Direct action is quickly becoming the only effective form of protest

Direct action, and the people who undertake it, fascinate me. I sometimes catch myself pretending I could take that step. Then I crash back to reality. Yet the intrigue remains – there’s a wild romanticism to the idea of fucking up your own life in the quest to make someone else’s better. But it’s not just romantic these days – it’s a tangible reality. We are literally watching human beings kill themselves, slowly, painfully, tragically. The only way they have left to take action against the state that holds them without trial.

Are we entering a point in time where peaceful actions have lost all meaning in society? Increasingly, it appears that direct action that forces the elites to pay attention are the only effective means available to impassioned people.

Direct action in solidarity from across the sea

Today, I spoke to Olax, an activist in the Netherlands. He is on hunger strike taken in solidarity with the UK hunger strikers and is currently facing several charges due to his alleged activities at the UK Embassy in The Hague.

First, and foremost I have to ask; how he is managing with his strike?

Im only on day 18 now, my health is nowhere near the level of mortal danger that the UK hunger strikers are at. The only worries I have is with my [type 2] diabetes. I watch my blood sugar closely and compensate for it with sugary drinks. I have lost almost 20kg since I started – I am exhausted and continuously cold and the usual body aching is more prominent.

But really, I’m doing fine.

I am curious: how does someone get to the point where they are ready to escalate their resistance? People often paint such activists as eccentric at best, irrational and dangerous at worst. But sitting across from Olax on a video call, nothing could be further from the truth.

He has a wild beard and kind eyes, and he speaks with noticeable fatigue.

The path to the embassy

I found myself standing with a brick in my hand… and I’m not the kind of person to be throwing bricks,” he chuckles wryly.

It’s a line that stays with me. For many I meet in these circles, there’s a clear, uncompromising sense of right and wrong. Some things are, in fact, black and white. What is happening in Gaza is wrong. But there’s a chasm between protesting in the street and taking direct action. I wanted to understand how he crossed it. Was it gradual? And how did he first hear about the hunger strikes?

I joined Extinction Rebellion about two years ago – it gave me the means to *do* something… I was gradually radicalised.

He first learned of the UK hunger strikers while visiting London to take part in a Defend Our Juries protest.

It connected with me. It touched me. And it went on, and your government didn’t do shit… They don’t understand this.

In December, Dutch activists met to discuss how to raise the issue publicly. They began picketing outside the British Embassy, which escalated to daily noise protests. For Olax, it wasn’t enough.

On 19 December, he carved the words “Free The Filton 24” into a brick and placed it on his desk.

I consider my actions; I think about everything I do. I had the brick for three days before it was sitting on the windowsill, surrounded by broken glass.

On 22 December, he threw it through the embassy window, waited for the police, and was arrested. He began a hunger and thirst strike in prison which he paused two days later upon his release:

Even though I’m not sure if maybe dying would have garnered more attention, I’m very glad I found a reason to stop the thirst strike. That was a very traumatic experience, and not something I want to do ever again.

There and back again…

What followed was a relentless cycle. He breached his ban from the embassy area to be re-arrested and restart his strike. Police detained a journalist filming the arrest. Released, he would walk back, knock on a police car window, and be violently arrested again.

On 27 December, a judge found no legal grounds to hold him. Released 12 miles from the embassy with no jacket, phone, or money, he walked straight back and was arrested once more, this time denied medication and basic dignity.

The authorities seemed unable to stop the cycle. At one point, police refused to arrest him for over an hour. In response, Olax removed tape holding the broken window shards in place – an act of minor vandalism for which he was finally detained, for the 5th time. He offered to pay for the damage, approximately €2,700.

The authorities finally relent

The prosecutor offered a deal: stop the cycle, and all charges would be dropped. Olax accepted, hoping to pivot to political pressure.

That was a bit naive of me.

The deal shattered on 1 January, when an anonymous copycat threw another inscribed brick through the embassy window. The prosecutor retracted the offer. Olax now faces a court date on 14 January in The Hague.

What next?

I ask him the question I ask everyone now: What can people do? Where do we focus? Is peaceful protest running out of road?

Historically, protest has been effective, but we are running out of time. We have lost the option to move slowly. The government will take years, decades. What’s needed is to break the system and hope something better is built. That will not happen by singing songs or holding signs. We need direct action.

Why does he think that international solidarity like this is so important?

What is happening in the UK today will happen in the Netherlands tomorrow. If we can stop this madness in one country, other countries governments [may] think twice about doing the same.

What would he say to UK Labour leader Keir Starmer if given the chance?

People are going to these extremes, because they feel unheard. If you don’t listen to the people you cannot call the UK a democracy.

Finally, I ask about his hunger strike. Is there a plan? He is guarded, mentioning that he hasn’t checked his house for bugs since the police raid. But on one point, he is unequivocal:

Dying is not the purpose of this action. I do not want to die like this. This is not the way I want to go. But, risking your life to make the world a better place, is less dangerous than doing nothing.

Featured image via the Canary