There’s surprising activity happening behind the lines at the Fairy Creek old-growth protest sites
On a hot Wednesday afternoon, while RCMP attempted to control about 40 protesters supporting their comrades in “hard blocks” at the Waterfall blockade, one part of the Fairy Creek watershed protest, three people were bushwhacking down the mountain out of sight of the police.
As they evaded police by hacking through the brambles, they philosophized: “Did we make the right call to come?” “What does Indigenous sovereignty really look like, and are we supporting it by being here?” “Is the negative impact on logging communities worth the end goal?”
The trio of recent university grads had just finished their first night ops mission. First, they hiked in after sunset to the steep back road camp, hauling 40 kilograms of concrete mix plus tenting gear, climbing rope and some food. Then, they constructed “hard blocks” where protesters will lock themselves to slow police progress.
Slowing everything down is a key part of the Fairy Creek Blockade strategy. They want to keep the trees alive, so they’re doing whatever annoying thing they can to get in the way.
Each hard block is different, but the most common is called a sleeping dragon: an arm-sized hole in the road, reinforced with concrete and metal and a locking mechanism at the bottom. A protester will lie on the ground with their arm locked in the hole. They can leave whenever they want, but it takes the RCMP’s tactical team hours to safely extract someone who isn’t cooperating.
Read the full article here: https://www.sookenewsmirror.com/news/the-last-stand-behind-the-line-at-fairy-creek/
