On March 14th, Greek anarchists from the VOID Network in Athens, along with an American who has been living in Barcelona, Spain for the last four years, spoke about the Greek uprising of December 2008 at the 11th annual Anarchist Theory Conference held in UC Berkeley's Dwinelle Hall. They addressed where the rebellion came from and where it is now. The Greek rebellion comes out of its own historical and cultural context, so the Greek revolt can't necessarily be translated directly to other countries, but certainly rebellion is not limited to Greece. More than just presenting the story of Greece, their talk was about sharing ideas that could be useful to the social struggles in England, Barcelona, and the U.S.

The talk covered the positive way in which anarchists in Greece frame their own sense of building political power, which can be quite different than often seen with anarchists and other radicals in the U.S. As one example, they do not focus on injuries received by police during rebellions. Rather than dwelling on victimization on a personal level or in their self-produced media, they highlight their victories (as seen in the photographic slideshow projected onto a large screen as they spoke). In order for trauma to be healed, people should empower themselves by taking control of their lives. "Action dries your tears," they said.

Read more with audio | Immediate mutual aid needed for our Greek visitors

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