Newsletter #53 – Put an end to neo-colonial industry – worldwide!

Here we are again – with very fresh news for you! First, we continue to highlight our Ende Gelände summer action from 29 June – 02 August 2021 in Brunsbüttel, which is also part of international days of action against natural gas. Here you can find information about why Brunsbüttel is the perfect place for a resistance against the gas industry and how you can become part of the international day of action. Plus, there’s a message from Argentina on top.

Enjoy Newsletter # 53!

1. Why Brunsbüttel?

2. Information about the summer action for international activists

3. Message from Argentina to people in the Global North

4. Become part of Ende Gelände

5. Together against the animal industry: mass action and camp at PHW/Wiesenhof from 12-17 July in Lower Saxony.

6. Climate and the right-wing. How dare you!

1. Why Brunsbüttel?

Why are we going to Brunsbüttel in the summer? Here, the fracking infrastructure is to be expanded and fossil energy production promoted in the process. We say “End Gelände” to this and loudly oppose it! Companies like YARA, Covestro and Sasol have joined forces to form the “ChemCoastPark”. YARA produces artificial fertiliser components and thus has a huge gas consumption. Sasol produces various petrochemical products and has a huge oil consumption, which is partly covered by Wintershall DEA’s Mittelplate North Sea drilling platform. Brunsbüttel Ports operates several ports, including a coal port. The chemical industry in particular would benefit from the LNG terminal, which is why the companies are exerting enormous pressure to push through the expansion.

In Brunsbüttel, an industry based on neo-colonial exploitation of regions where gas, coal and other products are extracted is concentrated and stands in the way of a just transformation of society. And now an LNG terminal is to add to the madness! We say stop it and block all those who profit most from exploitation and put pressure on this terminal!

2. Information about the summer action for international activists

As mentioned before, Ende Gelände decided to organize an action against a planned LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel (North Sea cost) from July 29 to August 02. We also decided that the action should be smaller than in the last years. This gives us time for internal reflection processes (especially on topics of racism and gender) and energy to intervene in other fights – especially the Rhineland lignite mines, an international car exhibition and the aftermath of the German general elections.

Smaller Action

A smaller action means especially less activists and we aim for a third to a forth of the normal numbers. We will do less mobilization in Germany than usual and ask you to do so as well in your respective countries. Nevertheless, we welcome international activists and will organize interpretation from German to English. It is, however, not the year to bring a record number of people with you.

Corona

Unfortunately, also this year the Corona virus is looming around and although the numbers are sinking, the spreading of new mutants makes the situation unforeseeable like last year. We are currently working on an hygiene concept to ensure the highest possible safety for all participants. We will inform you as soon as possible. Please take into account that you probably have to cancel your travel plans last minute, as it happened last year. To keep yourself updated, regularly check our website for more information.

The bigger picture: Global day against Fossil Gas

The Ende Gelände action is part of global days against fossil gas organized within the Shale Must Fall network. Instead of mobilizing and traveling to Brunsbüttel, we invite you to organize actions against fossil gas and significant actors from the industry in your regions and countries. This can be any kind of small and bigger action. Please get in touch with our international working group [international@ende-gelaende.org] if you are interested so that we can create a big and internationally co-ordinated action. People in Great Britain, Spain, Belgium and Scandinavia for example are already in the planning process.

Hopefully, travelling will be safer again next year and we will come together in a big Ende Gelände action again!

3. Message from Argentina to people in the Global North

Fernanda, anti-fracking activist (Extinction Mendoza and Alianza contra el fracking) from Mendoza (Argentina):

“The oil shale deposit “Vaca Muerta” covers an area of 30,000 km² in Argentina and is the world’s second largest field of unconventional gas and the fourth largest of unconventional oil […]. The government of our country exempts these companies [that extract fossil energies here] from royalties and taxes, while nobody messes with these multinationals, which are then still covered by the governments of their home countries. Once again we have neo-colonialism by corporations and governments of the Global North. Fracking, whereby the gas that is extracted as LNG (liquefied natural gas) and consumed in Europe, causes people to fall ill and die.

We cannot talk about climate justice while we have to live through the consequences of violations of basic rights here. For example, people no longer have access to drinking water, as each extraction well uses 30 million litres of water, which is irretrievably contaminated as a result. Human rights are violated when communities are evicted, forced to leave their homes and protest is criminalised by our governments through legal means to silence us […].

It is urgent that we begin to build links between the places of extraction and consumption in Europe. We therefore call on you to commit to this struggle and to put pressure on the mega-corporations and complicit governments that are destroying our territory.”

You can listen to the original article (Spanish and in full length) as well as other international resistance movements against natural gas in our webinar from 02 June.

4. Become part of Ende Gelände

The planning of our mass civil disobedience action in Brunsbüttel is in full swing!

In the process, many groups are currently looking for support from people who want to actively participate in the preparations and in the work of Ende Gelände!

  • Would you like to get to know the internal work? Here you can find all our working groups, which are looking forward to hearing from you.
  • Do you want to meet local people? You can find our local groups, which also welcome support, here.
  • No time, but a few euros to spare? We are also happy about financial support. No matter how big or small, whether €5 or €500, every euro helps us to plan safely.

You can easily donate via the Ende-Gelände website or via the donation account:

Ende Gelände – IBAN: DE48 4306 0967 1120 8464 00 – BIC: GENODEM1GLS

5. Together against the animal industry: Mass action and camp at PHW/Wiesenhof from 12-17 July in Lower Saxony

The climate catastrophe is progressing at breakneck speed, the Amazon rainforest is burning incessantly and more and more ecosystems are collapsing. One important reason: the animal industry.

Gigantic areas of forest are destroyed to produce animal feed, while people starve to produce animal feed for the Global North on valuable land. Workers slave away in the stables, slaughterhouses and cutting plants under undignified conditions. Sensitive animals become commodities, suffer and die in agony in animal factories while agribusinesses and meat companies make record profits at the expense of people, animals and our future.

Therefore, the alliance “Together against the animal industry” will paralyse the farms of the largest German poultry farmer PHW/Wiesenhof in Rechterfeld (Lower Saxony) in a mass action of civil disobedience between 12 and 17 July 2021.

You can find more information on the website.

6. Climate and the right-wing. How dare you!

Until 13 July every Tuesday at 19:30 (online and in German or English with German or English with simultaneous German translation) about the linking or appropriation of climate issues with / by right-wing actors.

On 15 June at 19:30 the Anti Atom Office Hamburg was there with the title Climate protection through right-wing open nuclear policy? No Thank You! On 22 June at 19:30 there will be a panel discussion on “Protecting the borders and the climate” – The concept of “climate flight” between recognition and right-wing appropriation.

You can find the previous events and upcoming dates at https://klimagegenrechts.blackblogs.org/

You can stream directly here.

That’s it again – more info to follow in July! Stay tuned!

Your Newsletter WG


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