plans and problems, represents a security threat.
We understand that the joy, dignity, community and the capability to mount a collective resistance and rebellion to the state-capitalist violence in the time when Europe is sliding towards the new authoritarian reality might cause a headache to the French and European security bureaucrats.
We understand that building of alliances on a global level for the destruction of capitalism and with them the creation of a possibility of communal alternatives to the regime of climate change, destruction of nature and environment and exploitation of the many for the profit of the few, sends shivers through the bones of every proper 'I-am-just-following-the-orders-person' as well as of every person in position of formal authority.
As a part of the heterogenous movement for the freedom of movement we demand a free passage without restrictions for the Zapatista delegation with an immediate effect. We demand a free passage through all European borders for all the other people as well, including the illegalized, people without papers, citizens or not, for all who are seeking shelter from war and for those that are searching for ways to escape poverty, climate crises or social suffocation. The walls of Fortress Europe must fall.
We are not naive enough to expect that the bureaucrats of the French state will change their minds at the last moment and alter their decision. This is why we declare in advance that in any case as communities, collectives, networks and individuals we continue to follow the purpose of the Zapatista compañer@s, who had decided to come to Europe to listen, to exchange experiences and analyses, to speak.
**Our worlds do not end at your borders. For a world of many worlds. For life.**
*Coordination for preparation and realization of the Zapatista meeting on the territory of Slovenia*
