LUTZERATH – Talking to ANF people in Lützerath talked about their current struggle and resistance. Thousands of climate justice activists are expected today to demonstrate against the eviction of Lützerath and the continued digging of lignite by the energy company RWE. In Keyenberg, one of the neighboring villages of Lützerath, an alternative camp was set up, where the protest is now forming during the eviction. There is also a representative of the feminist organization “Fighting Together”. She spoke to activists from the Lützerath resistance on site.
What is your protest against?
S: So specifically against the demolition of the village of Lützerath and against the lignite industry, which is embodied here by RWE.
P: I think the lowest common denominator here is that energy production from lignite and other fossil fuels is no longer acceptable in view of the climate crisis. And in a growing circle, this is combined with a criticism of the capitalist economy, which will not bring any solutions, but only more and more crises.
And what are you fighting for here?
C: In the larger context for an energy transition and for a new way of doing politics.
P: And of course this is about climate justice.
C: And also for a society where we meet our basic needs in a way that is not at the expense of other people. And by that I don’t just mean the people who are affected by lignite mining here in the region, but all people worldwide. In recent years, the topic of anti-colonialism has become more present in the climate justice movement in Germany. We can also see that the global struggles belong together from the solidarity greetings that the squatters in Lützerath received from the Zapatistas from Mexico and Rojava.
P: We also try to live together in solidarity here in the camp. Although the whole camp here is drowning (laughs), there are people who clean the toilets, cook and are there for each other. And the whole thing is freed from the logic of exchange and the obligation to exploit.
E: I would also say that in Lützerath and now also here in the camp we are creating a space where we can try out other forms of social organization and develop them further.
Do you think we can still save Lützerath?
P: At this point in time, I don’t think the village can be saved. Unfortunately, we will not be able to maintain the structures that have been set up there in the long term, the state and the entire repressive apparatus are simply too powerful.
Why are you still here?
P: Because it’s not just about this village, it’s about much more. It’s about resistance to fossil capitalism. Even if Lützerath falls and is excavated and the coal underneath has already been burned, our resistance will live on.
E: It’s also about building a movement that will continue to exist beyond Lützerath.
C: Well, I also think that places like Lützerath or climate camps are important places for politicization. Ultimately, it is a space to renegotiate collective needs and develop new perspectives.
The media discourse about Lützerath is currently pervaded by the debate on violence. How do you feel about militancy?
S: I think it’s important to differentiate what is actually meant by violence. I find it absolutely justifiable to oppose this systemic violence with a certain form of violence. For me, violence against infrastructure and private property is absolutely justifiable, especially when it is owned by large corporations. In relation to violence against people, the question is more difficult.
P: For me, militancy is a form of resistance that goes beyond the bourgeois notion of law and order, of legality and illegality. This includes property damage and offensive action against the police. I just think that burning tires or flying stones are no comparison to the violence that emanates from the state system. A system that is already killing people today. Much of Pakistan was flooded this summer, people are losing their homes. That cannot be compared with each other.
E: It is often pretended that we are attacking someone and ignoring that it is self-defense. We are defending a place here where we have organized ourselves and built our own structures. For many of us, Lützerath is our home. We are fighting here to ensure that people can still inhabit this planet for many generations to come and that this is a future worth living in. The media portrays us as violent, but in the end they protect the existing system in which human lives are constantly endangered.
What’s next for you after Lützerath has been evacuated?
P: Well I would say, speaking for myself, once the village has been cleared it will only make me angrier and more determined. The criticism of lignite and the whole “climate issue” has meanwhile reached the dominant society. However, attempts are now being made to secure the capitalist status quo with bogus solutions such as LNG [liquefied natural gas] or hydrogen. As a movement, we should do everything we can to oppose this.
S: I would also like a reflection on the extent to which the previous strategies of the climate justice movement promise success. And I would like us to start thinking about how we can anchor the climate movement even more firmly in society. I think it’s crucial here that we connect fights even further.
What fight’s?
P: Social and ecological issues must be considered together, we agree on that here. However, contact with the labor movement is still sparse or non-existent. I also find it very important to strengthen connections to queer-feminist, anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles.
S: There are so many people here who are taking action against the system. Seeing that and not fighting alone is what gives me the most hope.
E: I always feel a little cheesy saying it, but it’s the little moments here at the camps that bring me to tears. For example, we were shuttled by a local person who proudly told us about her 16-year-old child who is involved in the fight for Lützerath. And then I always notice that it makes me emotional, which briefly feels like a weakness. But then think that it is also a strength and that it is nice and important to be there with your heart. And that also gives me hope for the future.
C: It always gives me a lot of hope to get to a place where self-organization works. For example how the reproductive work is done here and how everyone feels responsible for it together. This just shows that it is possible to organize yourself differently. Of course, the question remains as to how we can carry this lived utopia out into the larger society, out of our bubble.
P: I can agree with that. We often forget that we really are many people. So many people have stayed here in Lützerath for hours, despite the rain and cold, and they give so much strength to this fight. I believe that we can really change something if we keep going and organize ourselves well.
Thank you for your time and energy!
