Thank you so much for all that you’ve done since we’ve been at DSEI. Whether you joined the witness in person, or upheld us from afar, it has been wonderful to be with you in shining a light on the darkness of the arms trade, and building peace together as a community.
We will take time to reflect on our witness, and what we are called to do for peace, in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, here are a few follow-up points:
Post DSEI Debriefs – online on Tues 26th Sept – details below. We’re sorry that due to rail strikes the in-person debrief has been postponed.
Please share your thoughts – see requests for your feedback below.
For those in London the Art the Arms Fair exhibition continues at Gallery 46 in Whitechapel until Sunday. There are also some final protest events happening today (Weds 13th Sept).
Media Coverage – Quakers got a mention in the Guardian’s coverage of the arms fair, as well as several independent and faith outlets. There was also an excellent letter written by Quakers to their local paper the Crediton Courier. Why not write about your experiences to local media?
While we take great heart from witnessing together, if you find yourself tired, glum or raging after the exertion and emotions of the last few days, these are perfectly reasonable responses. Remember to nourish and comfort yourselves, and check-in with those you travelled or buddied with.
Rest well and let’s look forward to a world of love, peace and justice, where no one is illegal – and a world free of arms fairs!
In peace,
The Quaker Roots organising team
Debriefs
We will hold two debrief sessions, one online and one in-person. These will be an opportunity to;
Reflect on our witness;
Share your thoughts on what went well and what we could learn from in future;
Consider our leadings, individually and as Quaker Roots
Dear Friends, we’ve heard there is a rail strike taking place this Saturday which means that none of the core group or QPSW staff would be able to get to London. In the light of this we have reluctantly taken the decision to postpone the planned Debrief at Friends House London due this Saturday 30th.
We hope you understand and we apologise for any inconvenience this might cause.
Before taking a decision on re-booking Friends House, we have a couple of questions for you…
Would you still like an in-person debrief at Friends House?
Would you prefer a further online session on another day?
Share your thoughts
At Quaker Roots we would love to hear your reflections on our witness – thank you to those who have sent reflections already already – hello@quaker-roots.org.uk
QPSW would like also your thoughts on how Quakers in Britain supported us – FaithInAction@quaker.org.uk with any thoughts on the following questions:
what QPSW/Quakers in Britain support worked well for you?
what QPSW/Quakers in Britain support could be improved?
what QPSW/Quakers in Britain support was missing?
Our Friends at NetPol would like to hear about people’s experiences interacting with the police – NetpolAsmin@protonmail.com
Final Events at DSEI
Our friends at Art the Arms Fair and Demilitarise Education are continuing their exhibition We Ain’t dED Yet at Gallery 46, 46 Ashfield Street, Whitechapel, London, E1 2AJ 12-6pm each day until Sunday (17th Sept). This was recommended by a Friend on the way home from the vigil!
If you’re reading this on Wednesday there are also several events still happening today – see the Stop the Arms Fair website for more information.
Peace Pilgrimage Podcast
Thank you for upholding those of us undertaking a peace pilgrimage from Oxford to DSEI. Our experiences were captured in a podcast, alongside interviews with people we encountered on the way. Discussions on the themes of peace include personal experiences of living in conflict zones, the links between peace and climate, offering sanctuary for refugees, and the work of organisations such as the PPU and Rethinking Security. You can listen to all the episodes at your leisure.
In 2019, Maya produced this great little zine, to help remind us how to prepare for DSEI practically & spiritually, so we’re sharing again for 2021!
If you want to print it, you can download our ‘Things to bring to DSEI’ zine (you can simply print it on A4 and then fold it up into a little booklet) – otherwise, see the individual images below for what you can bring!
Please note, this article was written before the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in the USA, and the necessary conversations and protests about police brutality and structural racism both in that country and elsewhere that have followed. As the Quaker Roots core group we recognise that we have more to learn about these issues, our own complicity and ignorance, and that we need to reflect on our own structures and behaviours. We hope that you will engage with this process too, and have added some related links in the ‘Further reading’ section.
Before and after the Roots action last September we had questions from a number of Quakers about what our action consensus says about police engagement (the action consensus was a set of guidelines on how to approach our actions as part of the No Faith in War day, and can be found here). The part that seemed to give rise to the most questions was why we asked those engaged in the action not to hold ‘extended conversations with police officers’.
There are lots of different reasons why this was our approach, and we thought it would be helpful to explain them. We want to be transparent, and also to move forward conversations at a local level about this issue. We hope this is an opportunity for education and development for Quakers as activists.
The reasons for our approach include: taking the same approach as other groups across the whole week of action, making sure the protest space we create is open to all who want to participate, avoiding being party to information-gathering and inadvertently assisting in surveillance, and recognising the bigger picture within which all interactions with the police take place. Finally, we say something of what we think a ‘Quaker’ response to the police could be.
This article was written by Hannah, a Roots activist, with input from the Quaker Roots core group. This is quite a lengthy document, because it is an exploration of lots of issues, rather than a statement.
Being consistent with groups we’re taking action with
Firstly, we took the approach we did partly to be in line with other groups taking action as part of the Stop the Arms Fair week of action. This was in part a matter of consistency, so that people attending actions over the week were asked to uphold a similar approach to protest e.g. acting nonviolently, over the whole week of action. Importantly, it is also an acknowledgement that we were not ‘going it alone’. Roots working alone in this context would be almost impossible to imagine: we set the network up in order to take action initially against the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair, as part of the long-established and experienced Stop the Arms Fair coalition. We were acting to support them, not be independent of them.
Furthermore, part of recognising that we are taking action within a network of groups is recognising who those groups are, and what we can learn from them and – maybe someday – teach. Across the whole week of action, groups taking part come from a wide range of communities and issue-campaigns, so they are much more diverse than Quaker communities in this country tend to be. This means we have things to learn from them.
An activist is carried away by police officers following arrest at the No Faith in War day, 2019, whilst a legal observer looks on and takes notes
Keeping the space safe for all, including those who fear the police
Next, we want and need the movements that we are part of (whether that be the peace movement, the climate justice movement, or economic and social justice struggles) to be diverse and to especially give space to and empower leadership from those who are ‘at the sharp end’ of these injustices. If they do not, these movements will be counterproductive. In order to do this we need to prioritise the relationships of people in the movement. We want to live out allyship by using protest spaces to speak and make connections with those who are part of the movement, rather than with the police. That’s our priority.
Everyone should remember that your own view of the police as an institution and as individual officers is shaped by your own personal privilege and status (a topic very live within Britain Yearly Meeting at the moment). This topic has a number of different facets. For example, whilst middle class, white people might feel fine having a friendly conversation with a police officer, people of colour, people with insecure immigration statuses, trans people and others, have sometimes had very negative experiences of the police, or may be more anxious since they know that they are more likely to suffer police brutality, or are disproportionately targeted e.g. by stop and searches. When those who feel comfortable engaging with police (because of their privilege) do so, it can make members of marginalised groups feel less safe and less welcome in those spaces. This is particularly ironic, given that black and brown people are more likely to face the violent consequences of weapons sales, both in the UK and worldwide. If we act in ways that deter people who are more likely to be affected by the very thing we’re protesting against from joining resistance struggles, this should give us pause and make us question and reassess our behaviour. Take the experience of the Wretched of the Earth in the 2015 March for Climate, Justice and Jobs as a sobering example: as they put it, the way they were treated on the day of the demonstration indicated a ‘colonial mentality’ which echoed the ‘history of conquest, genocide, and slavery’ at the ‘foundation of our modern economic system – the very system responsible for the global disaster that is climate change’. We do not want to recreate the militarist, racist mentalities that we protest against.
As a white, middle-class, cisgendered person I know instinctively that I still often see individual police officers as people who might help me in difficult situations. This is despite having witnessed huge numbers of negative experiences that people have had with police officers (and having had them myself), especially on protests, and despite hearing about decades of historic abuses against the LGBTQ* community of which I am part. This trust is very deeply ingrained in many people of my status and background. And it is not the same for everyone: quite the reverse.
‘Racist policing happened at last year’s DSEI as it happened at previous ones. If you can ignore this and expect to be treated well, that’s a luxury.’
There are real and recent experiences of different groups being differently policed at DSEI, and we do not believe this is coincidental. Repeatedly, we have observed and heard of smaller groups, or groups with more black and brown activists, being policed more heavily than the larger, older and whiter groups – which are also those that usually attend faith actions, including Quaker ones (I am by no means saying the No Faith in War day does not have people of colour participating – it did and has done at every one I’ve attended). Racist policing happened at last year’s DSEI as it happened at previous ones. If you can ignore this and expect to be treated well, that’s a luxury. I heard numerous accounts from Quakers saying that they felt the police treated them well (either at the day of action or during arrest later). That’s fine, but please do not extrapolate this experience out to everyone who was at the DSEI protests over the week, because it was not a universal experience.
Choices of protest tactics can also make some groups feel more excluded. Extinction Rebellion groups have been criticised, for example, for the emphasis on arrest as an aim. As Athian Akec, UK Youth Parliament member for Camden put it in his article When I look at Extinction Rebellion, all I see is white faces. That has to change ‘One friend of mine was stop-and-searched by the police 12 times last year. When I told him that the Extinction Rebellion protesters were purposefully getting themselves arrested, he rolled his eyes in sheer irritation. “That’s not an option for black people,” he said, adding that if he was arrested, the police would undoubtedly treat him differently, and his future career prospects might also be destroyed. The tactic of deliberately seeking arrest has further alienated disenfranchised communities like mine who, across generations, have had bad experiences with the police.”’ This fact informs Roots actions now and will in the future.
Affecting the police’s view of other groups, by comparison
Moreover, it’s inevitable that groups of activists will be compared to each other and that that comparison – be it conscious or unconscious – may be used to impose different kinds of police response. This is especially true when, as in the Stop the Arms Fair week of action, consecutive action days are being led by different struggles/campaigns e.g. stop arming Israel, no border, climate emergency, no faith in war, etc., and when other distinct groups, e.g. Kurdish community groups, also attend together. When a large group of predominantly (though not exclusively) white, older, middle-class-looking people – like Quakers – (who might generally expect to have neutral or positive encounters with the police) have ‘friendly’ conversations with police officers, it makes those who may want a more distant relationship (because they have had generally worse experiences of policing in their communities) look actively uncooperative by comparison. These differences can also serve to reinforce police biases. Both of these factors can result in groups that are less cooperative being confronted by a more defensive/aggressive style of policing.
I have noticed this in other contexts, where Quakers come to look like the ‘acceptable’ face of protesting, and others by comparison look threatening, merely for doing something other than what looks to outsiders like a load of people being quiet i.e. a meeting for worship. When a group of us were regularly protesting a fossil fuel company’s sponsorship of the British Museum by holding meetings for worship in the atrium a few years back, a manager once said “We like it when the Quakers come, you’re very easy to manage”. Maybe that’s OK in some ways, but it’s not very fair when other groups who try to be even slightly more interventionist end up looking confrontational by comparison, and are treated worse as a result – as if protesters should be expected to be completely docile, and Quakers are model examples of this.
A diverse range of people usually take action as part of the DSEI week of action, much more so than other movements that some of us have been involved in. We’ve had the opportunity to hear feedback from previous occasions, which is important since a lot of those people’s life experiences are not well represented within Quaker activist circles, so we have a lot to learn, and we really want to listen and respond to what they tell us.
Avoiding facilitating information-gathering and surveillance
Furthermore, during interactions with the police at protests, many of us will have had bad experiences of surveillance and information-gathering. What might look like small talk can be used to gather information on yourself and your fellow protesters: information which might have very serious consequences, for example being used in evidence against someone in court, or to commence deportation proceedings if their immigration status is not secure (have a look at a video about the role of police liaison officers from NetPol). Such information can also be used to prevent planned actions from taking place, because of police interference.
Police liaison officers are specially trained to do this information-gathering work in a ‘friendly’ way, so it’s quite easy to let things slip once they have gained your confidence. And it’s a really horrible feeling when you realise you’ve inadvertently shared something you do not have permission to share, or something which might incriminate someone else or put them at risk, or mean an action has less chance of success. Sometimes better (as a Roots activist from Scotland put it) to “keep schtum”?
The bigger picture
Finally, I am always aware when I am speaking to someone in a police uniform that this is never just an interaction between two people. It may be that as well, but ultimately police personnel are part of a system of security and control; a system that is willing to brutalise people in order to defend existing power structures. At protests, they are present to report on and gather intelligence from every interaction. They very rarely share their personal beliefs, but are performing a task that they have been given, and one that if they refuse to do, they will face reprimand, and perhaps even lose their job. They are also, at DSEI, not who we are at a demonstration to engage with and primarily to challenge – that is in this case the arms industry (companies, government involvement, etc). This of course involves the police (there are some great resources about police militarisation springing up), but we are there to stop DSEI, not focus on the police.
A Quakerly approach to police officers?
We understand that this approach to the police may differ from the approach some Quakers have taken in the past in other actions, and might feel strange and new. This has been the case for some in the Roots core group, too.
As Quakers, we acknowledge and are called to answer that of God in everyone (members of the police, arms dealers, protesters: everyone), and theologically and experientially, we recognise that anyone may be transformed by the Spirit at any time (I am cheekily reminded of the Seize the Day song P.C. 365, in which a constable who’d been policing the Faslane 365 protests changed ‘sides’ and decided to join the blockade right at the end…Sadly, though not surprisingly, this was a fictional account). However, this transformation does not necessarily happen only when we use words to persuade people i.e. don’t think that because you are not trying to talk a police officer round to what we’re doing, they’re not able to be affected by Quaker witness. I think that the Spirit can do things with and without us, through us and unbeknown to us. People can and do leave police forces because of what they see inside of the institution, and perhaps the treatment of social justice protesters contributes to this. We’ll still do what we do: singing songs, blocking roads, holding meetings for worship, standing our ground, trying to live the kingdom… and this can still have an impact on those witnessing it – police officers and others. I’ve never felt that in those moments, it was my powers of spoken persuasion that were going to be the most significant thing. Actions can speak louder than words.
‘….the Spirit can do things with and without us, through us and unbeknown to us.’
I know that many Quakers choose to respond individually to police officers specifically because they do not want to recognise or bow to the kind of dehumanising effect that uniforms can have. I’ve heard a lot of Quakers want to reject that, and go out of their way to see the unique individual ‘behind the uniform’. I want to acknowledge that impulse, but also to remind Friends that the ability to do that – to want to trust, take a risk, and respect and be courteous and warm to someone who has the ability to detain you which might mean your livelihood and long-term liberty is at risk, is a luxury which many do not have. I value the kind of ‘live as you want the world to be’ approach which in this circumstance would see everyone, whoever they are, as a human worthy of a conversation. Indeed, our action consensus opens: ‘We understand that throughout our action we will encounter many different people, including staff from the ExCeL centre, police officers, security guards, truck drivers, members of the public. We will recognise the humanity of all those we encounter, approaching them with dignity and respect.’ But I want that instinct to be understood in the context of power relations as they are in the world we live in. In this context, I believe that being called to be both salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16) means being allies to those protesting with us and those who suffer through the arms trade first and foremost, and being light to all present, but without endangering those who we work alongside, which friendly relations with police officers present can do.
A page from the ‘Things to bring to DSEI’ zine
These are some of the reasons our action consensus reads as it does, and we hope you can respect the approach, even if it differs from the approach you have taken in the past. All of this should be looked at in the context of a broader discussion around power and privilege, within Quakers and in our wider society. As a reminder, Roots are committed to nonviolence and do not advocate for violence towards police officers, or anyone else. What we were, and are, advocating, is for an understanding of how structural violence and inequality affects protests, and the people on them.
Hannah Brock Womack, on behalf of the Quaker Roots core group
Further reading
If you’re interested in finding out more about policing and/or protest (or in general), here are some places you could start:
Here at Roots of Resistance we are incredibly grateful for the support of Friends who have gotten involved in various ways since we started, and especially as we took action against the DSEI arms fair last September.
Many people have offered their skills or spaces, volunteering their time and resources to make our network come to life. Roots is people-powered, but it also requires some money to make things happen, and some of the support we’ve been given is financial, through individuals, meetings and trust funds. Without this support, a lot of what we’ve been able to do wouldn’t have happened.
In the interests of transparency and accountability, we’re sharing an update of our finances.
Since we opened a bank account in April 2019, we have received the following income:
From individuals: £428
From Quaker meetings: £624
From Quaker trust funds: £2500
Of that, we have thus far spent:
£1374 enabling Friends to attend Roots of Resistance trainings, organising meetings, the action in September at the arms fair itself, and the debrief day afterwards. This was mostly spent on travel, but also on childcare for some trainings
£489 on equipment for the action on 3rd September
£129 on online support for our meeting (mostly in a subscription for Zoom, which we held meetings and online trainings on, many of which were recorded for use after the event)
We therefore still have c. £1350 in our account. We are incredibly grateful for the support from Friends, and will continue to use the money not yet spent in resisting the arms trade through actions in the future.
I have shouted in the streets against the Iraq war, Nuclear Arms, EDL, Monsanto and Climate chaos but never have really felt my deepest conscience so loudly until I sat in silence in the street at London Excel centre in September.
A year and a half before September 2019 and rumblings about Roots of Resistance slowly pulsed in the Quakersphere. Things were happening in my periphery, my quite distant periphery I am ashamed to say, a year and a half is a mighty long time away. Though this small yet determined group were setting the stage for a Quaker strong show of resistance of the Arms Trade. For me this only came into focus a week or two before the allotted time in September. Nonchalantly rocking up to find my place within the spiritual circle that was so diligently cushioned by the organisational powers of Roots of Resistance.
At Friends house on the Monday we came as groups and individuals to mould together as one which for me is a gift of Quakers, a collective hive……. though not to say there aren’t some disgruntled strong-minded bees that need a wee bit more cajoling into place. We are perfectly imperfect. Learning songs of revolutions and protests gone by, holding stillness in preparation of what is to come. ‘Don’t forget your bustcard!’ was a constant cry, well I thought I don’t need one of those. I had made a conscious choice not to get arrested so no need to know solicitors’ numbers or what to say at police stations. That was still true up until the point a police liaison officer shouted, ‘move off the road’ and my conscience made me put my bag on my back and clip it tight. Luckily earlier I had slipped one of those bustcards into my pocket after all.
But I’m going ahead of myself. When I alighted from the rail transport outside the Excel Centre, I quickly found myself on the end of a Catholic procession. We slowly made our way through to the silent gathering that stood, placards aloft and peaceful faces resolute. I quickly learned that the roads had been held since early in the morning by strong collective action. A small number of purposeful folk are mighty. Throughout the day, worships of many faiths occurred and intermingled. The crowd swelled to a sizeable number. The hard work of a few Quaker had brought the collective passion of many.
The second Meeting for Worship brimmed with impassioned song and ministry. My thoughts were guided by those people who couldn’t be with us in that road. The people who had been murdered, injured, traumatised and displaced from their homes and lives because of the weapons industry. The industry that was trying to set up a show home just a few meters away, to display their wears like toys for the wealthy, without conscious or care of who was going to be on the sharp end of the machines. So, when I heard ‘move off the road’, I fastened my bag tight and sat, waiting. Though, I felt I took very little part in the immovable predicament I found myself in. There was such stillness, such peace that the loud voice of my faith, conscience and the collective power that felt like it resonated through all of us glued me fast to the tarmac. ‘dear friend, dear friend……’ the song on our breath binding us all with strength to be where we needed to be.
Being lifted off that road by the officers, felt like a journey in itself. Moving from a place of spiritual strength and unity to the slow walk into a harsh individualistic world. This was brutal, the power of my conviction running in droplets down my face, which the officers mistook for fear. As I try and
answer uncertainly the police officers’ questions, I am quickly informed by them that ‘we are not the enemy’. Later I contemplate the officer’s words, playing my lost response back in my head ‘no you are not the enemy, merely a vessel for those who hold the stacks of money, and so you are nothing to me’.
The police station was easier, in some regards. I had emerged from the grasp of the Light and was able to be me, as much as a person can ever be truly themselves in a brightly tiled white box. With this, I felt strongly the physical presence of Privilege. There were moments of uncertainty and feelings of trepidation when asking for what I needed but overwhelmingly I felt a sense of entitlement. I felt able to speak abruptly to the officers who were disrespecting me, I felt able to ask for endless cups of water and to look past the power dynamics at play into the eyes of the officers. I felt peace, on the most part, in my cell. This I am sure is not everyone’s experience. A holding cell is a disorientating and isolated place which would easily be made worse if a person felt unsafe or forgotten. Being released six hours later into the warm embrace of people I knew and people I didn’t, made me very aware of why many centuries ago we became known as Friends.
The protests raged on for a whole week outside the Excel centre. Incredible people putting their bodies aligned with their convictions. Does it all make a difference, well only time will tell. I do know for certain that this experience has changed me and the way I want to protest. Bring on the gentle anger.
We’ll be in the Large Meeting House and Margaret Fell rooms at Friends House, Euston (173-177 Euston Road, NW1 2BJ) – it’s right opposite Euston Station.
Drop in from 2-4.30 pm (Large Meeting House)
We will have a series of tables where you can ask questions, or do different activities. These include:
A welcome table – where there will be information about the No Faith In War day and we will be able to answer many of your logistical questions.
A roles table, for anyone taking on a role on the Tuesday (first aid, legal observer, videography, photography)
Mini-banner making table
Personal statement writing table – to write a short statement of ‘why I am here’
Workshops
2-2.45 pm – Protest Singing Workshop (in the Large Meeting House)
2.50 pm – Know your Rights shout out (in the Large Meeting House)
3.00 pm – Turning the Tide workshop: spiritual grounding for witness (in the Margaret Fell Room)
3.30-4.15 pm Protest Singing Workshop (in the Large Meeting House)
All afternoon in the Margaret Fell room there will also be time for conversations in affinity groups or working groups or for people who may need a quieter space for preparation and reflection.
Evening Briefing: 5-8.30 pm
This will include time in worship, running through the timetable for the day of action and logistical information, hearing from Juliet Prager (deputy recording clerk for Quakers in Britain), also someone who has been at the demonstration that day, know your rights information, and some singing together. Leave feeling fully prepared and spiritually grounded.
Some of the Roots of Resistance core group met today in London to make final preparations for our action against the DSEI arms fair next month, taking place on 3rd September as part of the No Faith in War day.
In the next few weeks, you can expect emails with more call outs for volunteers, info about the action, and area organisers should check our new updates page for news!
I was very excited about joining a Meeting for Worship intending to stop the lorries entering the EXCEL. centre in 2017
It was a pleasant September morning when we arrived at the exhibition centre. I went to greet some Catholic friends who had locked themselves on to each other, intending to saunter over to the MfW. It was not to be.
A Friend asked me to make a sign which I did, kneeling in the road. A Friend from Leeds was with me. A couple of police officers approached us and asked us to move as we were blocking the road. We said that that was our intention. An officer said we would be arrested if we didn’t move. We stayed: he arrested us. It was all very civilised! I know my gender, age (71) and disability means that the police were very careful with me. I talked to them, avoiding giving too much information (I’ve done this many times). Sitting in the van gave space to explain to them why we were there. I have found such conversations to be an important part of nonviolent action.
Because of the group who had abseiled off the bridge, we had to be taken through the exhibition centre in the van. Our police officers were obviously impressed by the action.
Eventually we arrived at the police station and were taken in to be processed. The custody sergeant went through the procedure and we were placed in cells. In our van I think there were four or five of us.
I have been arrested many times and really lover being locked in the cell. When I hear the key in the lock I think, ‘That’s the first part of the action complete’. As I am visually impaired I cannot read normal print so can’t take a book into the cell. I pray, reflect, sing, walk up and down and generally enjoy my own company. As a lazy person I love not being able to do anything except drink the coffee offered at regular intervals.
We were released about 4pm and were given bail conditions and a date to appear in court. In the event after two court appearances, our case was dropped.
Susan Clarkson
Bradford Meeting
Brighouse West Yorkshire AM
