Extinction Rebellion Meeting

About fifteen people turned up to the first XR Hay meeting last night at the Parish Hall. They weren't just from Hay - there were people there from Llowes, Llanigon, Glasbury and Cusop. A couple of chaps from the Golden Valley group had come along to explain how their meetings work and to give advice. The Golden Valley group is part of a regional network with groups in Hereford (meeting at the Koffie Pot), with groups up into Shropshire and across towards Birmingham. Hay, as ever, is on the edge of that, or could choose to be on the edge of a Welsh network with the nearest group in Brecon and heading down to Bristol.

Most of the people in the room had been to the climate strike marches in either Hereford or Brecon, and were very impressed at the numbers of people who had turned out to take part - about 600 in Hereford and almost as many in Brecon. Jane Dodds, the new MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, had been at the Brecon march, and was talking about setting up a Citizens' Assembly to work out local responses to climate change. Meanwhile, the Powys Education Authority had issued an official letter to say that any children who came out of school for the climate strike would be marked down as having an unauthorised absence. Despite this, one chap had taken his two children out of Hay school for the day, and had no regrets about taking them to the march.
One lady had even taken part in the "die-in" at Primark, though she'd been very nervous about it. Some of the people there had also been to the big Extinction Rebellion rally in London at Easter, and had been most impressed by the way it was conducted.
It struck me that a lot of the people there were not the sort of people who normally went on protest marches. In fact, some said that this was the first time they had ever done anything like this, and two ladies mentioned that they were now grandmothers, and they were worried about the sort of world their grandchildren were going to grow up in.

The chap from the Golden Valley explained that Extinction Rebellion is not a hierarchical movement. There is a central Hub that co-ordinates things, but they have no authority over the local groups, which organise themselves. This can be a good thing, but it can also cause problems, such as when the Heathrow group decided they wanted to fly drones at the Airport. Despite a lot of argument, they decided to go ahead, and several were arrested, and no-one at the Hub had the authority to tell them not to do it.
However, one of the most important things about Extinction Rebellion is that it is committed to Non-Violent Direct Action. So, it's not just protest marches - there have been other groups over the years which have marched, and got nowhere with the powers that be. It's direct action, like blocking roads, or people gluing themselves to doors, and being prepared to be arrested.
It was emphasised that only a minority were prepared to get arrested, and there was plenty of scope for people to take part at whatever comfort level they had. Support roles are also important, such as cooking for big events, or being a "well-being co-ordinator" to make sure members of the group are looking after themselves and taking adequate breaks. At the Easter action, they found that there was a shortage of people who were prepared to hang around outside police stations to wait for the people who had been arrested to be released - and since 1,100 people were arrested, and processed in police stations across London, this was quite an important job that they would be trying to do better next time.
People who say they are willing to be arrested if necessary are encouraged to go to the training days that are being offered in Hereford and Malvern, so they know what to do and how to resist non-violently. There are also training days for Legal Observers, who are there to make sure that people are arrested properly and that everything is done in accordance with the law.

The Hay group has been set up just in time for the run up to the big action in London which starts on 7th October. They are hoping that it will last for about two weeks, like the Easter action, and people can commit to going down for the whole thing, or just a day, or anything in between - or they can support the action from home, by making banners beforehand, or being on the end of a phone. One lady said she would be willing to bake cakes for the people who were going.
The chap with kids at Hay School asked if it would be safe to take them. The action will be taking place on several different sites around London, run by different regional groups, and there will be communication between them so that people know if any trouble is likely. Having said that, there will be child-friendly activities going on. It was emphasised that, if anyone felt uncomfortable they could leave, and return later. If, for instance, a policeman told them to step off the road, it was up to them whether they refused, with the risk of arrest, or complied, and rejoined the protest at another spot.
One chap wants to walk from Hereford to London - so he'll have to start soon! He was advised to build in rest days, particularly as he got close to London, as some people had walked across the country at Easter, and arrived in London too tired out to do anything!
For those who don't want to walk, there are places available on an electric bus which will be leaving from Hereford.

XR Hay are having several meetings between now and the big action, including one on Sunday 29th September from 10am to 1pm to do block printing for banners. They're asking people who come along to bring some food to share for a vegetarian lunch.
The next XR Hay meeting will be on Friday 27th September, at Cusop Hall at 7pm.
Hereford XR group are planning a street theatre event on Saturday 28th September, in the middle of Hereford.

After the big action, there are lots of positive things that local groups can do. There's a re-wilding project on land at Lord Hereford's Knob, for instance, and the group wants to collaborate with the Re-Wilding group in Hay, and the Low Carbon group that the Town Council have set up. There are also local campaigns about chicken sheds (and intensive farming generally) and Hereford by-pass that are relevant to climate change.