Occupy Sandy - Spirit of Movement Alive and Well in Hurricane Relief Efforts

New York - In October and November of 2011, cities and municipalities across North America took measures to evict and otherwise dismantle the camps of the continent-wide Occupy Movement, which blossomed out of the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York in September of that year. Both on Wall Street and in our own Halifax, overzealous mayors used police muscle to quash a peaceful protest against some of the gravest injustices of our age. In the aftermath, the attention of the media focused elsewhere, and many assumed that the “Occupy” movement was dead.

Far from it. Instead, activists have not so much gone “underground” as they have gone into a diaspora. Environmental movements, anti-poverty initiatives, public housing campaigns, and workers’ rights organizations have all seen a bump in participation and activity as the veterans of Occupy bring new ideas, new skills and new energy. In Halifax, the spirit of Occupy lives on. Many Occupy activists still meet regularly, and are involved in a wide range of projects that reflect the creativity and commitment that characterized the tent cities one year ago.

Here in New York, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the real face of Occupy is shining for all to see. The day after the storm, activists and organizers who have been working hard despite last year’s eviction have sprung into action. They’ve been coordinating donations, marshalling volunteers and delivering food and supplies to hard-hit areas where the official relief organizations have yet to establish programs. New York is one of the richest cities in the world, but also one of the most unequal, and a lot of the poor neighbourhoods and public housing projects are located along the shores where the flooding was worst. Tens of thousands of people have been living in blacked-out high-rises since Sunday with no water, no electricity, no clean water and often no medicine (asthma inhalers and insulin) or food.

It is the spirit of mutual aid, cooperative grassroots activism and participatory democracy that has allowed the next generation of Occupy Wall Street to leap into action and fill a terrible void. Since Wednesday, I’ve been volunteering cooking food and running pickups and deliveries for this initiative. Their coordination and efficiency is deeply impressive, but more impressive is their capacity to do it all without formal hierarchies or any form of permanent organization. They are mobilizing social media and more traditional channels to get necessities to the people who need them.

In their efforts, we can see the best and the brightest aspects of the next generation, who are not content merely to complain and criticize, but who are actively building alternatives that matter to people.

Dr. Max Haiven is a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Art and Public Policy at New York University and teaches at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He lives in Halifax.

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