The program of the Anarchist Book Fair Amsterdam 2020.
Reservations
You can make a reservation by mailing us at anarchistbookfairamsterdam@riseup.net. Please mention for which timeslot you want to make a reservation. There is a maximum of available spots per timeslot. It is first come first serve, so if you want to attend, mail us as soon as possible. If you know you can’t come anymore, but have made a reservation, we ask you to notify us, so someone else can take your place.
Of course you don’t have to use your legal name to make a reservation (we would advise you not to), but please do remember the name you use when you show up to the book fair, cause we will keep track of who has a reservation and who hasn’t.
The timeslots
All timelots will follow the same pattern. There will be a talk or discussion for an hour and afterwards there will be 30 minutes for browsing stands and talking to and hanging out with comrades. The timeslots end a quarter to the hour at which moment we will ask everyone to leave. We do this so we can use the last 15 minutes to clean everything before the next group enters. We ask everybody to respect this and leave when asked to. We also want to ask people to not hang around in one large group in front of the door after they’ve left the book fair.
The program
Saturday
Modern right wing radicalism and Qanon 11.00-12.45
These last years have seen a lot of developments and new trends in right wing radicalism. From “gamergate” through Milo Yinopolis to Richard Spencer, the alt right has been able to gain a momentum that other factions before them could not. The alt right is mostly building on memeculture and new factions in social conservatism. Most recently, fucking Qanon has emerged as a global phenomenon.
In this collective discussion we wil talk about defining Qanon, try to place it in its context and see what historical parallels we can draw. We will also talk about how we can combat this phenomenon from an antifascist perspective.
As a startingpoint of the discussion we recommend that you to watch part 2 of this https://youtu.be/JTfhYyTuT44 video (37:39 onwards) that we think is very informative in defining the phenomenon.
Abortion Network Amsterdam – Talk About the Struggle for Access to Safe
Abortions 13.00-14.45
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Europe, adding numerous obstacles to abortion travel (again!), it definitely doesn’t help that on October 22nd the Polish Constitutional Tribunal ruled abortion in the case of foetal abnormalities (one of only 3 instances where abortion in Poland
is legal) to be unconstitutional. This decision instantly sparked protests and strikes across Poland, having been yet another assault on reproductive rights in Poland in the last years. The developments in Poland have had a tremendous effect on Abortion Without Borders, a
network of six organisations across Europe helping people from Poland access abortions,
which Abortion Network Amsterdam is a part of. In this talk we would like to present what we as ANA do to support abortion seekers who have limited access to this medical procedure, discuss the impact of COVID and talk about the reactions of the intersectional feminist movement to the recent ruling in Poland.
Protests in Belorussia and the role of anarchists 15.00-16.45
Neither Iran, nor Greece, the persecuted anarchist Abtin Parsa should stay in the Netherlands 17.00-18.45
Abtin Parsa will give a short talk about the current situation. After this there will be a discussion in which he will also parttake. The solidarity campaign to stop any attempts to deport or extradite him are still going strong. So we especially want to invite people who want to know more about his story, the current situation and possibly assist in the solidarity campaign to come to this discussion.
The persecuted anarchist Abtin Parsa is an former political prisoner with an atheist view from Iran who was imprisoned by the Islamic regime for one year and half. Even after his release from prison, he came under pressure from the Islamic regime, and in 2016 escaped to Greece from Iran. In Greece the persecuted anarchist Abtin Parsa joined the resistance movement and began to struggle against the systematic oppression perpetrated by the Greek state against society, especially immigrants. During these struggles, he was arrested and even tortured several times by the Greek state. After the Greek state revoked his political asylum he fled Greece and applied for political asylum in the Netherlands. A few weeks ago, the Dutch state rejected his political asylum application and intends to extradite him to Greece. If the persecuted anarchist Abtin Parsa is extradited to Greece, he may end up to Greek prisons or even extradited from Greece to the Islamic state of Iran, where his life will no doubt be in serious danger.
A more complete version of the story can be read here: https://www.vrijebond.org/open-oproep-voor-protest-bijeenkomst-in-solidariteit-met-de-vervolgde-anarchist-abtin-parsa/
Sunday
Africa Roots Movement 11.00-12.45
The Africa Roots Movements organization experiences in the Netherlands in relation to black liberation experiences around the world.
Discussing narratives around police abolition 13.00-14.45
This summer the horrific murder of George Floid sparked worldwide insurections and revolts against the police under the flag of Black Lives Matter. The police murders in the US and especially the inspiring resistance against them have encouraged people in the Netherlands to rise up as well. As can be seen in the massive Black Lives Matter protests all over the country. These movements have also sparked a renewed interest and traction in ideas about police abolition and defunding the police. As anarchists we have always been involved in struggles against the police, in this collective discussion we will discuss what has changed in narratives around policing, what has not, and how we advance our struggle for police abolition.
What can we do to build networks of solidarity with people from different communities fighting against police brutality and institutional racism? How can we popularize the idea of abolition as opposed to reform? How can we connect the struggle against the police with other struggles?
Organising politically during Corona 15.00-16.45
This is an open discussion to talk about the impact of corona on our political organising. Some of our events and activities are being cancelled because we want to practice social distancing. Meanwhile there are people losing their jobs, houses and in general struggling to survive. During this crisis it is more important than ever to practice solidarity and to fight for our lives together. What are topics we have to focus on that most severely affect people nowadays? How can we support those in trouble? What can we do to combat growing state surveillance and police intervention? How can we support those targeted by state repression? How can we build long term projects and campaigns in a time of so much uncertainty? And how can we do all these things while dealing in a responsible way with the corona pandemic?
If you have been asking yourself these questions, have some possible answers for them or are just interested to discuss these topics in the hope of finding and sharing new ideas. Come to this discussion!
Mental health during corona 17.00-18.45
During this pandemis one of the main ways of dealing with it have been ‘social distancing’. The term, introduced by state agencies, betrays a way of looking at the world. A better term would have been physical distancing, because we have to stay physically somewhat away from each other not to spread corona. But these rules apply more and harsher where it comes to our social lives and other things that capitalism cares little about. People have to continue to work, shops can stay open and our social lives have been disrupted completely. The state and capitalism prioritizes profits and productivity over our safety and happines.
All of this is incredibly taxing on people. On top of that is added the fact we can hardly see each other nowadays and a lot of our old suport networks and coping mechanisms have become inpossible or irresponsible. There are people struggling with mental health issues they’ve had from before the pandemic or people dealing with newly developing ones during (and maybe because of) the pandemic. We have to find ways to support ourselves and support each other. How can we set up support networks during a pandemic? How can we keep physically distancing, but strengthen our much needed social ties?
The discussion is open to everybody, but we want to explicitly make this a space that prioritizes people who are dealing with mental health issues or those that are supporting people that do. If you are or know someone who has been dealing with mental health issues, wants to support people that are or both, please come to this discussion.
Movie: Pride 19.15-22.00
Doors open at 19.15
Movie starts at 20.00
The movie is about a group of Lesbians and Gays who decide to support the miner’s strike during in the 80’s and struggle against Thatcher. In these bleak corona times and the coming of winter we can all use an inspirational story about solidarity. Pride is exactly that!
For more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_(2014_film)
Before the movie starts there will be some time for catching up with comrades, hanging out and chatting. After the movie we will ask everybody to leave, because we can’t stay open past 22.00.
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