ANN Possibilities for Benalla The Benalla Women's Peace Camp is being held this coming Easter at the Australian Defence Industries Munitions Factory. Organised by women from across the Australian peace movement, it will address and take action against Australia's growing militarism. The women of Commonground and the Melbourne Community of the Australian Nonviolence Network have been thinking about the best contribution we could make to this camp. Many of us have been involved in nonviolent action campaigns and Australia-wide peace and environmental camps before. Each time goes better than the time before and we intend building on our experiences and experiments of the past. We are developing a proposal for Australian Nonviolence Network women to organise and carry out a series of affinity group actions. These action will be identifiable ANN actions, and will focus on Australia's military involvement in Bougainville. We want to use the already developed planning and thinking of the Australian Humanitarian Aid for Bougainville (AHAB) which is a Melbourne-based affinity group linked to ANN. This will provide a clear, discreet, and manageable focus for our actions against militarism. We want a preparation event (three to five days) for all different women who want to join the ANN actions - to be held at Commonground in the week before Benalla. There will be two different levels of involvement which women can choose depending on their own circumstances, situation and wishes. The first level of involvement: organising a set of affinity group actions. Who for: This part would be for women who had time to meet well before the camp and who wanted to be fully involved in a process of creating a nonviolent action from the grassroots up. One or two groups would meet in Victoria in the six to eight weeks leading up to the camp to think up and plan for action/events that are creative and leave room for women to join the process later on. Some women from these groups will then facilitate women to prepare for their involvement during the week before. (see below under PREPARATION WEEK IDEA) We have thought of three events that we might do - a Friday night ritual and sharing around the despair we feel as women in the face of violence and the threat of violence - a Saturday action of anger and empowerment - and a Sunday action of celebration and hope. (The Friday and Sunday events would coincide with focussing events at the annual Easter gathering at Commonground and would help us build solidarity links inside the network.) These actions could be small or big, arrestable or non-arrestable, depending on what our planning groups decide. They would be affinity group based and women not involved in the planning would be asked to join on set terms. Women wanting to join these actions in arrestable roles will be expected to join the preparation event at Commonground. The themes Themes have been chosen by the Australia-wide collective that is doing the overall planning for the whole Benalla camp. As at time of writing, the themes haven't been assigned days. I would like to see for the order of the themes as follows: Friday - Violence Against Women and Children. This would fit with the despair sharing and we would maintain our Bougainville focus. Saturday - Solidarity. This would fit easily with the Bougainville focus. Sunday - ADI and Conversion. This would fit with an action of hope and celebration and again focus on ADI's sales of ammunition to Bougainville. I reckon this would be a good theme/spirit for ending the camp anyway. Second level of involvement: a preparation event. Who for?: This part would be for women who want to take part in the already prepared actions (see above). This would be a chance for women from interstate to make links and get to know us mob from Victoria - and vice versa. And it would be a chance to pass on learning from past actions and to really prepare for nonviolent action in such a way that we are inspired to empower ourselves and others for the long term. There are different possibilities for involving women in this process depending on the expression of interest. Women might come in an already formed affinity group (four to eight women) that is wanting to prepare further for action. Women might come as individuals and we would help you join or form into an affinity or support group for Benalla and help you prepare for arrestable action, if that is your wish (Remember that not everybody has to be in arrestable roles.) There will probably be space for involving young women and girls by helping them form their own groups and contributing their own energy. The preparation event might last three to five days. The longer it is the more we can learn and the more influence it will have on our longer term networking and planning. If we had a whole big lot of time, we would like to do: * roleplays of (already) planned actions * prepare emotionally for actions that will probably include arrestable components * think about how to make a political action personally transforming * explore the political meaning of arrest and resistance and what is hard for us around this * explore the political meaning and consequences of resisting bail conditions (this is something we often forget to do until we are faced with them in jail where it is really inappropriate to be making decisions of this type) * look at where these affinity group actions fit in the planning and thinking of the Australian Humanitarian Aid for Bougainville campaign * figure out ways of involving whole (small) affinity groups in planned actions * deal with some of our ongoing personal despair * consider ways of getting support after Benalla is over * consider how we will support each other through the process of going to court and possible jail sentences * make contacts and relationships and develop insights that will contribute to developing a strong and skillful Australian Nonviolence Network. Common preparation day In addition there will be one day of preparation to be held at Commonground for women who want to attend the camp, who don't have the time or inclination for a full affinity group commitment, but who want better preparation and personal empowerment through the involvement they do have. Talk to us about the possibilities We are still in the process of figuring it out (We just had to meet the Nonviolence Today deadline!) Get support to figure out and make decisions, as early as possible, how you want to be involved. This will make it easier for us to organise something that meets your needs. And don't be daunted - we'll make it fun! Please make your expression of interest to Margaret Pestorius, The Centre for Nonviolence, c/- Commonground, PO Box 474, Seymour, VIC 3661, or ring (057) 93 8257 or fax or phone (057) 93 8400. Margaret Pestorius