CRS stops slave market at the center of Strasbourg [with photos]
30.Nov.99 - We the ‘schwabinggrad’ ballet performed our play two times at the center of Strasbourg today. We started at Pond Marche, an appropriate space for a slave market. Later we went right to the heart of the city, and performed on Place Kleber.
On Pond Marche, the police took away some of our props, the signs, that indicate the different acts of the play, and the song titles. Because this courageous intervention of the French police had been fotographed by a bystander, he was attacked, and forced to hand out his camera, making sure to put enough light on the film, so the police could not get hand on any evidence. However, police hit our comrade and teargased another bystander, who helped the photographer. But we can assure you, that the real film showing the police intervention, arrived safely in the noborder camp. We went on performing, and the police went away.
The story of the play is situated in ancient Athens, in “Hellas, the cradle of civilization and democracy”. Perikles informs Barbaraians, who try to enter this just, fair and equal society, about the greek virtues, greek wealth and wisdom, that they will not be allowed to enter Athens, if they fail to prove their, skills, abnd their utility for the greek society. So the greek arrange a slave market. The “Computer slave” is bought on the spot for a high price, as is the beautiful sex-slave, who solves the greek problem of “L’impuissance”, The other slaves however (the construction slave, the Jodl-Slave, and the Cotton Picker Slave), are not usefull for greek society, so they get deported back to Barbaria.
After we had finished the performance on the bridge, we went to place Kleber, and started there again. Within minutes we were surrounded by hundreds of spectators, and made our best performance. The play ended with us shouting “Solidarite avec les Sans Papier”, and a handing out of NoBorder leaflets, which were taken from our hands with great approval.
A couple of minutes later, however, the CRS-Police arrived, and quickely encircled us. The crowd became even bigger now. The police wanted to bring us to a police station for control of identity cards. We didn’t understand why we should do that, and showed our passports to the public, chanting again the Sans Papiers Slogan. As the crowd was very supportive to our cause, police started negotiations with our Conferencieuse, while we played “L’Orange”, (Le monde est une) Cactus” and “Je suis Snob” by Boris Vian.
Finally we made the agreement with a reasonable officer, that CRS move to one side of the Square, and we leave to the other.
virginnia craven
