GET THE READING HERE: ZINE OR SCREEN, AUDIO, CAMAS BOOKS’ FREE BOX, or EMMA’S FREE LIBRARIES AROUND TOWN.
Facilitators should note the Facilitation Guide.
“We are not less than the workers of the Paris Commune… They lasted 70 days and we are still here since a year and a half.” – Omar Aziz
Next time, we will be reading The Formation of Local Councils: To Live in Revolutionary Time (2012) by the martyred Syrian anarchist Omar Aziz. This foundational, strategic proposal inspired Local Councils in large swathes of Syria during the Syrian revolution against the Assad regime. Local Councils provides insights relevant to all anarchists and anti-authoritarians organizing for a more just society.
“Our hope is that by translating and distributing this text to make more visible the Syrian revolution, which has so often been denied or conflated with the armed groups that share its territories. Often leftists who support the Assad regime or anarchists who support the YPG/PYD will ask things like, “Are there really liberatory groups in these areas? What are their names? What are their ideas?” as if the organization of daily life needed a name, a website, and an English-language spokesperson to exist.” – Translator’s Introduction
You can learn more about Omar Aziz and his legacy here.
As always, we meet at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. Our meeting is Sunday May 25th @ 6:30PM.
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PS: Our friends at the Anarchist Network of “Vancouver Island” have put together a list of anarchist and adjacent projects on the territory. If you are looking to involve yourself in anarchist activism, look at their trifold! Particularly, Food not Bombs serves free vegan food for revolution every Sunday 4-6PM at Spirit “Centennial” Square and have been facing increasing harassment tied to the gentrification of the Square. Come show up to eat! They also need help from volunteers.