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Eyewitness from Sintraemcali Occupation #4
Inside Robin Hood Tower

SINTRAEMCALI OCCUPATION: EYEWITNESS UPDATE 4

The People Inside Robin Hood Tower
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The CAM Tower, Cali, Colombia
Thursday, 17th January

Late on Wednesday night I managed to get authorisation from the local
mayor as a Human Rights Observer to enter the occupied building, a
reflection of both the power of the union, and also the contradictory
position that the mayor is in.  On the one hand he is a mayor of the
people, on the other he is locked into the government with all its
responsibilities and limitations. This dual position has meant that he
is now both friend and foe of the unions' demands, and the balance
between the two will no doubt be revealed in the next few days as
negotiations begin between the union, the Minister of Labour and the
mayor. 

Moving through the police cordon I slowly walked through no-man's land
and as the door opened I was greeted with 'what's up Novelli?' from a
voice I recognised but whose face was covered with a balaclava. I smiled
and they locked the door.  I was inside the 17-storey EMCALI tower, the
central administration building of one of the biggest companies in
Colombia, and it was in the hands of the workers.  As masks were taken
off I was greeted with hugs and handshakes, and moved on through the
building, up the stairs and towards the general manager's office within
which Alexander Lopez Maya, president of SINTRAEMCALI, and the board of
directors organise the occupation both inside and outside. 

Alexander is an example to us all of what it means to be committed to
social change.  At thirty three, he has already survived three
assassination attempts, and leads the union by example with sacrifice,
courage and honesty.  You can't help but trust him, and he has created a
sense of undying loyalty to the cause which an army general would be
proud of.  He is a charismatic figure, a true working class hero, who
has decided that the only way to move forward in Colombia is to stop
being afraid.  Once you break the fear then the system doesn't look so
strong after all, and the impossible seems to become a concrete goal.
We chat for a while about family and friends, about Andy and Gloria and
the members of the campaign in England, my studies, and, of course, the
occupation.  He looks remarkably relaxed as he converses with me,
directs people around him, answers the phone and fiddles with his video
camera.  He is the exception that proves the rule, a male multi-tasker
who operates on so many levels at the same time that he makes me tired
just watching him.  He was born to lead the struggle, and all of us that
are close to him are prepared to do whatever we can to keep him alive. 

I meet up with some old friends, and Aydee a colleague from the Human
Rights Department of the union suggests a guided tour of the newly named
'Robin Hood Tower', and we are on the move again. I am taken first to
the 'barakeros' (the toughest ones).  They have spent the last 22 days
sleeping on the roof in a makeshift tent, ensuring that the police don't
storm the building from the roof.  We decide to have an impromptu
meeting, and I ask them about how they are doing, and they ask me what
is going on with the international solidarity work, and in the world in
general.  I talk a bit about the picket outside the Colombian Embassy,
the meetings, the bulletin, and the contacts in the unions and social
organisations in Britain.  They remember the people from the delegation
that came, and ask about them. We talk of Argentina, of the war in
Afghanistan, and where the cracks in the system are appearing.  

I tell them how they are an example to us all, of dignity in struggle,
and that for me, they are for the workers' movement what the Zapatistas
were for the armed struggle.  A new and exciting organisation that
transcends the limits of a trade union and becomes more like a social
movement - new social trade unionism which fights not just for higher
wages and better conditions for themselves, but places the power of the
working class institution at the service of the community.  They smile,
and I can feel their pride. 

The whole occupation has been built around the idea of the social role
of the union, and the work in the communities is bearing the fruit of
solidarity which grows day by day.  The fact that all services have been
maintained during the occupation is a further example of this: "our
struggle is not against the people, but against this government and the
corrupt oligarchy" is a phrase often repeated.  There have been some
complaints, of course, particularly from those nearby residents who have
to listen to loudspeakers playing messages of support and popular
protest songs to those inside, but what's a few sleepness nights
compared with the immensity of the social problems in the city? 

I carry on on my guided tour.  The building wasn't made for all these
people, and it is remarkable that everyone seems so calm and relaxed.
The whole building is run with precision, with workers having shifts to
patrol the building, keep the place clean, man the phones, and deal with
the running of the services.  I chat with Monica, a telephone operator,
and ask her how things are going.  She tells me that she misses her
family, but that she has a family here too.  It hasn't been easy for any
of them. The government never thought that Colombians, so famous for
their love of family and celebrations, would occupy on Christmas Day.
They were wrong.  She tells me how beautiful New Year's Eve was when
thousands descended on the tower, blocking all the roads, and at
midnight lighting candles in solidarity with those inside.  

I spend some time with Guillermo, a 54 year-old first mechanic who is
mopping the floors.  He tells me how he worked as a second chef for many
years on a boat, and so this life is not so different for him.  He has
also been in all of the previous three occupations that the union has
carried out to defend the company.  When he goes on to the balcony he
puts a mask and a wig on, and looks completely insane.  But all this in
one way or another is madness, and the president's nickname is, after
all,  "El Loco" (the crazy one).  It is madness because they are
supposed to know their place, and not do these things.  I'm glad that I
am mad too.  

Mario Novelli


Mario Novelli will be speaking immediately on his return from Colombia at

4pm Saturday 2nd February, CORAS Centre, 161 Lambeth Walk, SE11.
(nearest tubes Vauxhall or North Lambeth), the monthly meeting of the
Colombia Solidarity Campaign.

Eyewitness from Sintraemcali Occupation | Noticias sobre Colombia | Plan Colombia | AGP