Down The Docks, Amongst The Mudflats
On December the 4th 1991, Earth First! initiated and coordinated Britain's first action against the importation of tropical "dead rainforest" timber. It was a mile stone in many ways. It was the biggest action ever against the destruction of rainforests and it featured the widest informal coalition of environmental groups in the history of the green movement in this country. It has since been followed by a similar size action in Newport, Wales. Below are two accounts of the action that prompted the Malaysian government to announce the allocation of £2 Million for a pro-timber propaganda battle.
Well, we assembled in some Kent scout hall at 11pm on Tuesday night. A briefing session and non-violence training began, somewhat incredibly at midnight and continued until 3am; whereupon a slideshow began for confirmed insomniacs entertainment.
At 4:30 am, after 8 minutes sleep, the boat people groggily journeyed to the Thames, Bellies full of powerful shark- repellent Garlic soup. Our intentions were to prevent the M.V. SINGA WILSTREAM from docking in Britain with its cargo of timber plundered from the rainforests of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Jellyfish strummed out some folky tunes on his guitar, a dockside sing-a-long in sub-zero temperatures; rubber dinghies were prepared for the aromatic London Sewage conduit known as the Thames. Three Brighton Sea Action Dinghies were plopped into the river and we charged upstream with various chain and padlock carrying Earth First!ers. The media had been ferried ahead in Sea Shepherd's rigid inflatable, to establish the best camera angles.; With Lea Valley E.F! activist Jake. While we were putting-along-upriver, Jake was promoting Kryptonite Ltd by locking his head to the dock lock. The media snapped a few obligatory pictures before they were all whisked away in Police vehicles.
The M.V. SINGA WILSTREAM (here in after referred to as the M.V.S.W) was riding somewhat high in the water having off loaded the majority of it cargo in Holland.
As the Sea Action dinghies approached the M.V.S.V we found the Sea Shepherd in the process of attaching a magnetic banner to the hull. We kept strafing the area but two Police boats repeatedly herded us back into the harbour. We outnumbered the police boats by three to two, so while the two were kept busy I deposited two Oxford E.F!ers upon a rusty ladder. They then sprinted to the lock gate itself and delayed the ships entrance.
Meanwhile one of the Police Launch Pilots was playing Buffalo Bill Cody by trying to Lasso the dinghies. We couldn't deposit more activists on the dock so off we chugged back to land, mission accomplished.
Alec Smart.
Two hours after the departure of the Sea Action boats, the en- masse land cavalry were roused from their slumbers. After breakfast and talk of liberating the Goldfish from the scout- hut, we prepared to leave in groups we had arranged the night before.
We met at the front gates to Tilbury Docks, where banners where already on show, courtesy of the returned Sea Action folk. At this point all our plans from the previous night were put firmly to the back of our minds and we proceeded to search out ways of getting into the docks.
Two "gaps" in the fence, and a cunning plan to disguise people as excess baggage in the back of vans got 30 people into the docks over the course of 3 hours. Activists worked in pairs and small groups with the aim of reaching the M.V. SINGA WILSTREAM and disrupting the unloading of the timber.
We were told that any unauthorised person found at the unloading site meant that work had to stop, but this was unfortunately not so. Several people reached the boat despite the great difficulties in finding it. One woman from South Downs Earth First! chained herself to the wood. She survived an attack by a psychopathic forklift truck driver who tried to "remove her".
Others, having found the boat, distracted the dockers until being carted away. Many of the activists who made it into the docks found the Police very hospitable; getting a lift to the pig-station, a cup of tea, a warning and an escort back to the main gate to join the 150 strong demonstration.
Here a 50ft inflatable chainsaw was driven in and a spontaneous storming of the dock entrance occurred. The road was blocked and the cars and lorries turned away. All was done with a non-violent sense of humour!!.
As a final gesture of disgust at the fact that tropical timber continues to be imported into this country, a protestor made her way to the top of a crane. One dock worker reacted by attempting to throw her off onto the concrete 40ft below. Charming!!
In all the land action managed to delay the unloading of the timber, albeit briefly. However, the most successful aspect of the action - the first of many to happen in this country - was the gathering together of so many individuals willing to act for the rainforests. T'was a long day and the Cafe at Tilbury Rail Station sold more greasy chips, beans and toast (or was that double beans, mushrooms, chips and toast ??) than in the previous 35 years.
Vanessa Paulovitch. S.D.E.F!