By: Vivienne C. & Venus Mari Zapedzki
For some weeks now, anonymous organizers have been gathering support for a protest against HPD’s crimes of sexual violence. There was an extended discussion on certain dark parts of the internet as well as posters that were hung all over the city.
Call to Action
By Advertising, this of course meant that HPD was well prepared; our reporter Zofia had tried to find a bit more out earlier and then on the day of the protest they had a SWAT car outside, were dressed in full tactical gear and had surrounded the area with fences and concrete barriers. They were prepared for violence. FDH was there as well.
Fuelled by a collective sense of outrage and a desire for change, women from all walks of life gathered to raise their voices against the scourge of police violence. Their demands for accountability and reform echoed through the streets.
HPD Fires First
At first the protest was mostly composed of women with banners, but soon others arrived armed with Molotovs. In a way it was doomed from the start, because the approach was so predictable.
Some days before the protest, one of the organizers told us that the police are “the biggest reason why this city isn’t safe for women”. She cited cases of where the police had failed to help women in trouble and said the organizers’ aim was “to gather all the women in Hathian and organize a protest in front of HPD”.
HPD has a long history of suppressing dissent. They anticipate every move, and perhaps like previous times, they were the first to fire a shot directed at a few people, believed to be the organizers, on the roof of a building (not down with the actual protestors). These so called ‘leaders’ then fled the scene soon after, demonstrating poor leadership. The local band Buffy and the Slayers had set up on a stage opposite the HPD, but they, too, quickly left after the first Molotov cocktails were thrown.
Chaos descended outside, a woman drove her snowplough into the police and a few Molotovs were thrown around. The Observer was filming the entire time and it almost felt like an orchestrated Hathian scene of senseless violence and mayhem. It was reported after the event that five women were arrested, two of them working in the hospital. At least one protester was injured by shots from the police.
Resistance
The protest demands, though unclear and communicated poorly, were valid. There must be an end to HPD impunity. Different models have been advanced by guest contributors into this very paper… In the wake of such an egregious suppressions of protest; it is imperative that we stand in solidarity with each other by learning lessons from this and coming up with creative ways for mobilization.
We must demand accountability from those in power and work tirelessly to dismantle the systems of oppression that enable such violence to persist. Only through collective action and unwavering determination can we hope to create a future where all voices are heard and all lives are valued.
