- ATD Fourth World

In Philadephia, Boston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seattle, Washington, Oakland, and elsewhere, many camps have popped up since September, starting with the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York. “Thanks to Occupy, we are now talking about economic justice in the media and with our politicians. Finally!” says Peggy Simmons, a member of ATD Fourth World Movement who lives in Oakland, California.

“The economic injustice that the protestors denounce is a real issue for the American people in general,” says Michelle Williams, an ATD Fourth World supporter in Washington, DC, “More and more people are realizing that the ‘American dream’ and equal opportunity for all are more myth than fact for many people. But Americans still have a really hard time accepting that someone who grew up in poverty and remains in poverty should be defended and listened to. It’s easier for us to see injustice when someone had a home or job and lost it.”

“Very poor people are among the protestors and they participate in the consensus process that governs the conduct of the Occupy groups,” says Alison McCrary, an attorney for the New Orleans Occupy movement. With other attorneys, she obtained a 7-day temporary restraining order from a federal court to allow protestors to re-occupy Duncan Plaza after the mayor ordered the police to raid the site of the protests.

Peggy Simmons didn’t camp with the protestors, but helped out with the Occupy Oakland Library and went to protests and General Assemblies [GAs]. “The Occupy Oakland [OO] camp was full of very poor people,” she says, “One great thing about the camp is that it has united people in the city who have been doing very grassroots work around poverty, violence, racism, social and economic justice, etc. These are small, neighborhood-based projects. It is with these activists that the very poor are most and best represented in the work of OO. They were welcomed in the camp like they are nowhere else. Part of the reason for the camp’s existence was to help those who needed help.” “The GAs are an amazing way to meet and make decisions amongst diverse people,” Peggy explains, “The night after the first time the OO camp was raided, the police were violent and people were hurt. There were 3,000 people at the GA and everyone could feel like they were part of the process. That said, the GA consensus process is very dialogue-based. One of the biggest lessons I learned in the Fourth World Movement is that to really have an inclusive discussion, we need to use more than words, more than dialogue. There have been hard discussions in OO, about really divisive issues such as the degree to which an action should be “nonviolent.” The very poor would be very helpful in this discussion. I’ve been dreaming about having day-long creative workshops about the topic, with art and music, culminating in a theater of the oppressed forum. This is the sort of dialoguing, in my experience, that is truly inclusive.”

Myriam Verzat, a college student and ATD Fourth World supporter, participates in Occupy Montreal. “We built a place that has never existed before. Workers, students, homeless, idealists, artists, writers, journalists, politicians, retired people, and children meet here. In Victoria Square, we set up a people’s democracy through General Assemblies, a common kitchen, workshops about non-violence, a choir, public readings, and poetry. We sought new ways to express ourselves, to communicate, and to make decisions. We often stumbled, we didn’t always agree because we are all different, but we succeeded.” In October, the mayor of Montreal allowed the protestors to camp in Victoria Square. At the end of November, he asked them to clear the camp for security reasons. “But these problems of violence precede Occupy,” says Myriam, “They are only more visible now, grouped together in front of all the media day and night. If the city helped us, we could make of this place a safe place for everyone. We only wish that this camp could continue to live, to welcome everybody, including the most disadvantaged people. It is a place of education for all, to share solutions, and where everybody should be able to find their place.”

Jean-Christophe Sarrot and Ben Fehsenfeld