WOMBLES

From Infoshop OpenWiki

The WOMBLES (White Overalls Movement Building Libertarian Effective Struggles) were started in the autumn of 2000 by a group of anarchists who were radicalised from the J18, N30, Mayday and Prague actions. Many of the ideas which had difficulty being articulated in the ready existing radical anarchist/Reclaim the Streets movement in London formed the basis of what gave birth to the WOMBLES. WOMBLES May Day 2001

As many of us met each other during the demonstrations against the IMF/World Bank summit in Prague, we wanted to recreate the experiences we all had shared, the emotions, the politics, and the passion through a movement called WOMBLES. Our name was part piss-take, part inspiration from what we had heard/seen from the white overalls movement in Italy and Prague.

What we saw in the White Overalls was an innovation, a militancy and organisation that sought to go beyond the perceptions of what it meant to struggle against capitalism. Considering our individual involvement in previous action/riots in London at the turn of the century, we saw that something similar was needed. Gothenburg 2001

So on Mayday 2001, WOMBLES had its first big outing, responding with defiance to the changing strategies of the police and repression on the growing anti-capitalist demos. Our main weapons were our bodies, minds and crash helmets. WOMBLES therefore began, we had a clean slate ready to develop a politics that we thought had something to offer. We had this mentality that anything was possible, that anything could happen, and we could be one part of that. 11 September 2001

Since the days we wore white overalls (which ended by 2002), WOMBLES have developed into being a collective of anarchists, anti-authoritarians and libertarians. The ideas that we espouse continue to be those we wish to live by - self-organisation, autonomy and solidarity.

Some of their professed aims include:

To facilitate free movement and communication during protests;
To stop attacks on demonstrators such as baton charges, horse charges, CS gas and sprays;
Be living examples of our libertarian solidarity, organisation and humour;
To promote mutual respect and protection among demonstrators.