NEAG 2024 HIGHLIGHTS: A YEAR OF SOLIDARITY
Considering the prevalence of social media in getting information out into the local area and beyond, whether it be to show what we have been up to as a group, to share posts and actions in solidarity, or to advertise our own actions and events, we often neglect other means of archiving our activities. Considering anarchist and radical groups are often shunned by the mainstream media, and considering the often DIY nature of our activities, it made me particularly concerned to think that if we ever lost out Instagram account, a lot of the history of what we got up to as a group would be lost. Therefore, I was inspired to make this short write-up of our activities in 2024, roughly month by month with a few comments at the end about the more regular stuff we get up to.
Let’s look back at 2024 for NEAG (in a very brief summary/the highlights that is, even I have forgotten half the stuff we got up to, think of this as the main thing we did each month).
January started, as it often does for us as a group, with a trip to the Derry Radical Bookfair to see our Irish comrades, to participate in their bookfair activities, and to march alongside them in the Bloody Sunday Commemorative March.
In February, we spend a lot of time protesting and taking part in actions outside of the Israeli-owned Rafael Arms Factory in Newcastle. The factory-of-death in question is unfortunately still standing, and we hope to continue, alongside other groups and individuals in fighting to shut it down for good.
In March, we hosted a talk on Squatting in the North-East. This talk came from us helping to organise an anarchist queer squat party fundraiser after 2023’s Ewan Brown Newcastle Anarchist Bookfair. Considering the squat party both showed that squatting in that way was possible in the North-East, and the fact it raised a lot of money and brought such an amazing community of people together, we wanted to share our knowledge about squatting and get more people involved. The day got a good turnout and a lot of people more clued-up on what we did in 2023, what worked, and how to replicate it in the future.
April saw us support the 1st ‘March to Rafael’ (the very same Israeli death factory mentioned in Feb). This march saw a massive turnout of people marching against the presence of this factory in our local community, and it was a sight to behold so many people marching through the streets of Newcastle in support of Palestine, and it was great that as a group we could support it and throw our organisational weight behind the preparations.
By the time May came around, both the Newcastle and Durham University Palestine Solidarity Encampments had begun. We provided solidarity and support in a multitude of ways, including; attending events and actions, providing food and other supplies, hosting talks (such as one on prisoner writing), helping to set up community libraries and gardens at the camps, and trying to give as much general support as possible. Both of these camps have helped to sustain two active Palestine solidarity groups on both campuses in question, and we continue to support them when they need it. Both these camps brought a lot of new people into the local scene and the local anarchist scene especially, which was amazing to see.
June, as usual, saw us attending the Ewan Brown Newcastle Anarchist Bookfair, held in memory of our dearly missed comrade Ewan Brown. We had a stall and also hosted a well-attended talk on prisoner writing, which included both a how-to guide and also a discussion on why we should write to our comrades on the inside. The bookfair is always a beautiful day and it was lovely to meet so many new people and to catch up with old friends.
July, also as usual, saw us attend the Durham Miner’s Gala. This year our usual anarchist march joined the Palestine march. It was a lovely display of solidarity to see such a march at a massive event like the gala. Unfortunately, the weather was quite bad, and we did receive verbal abuse for our support of Palestine, which we condemn in the strongest possible terms, and also stress the fact that the organisers of the gala had expressed their support for Palestine, demonstating that those that hurled abuse at the bloc we’re not representative of the gala as a whole. The gala is always a strange affair for us, with quite a lot of the more radical aspects of the gala being slowly diluted in favour of speeches from politicians and mainstream unions, and the day being seen more as a social event than a celebration of local radical political tradition. Despite this, the day was a success and brought a lot of friends old and new together to march and to enjoy each other’s company after, and to show our solidarity with Palestine.
August saw the fascist menace rear its ugly head into the mainstream once again in the North-East and beyond. Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, and Middlesborough (among other places locally) all saw fascist riots or threats of fascist riots. We did what we could; we became a source of sharing as much information as we could find on local fascist movements, alongide organising and bolstering local anti-fascist actions. We maintained a radical anti-fascist position, and refused to compromise with the police, or with pacifist elements. Unfortunately, a demo we helped organise in Newcastle was successfully co-opted by the SWP, which is often their style. It goes without saying fuck the SWP (https://linktr.ee/fuckswp), but despite that, we showed we could mobilise ourselves to growing fascist threats and bolster our local communities to resist their hatred.
September came around with us attending quite a few gigs organised by friend of the group Conviction Records, where we would run informational stalls with zines and info on anarchism and local actions and campaigns to get involved with. The local hardcore-punk scene is becoming better every passing month thanks to Conviction Records and many other local labels, venues, and bands putting in the work to organise stuff. We hosted a gig in late 2023 and it could not have been done without this local support. We will also take this opportunity to shout out Kill Your Landlord records who did a great fundraiser for Palestine in 2024 which we also had a stall at, and also the Lubberfiend, a local DIY music venue that has always been very kind to the group.
In October, we helped to organise an anti-terf demo in Morpeth to counter the known fascist-terf Posie Parker. Parker occasionally decides to appear in the North-East every now and then and is always humiliated by the concerted efforts of the local community, and this time was absolutely no exception, with many Morpeth locals joining us and expressing solidarity which we we’re thrilled to see. Furthermore, we also organised a skillshare in October at the Star and Shadow Cinema in Newcastle.
November saw us throw support behind the 2nd march to Rafael (organised by People Against Rafael, Newcastle PSC, and various other local groups), with similar turnouts and expressions of solidarity as before. December saw us providing arrestee support when several comrades got arrested and brutalised after a protest outside of the Rafael arms factory.
More generally over the entire year, we hosted a monthly prisoner writing workshop all across the North-East, and we also got a fair few articles onto our website which you can check out here! There is also a wealth of stuff that occurs behind the scenes that we do to help support local campaigns, activists, and those fighting for a better world from our local community (and beyond!).
From all of us at NEAG, we hope your end to 2024 was as good as it could have been considering the exploited and burning world we find ourselves living in. We hope to see you in 2025 as the struggle continues for a freer and more just world.
In memory of all those who we lost in 2024 in the struggle for freedom, justice, and a life worth living.
Anarchy Now, Anarchy Forever
(Like what you saw and want to get involved and help us do more cool stuff? Drop us an email or DM us on social media, and we can sort something out)
