On the trip from Garmisch to Wurzburg, my traveling companion tells me we're going through Austria to avoid the traffic around Munich. I assume this means I must have my passport handy and slip it into the front pocket of my bag. But the border turns out to be marked by no more than a blue-and-yellow road sign, which we breeze past without batting an eye on a winding road at the base of the Alps. It's no more dramatic than crossing from one state to another in the US.
I knew the EU has open borders, but still couldn't get it through my head that that means no passport control. Even though I assume my American passport will get me almost anywhere, I still can't conceive of crossing a border without a passport check. The reflex of asking for permission is deeply ingrained.
Later we are in Aachen, the westernmost city in Germany, which sits at the triangle where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet. While eating dinner at an outdoor restaurant, the couple we are staying with point to a white house on a hill. "That house is in the Netherlands." I ask them where the border is, exactly. They have to think about it, and finally decide they're not sure. Nothing marks it, after all. If not for the change in language, architecture and flags from one country to the next, you wouldn't know there was a border there at all.
Of course, this is how it should be. The ability to cross a border freely, without fear, without having to endure harassment, humiliation, or arbitrary detention, without worrying if you will be allowed out, or allowed back in, or when or if you will be able to see family and friends again...this isn't a luxury. It's a basic human right (see Article 13). But I know so many people to whom it's denied, for whom the idea of crossing a border without even hitting the brakes would be inconceivable. It was inconceivable to many Germans as little as twenty years ago. And anyone who thinks sealed borders and walls and checkpoints and controls are a thing of the past, or the purview strictly of America's enemies, should compare this post to the one on Eva Bartlett's blog describing what it's like to cross a border with a Palestinian--even on the rare occasions that that border is technically "open."
I may never fully understand what it's like to grow up a prisoner inside your own country, but I know enough to know not to take an open border for granted. It makes me grateful for the walls that have been torn down, sad and angry about the ones that still exist, but determined and hopeful--no, certain--that they will fall one day too.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
stasiland
It's probably surprising to no one who reads this blog regularly that the project I'm currently researching here in Germany is about repression and political prisoners in the GDR (aka East Germany.) How lucky for me that so many relics of repression from this not-so-long-dead dictatorship have been preserved. If you really want to understand a state, you have only to look at its prisons. And, if possible, walk through them.
The GDR was a dictatorship that called itself a democracy, and at least put on a pantomime show of acting like one. But behind the (extremely thin) facade was one of the most effective secret police forces of all time, the Ministry for State Security or Stasi, which maintained hundreds of offices across East Germany, tens of thousands of full-time agents, hundreds of thousands of informal collaborators and informers, and a mind-boggling level of surveillance over its citizens' daily lives. While other states may have been more fearsome in their use of physical violence against their own people, few can beat the GDR in the intense desire for control over the most mundane details of individuals' behavior, and the harsh punishments that were meted out for the most banal acts of resistance.
Something about the modus operandi of the GDR finally clicked for me while on the tour of the former Stasi facility at Hohenschonhausen, which is excellently preserved and today open to the public. Usually referred to as a detention center or a "remand prison," Hohenschonhausen is really a giant interrogation factory. For 102 cells (most single, a few double) there were 120 interrogation rooms. Here prisoners were made to confess to political crimes--rarely completely fabricated but often absurdly trivial--manipulated, tricked, broken, exploited, made to betray friends, family and comrades, sometimes turned into collaborators and spies for the state they once resisted. It didn't happen the way you might expect from watching a few episodes of 24. As is often the case, reality is more creative and more terrifying.
This is one of the interrogation rooms in Hohenschonhausen. Doesn't look so bad, does it? Hell, it even has curtains. Curtains! In fact it looks almost...friendly. And therein lies its deviousness. There is something indescribably creepy about a warm, sunny, friendly interrogation room. Because of course this is not a warm, sunny, friendly place at all, but ground zero for an intense and premeditated psychological assault.
Imagine yourself a political prisoner in the GDR. Perhaps you have tried to escape, been critical of a speedup at work, or simply listened to a banned western radio station. From the moment of your arrest, which is calibrated in every way to be as terrifying and disorienting as possible, you are kept in an environment of intense isolation. Not just physical isolation in the form of solitary confinement, but isolation from information, from news of your family or your own potential fate, from anything familiar and even from the merest scrap of human contact with guards and other prisoners. You are referred to by number, spoken to only in orders, and forced to look at the floor when being moved through the prison so as to not even glimpse the faces of your guards. An elaborate system of signal lights ensures that you will never pass a fellow inmate in the halls while being taken to and from interrogation. Alone, with no stimulus but your own thoughts, you inevitably imagine the worst.
Of course if you are starved for human contact, exhausted, frightened, with no idea what fate awaits you or even if anyone knows you are here, having had enough time alone to conjure up all your own unique worst nightmares, you are ripe for psychological manipulation. You may perhaps be easily disarmed by a friendly man who offers cake, coffee, a cigarette, maybe even a smile, in a sunny room that looks no more sinister than an office. If that doesn't work there is another man (called in, unbeknownst to you, by a secret button under the desk) who is a lot less friendly, who tells you in no uncertain terms what they can do to you and to anyone you care about. Threats to family, loved ones, destruction of your career, long imprisonment, even death--you can bet they have researched, they have watched you, and decided which will cut the deepest. And in this environment where they have total control, who are you not to believe they can carry out their threats? Oh, but on the contrary, all can be forgiven...freedom, safety, maybe even a promotion or a bump up in the queue for a new apartment...all this can be yours. If only you sign this piece of paper.
By now you're probably starting to see the evil genius of this system. Without a single blow or a drop of blood, thousands are made to confess. To me there is something uniquely diabolical about the cleanliness of it all. Everything projects a sense of absolute power. The message is: "We're so overwhelmingly in control, we don't even need to hurt you to get what we want. We can break you without leaving a scratch."
Of course, those who ran the repressive machinery projected the image that this process is infallible and you cannot resist. And of course that is not true. There are always resisters--I'm reading the story of one now. And if there was one, there were others. But after visiting Hohenschonhausen I can fully understand the fury of the well-organized crowds when they stormed Stasi offices all over the country after the Berlin Wall fell, and weight of the message graffitied on the wall of the Stasi headquarters in Berlin: "You've watched us long enough--get out!"
The GDR was a dictatorship that called itself a democracy, and at least put on a pantomime show of acting like one. But behind the (extremely thin) facade was one of the most effective secret police forces of all time, the Ministry for State Security or Stasi, which maintained hundreds of offices across East Germany, tens of thousands of full-time agents, hundreds of thousands of informal collaborators and informers, and a mind-boggling level of surveillance over its citizens' daily lives. While other states may have been more fearsome in their use of physical violence against their own people, few can beat the GDR in the intense desire for control over the most mundane details of individuals' behavior, and the harsh punishments that were meted out for the most banal acts of resistance.
Something about the modus operandi of the GDR finally clicked for me while on the tour of the former Stasi facility at Hohenschonhausen, which is excellently preserved and today open to the public. Usually referred to as a detention center or a "remand prison," Hohenschonhausen is really a giant interrogation factory. For 102 cells (most single, a few double) there were 120 interrogation rooms. Here prisoners were made to confess to political crimes--rarely completely fabricated but often absurdly trivial--manipulated, tricked, broken, exploited, made to betray friends, family and comrades, sometimes turned into collaborators and spies for the state they once resisted. It didn't happen the way you might expect from watching a few episodes of 24. As is often the case, reality is more creative and more terrifying.
This is one of the interrogation rooms in Hohenschonhausen. Doesn't look so bad, does it? Hell, it even has curtains. Curtains! In fact it looks almost...friendly. And therein lies its deviousness. There is something indescribably creepy about a warm, sunny, friendly interrogation room. Because of course this is not a warm, sunny, friendly place at all, but ground zero for an intense and premeditated psychological assault.Imagine yourself a political prisoner in the GDR. Perhaps you have tried to escape, been critical of a speedup at work, or simply listened to a banned western radio station. From the moment of your arrest, which is calibrated in every way to be as terrifying and disorienting as possible, you are kept in an environment of intense isolation. Not just physical isolation in the form of solitary confinement, but isolation from information, from news of your family or your own potential fate, from anything familiar and even from the merest scrap of human contact with guards and other prisoners. You are referred to by number, spoken to only in orders, and forced to look at the floor when being moved through the prison so as to not even glimpse the faces of your guards. An elaborate system of signal lights ensures that you will never pass a fellow inmate in the halls while being taken to and from interrogation. Alone, with no stimulus but your own thoughts, you inevitably imagine the worst.
Of course if you are starved for human contact, exhausted, frightened, with no idea what fate awaits you or even if anyone knows you are here, having had enough time alone to conjure up all your own unique worst nightmares, you are ripe for psychological manipulation. You may perhaps be easily disarmed by a friendly man who offers cake, coffee, a cigarette, maybe even a smile, in a sunny room that looks no more sinister than an office. If that doesn't work there is another man (called in, unbeknownst to you, by a secret button under the desk) who is a lot less friendly, who tells you in no uncertain terms what they can do to you and to anyone you care about. Threats to family, loved ones, destruction of your career, long imprisonment, even death--you can bet they have researched, they have watched you, and decided which will cut the deepest. And in this environment where they have total control, who are you not to believe they can carry out their threats? Oh, but on the contrary, all can be forgiven...freedom, safety, maybe even a promotion or a bump up in the queue for a new apartment...all this can be yours. If only you sign this piece of paper.
By now you're probably starting to see the evil genius of this system. Without a single blow or a drop of blood, thousands are made to confess. To me there is something uniquely diabolical about the cleanliness of it all. Everything projects a sense of absolute power. The message is: "We're so overwhelmingly in control, we don't even need to hurt you to get what we want. We can break you without leaving a scratch."
Of course, those who ran the repressive machinery projected the image that this process is infallible and you cannot resist. And of course that is not true. There are always resisters--I'm reading the story of one now. And if there was one, there were others. But after visiting Hohenschonhausen I can fully understand the fury of the well-organized crowds when they stormed Stasi offices all over the country after the Berlin Wall fell, and weight of the message graffitied on the wall of the Stasi headquarters in Berlin: "You've watched us long enough--get out!"
Sunday, June 27, 2010
berlin
I'm currently in Berlin, researching a project set in East Germany...or the GDR (German Democratic Republic) as it's more precisely known...or the DDR if you use the German-language abbreviation.
The same thing can have a lot of names here, given the vagaries of language and politics. The Stasi, the dreaded East German secret police agency that features prominently into the research I'm doing, is also referred to as the MfS, using the German abbreviation of its full name, Ministry for State Security. The Berlin Wall (inside Berlin) or Inner German Border (across the whole country) was the Anti-Fascist Protection Wall to the GDR government...although a cursory glance at its design will reveal its intent was to keep East Germans in, not fascists out.
Berlin is a lovely city, chill and inviting despite all the waves of history that have crashed over it. Or perhaps because of them. A first-time visitor will be surprised at how modern the architecture in this historic city is--until he or she remembers that great swaths of it were leveled during WWII. Twenty years after reunification, the dividing line between East and West has been almost completely erased. Other than in official monuments--of which there are many, some excellent, others cheesy--it remains only in codes and shadows: a street name here, an unrenovated building there. And traffic lights. For some reason the East German-style traffic lights have become a kind of fetish object. There is a whole store selling items detailed with the little green walking man in the hat and his red counterpart, standing still with his arms out straight to the sides.
I have much more to say about the history I've been learning, which I'll save for another post, coming shortly. Suffice to say it's fascinating and I'm excited to be here. Oh, and the public transportation is excellent.
The same thing can have a lot of names here, given the vagaries of language and politics. The Stasi, the dreaded East German secret police agency that features prominently into the research I'm doing, is also referred to as the MfS, using the German abbreviation of its full name, Ministry for State Security. The Berlin Wall (inside Berlin) or Inner German Border (across the whole country) was the Anti-Fascist Protection Wall to the GDR government...although a cursory glance at its design will reveal its intent was to keep East Germans in, not fascists out.
Berlin is a lovely city, chill and inviting despite all the waves of history that have crashed over it. Or perhaps because of them. A first-time visitor will be surprised at how modern the architecture in this historic city is--until he or she remembers that great swaths of it were leveled during WWII. Twenty years after reunification, the dividing line between East and West has been almost completely erased. Other than in official monuments--of which there are many, some excellent, others cheesy--it remains only in codes and shadows: a street name here, an unrenovated building there. And traffic lights. For some reason the East German-style traffic lights have become a kind of fetish object. There is a whole store selling items detailed with the little green walking man in the hat and his red counterpart, standing still with his arms out straight to the sides.
I have much more to say about the history I've been learning, which I'll save for another post, coming shortly. Suffice to say it's fascinating and I'm excited to be here. Oh, and the public transportation is excellent.
Monday, June 21, 2010
leaving the left coast
It's official. I moved out of LA. I'm in Baltimore at my parents' house right now, but I'll be departing for about two months of international travel shortly: a month in Germany, where I'll be researching a script, then a week back here in the States, then three weeks in the Middle East.
I moved out of my LA apartment, and while I'll probably be back in LA for a visit in September, I have no plans to live there in the immediate future. For the next two months, although my mail, my cats and most of my possessions will go to my parents' house, I won't really be living anywhere. I find this prospect pretty awesome.
I'll be updating my blog as much as possible during my travels. I may not be able to post too much about the project I'm working on in Germany, but I will definitely post my impressions of Germany. So far in life I've managed to hit up places like Russia, Mexico and the Occupied Palestinian Territories but have somehow missed out on western Europe. I've been told I must try the bratwurst with cheese.
I moved out of my LA apartment, and while I'll probably be back in LA for a visit in September, I have no plans to live there in the immediate future. For the next two months, although my mail, my cats and most of my possessions will go to my parents' house, I won't really be living anywhere. I find this prospect pretty awesome.
I'll be updating my blog as much as possible during my travels. I may not be able to post too much about the project I'm working on in Germany, but I will definitely post my impressions of Germany. So far in life I've managed to hit up places like Russia, Mexico and the Occupied Palestinian Territories but have somehow missed out on western Europe. I've been told I must try the bratwurst with cheese.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
nyt discovers gazans are people
The New York Times Week in Review has a small but surprisingly human portrait of Gaza in the work of freelance photojournalist Katie Orlinsky.
You may note how Eitan Bronner can't resist trying to spin this into a "look, the siege isn't that bad--people are shopping!" story. But Ms. Orlinsky's words and photographs speak for themselves--particularly the final, devastating shot of pregnant widow Wesam Fahim Dardona in what looks to be her ruined, fire-blackened house. That photo should win a prize.
And, Bronner propaganda aside, Orlinsky has captured a particular, unique and ephemeral quality of Gaza, one that's difficult to explain to those who haven't been there: the way life goes on, somehow, in the shadow of war and siege; the way normalcy and even joy rub shoulders with appalling destruction; the constant back-and-forth pull between hope and annihilation, and what a miracle it is that the latter has not yet won.
I can't help thinking that showing Gazans as normal people who do normal things, like shop and go to the beach and go to school, is a step forward for the New York Times. And I don't think this story would have even run if not for the Freedom Flotilla and the spotlight it's shown on Gaza.
You may note how Eitan Bronner can't resist trying to spin this into a "look, the siege isn't that bad--people are shopping!" story. But Ms. Orlinsky's words and photographs speak for themselves--particularly the final, devastating shot of pregnant widow Wesam Fahim Dardona in what looks to be her ruined, fire-blackened house. That photo should win a prize.
And, Bronner propaganda aside, Orlinsky has captured a particular, unique and ephemeral quality of Gaza, one that's difficult to explain to those who haven't been there: the way life goes on, somehow, in the shadow of war and siege; the way normalcy and even joy rub shoulders with appalling destruction; the constant back-and-forth pull between hope and annihilation, and what a miracle it is that the latter has not yet won.
I can't help thinking that showing Gazans as normal people who do normal things, like shop and go to the beach and go to school, is a step forward for the New York Times. And I don't think this story would have even run if not for the Freedom Flotilla and the spotlight it's shown on Gaza.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
my reading list
The US news media is terrible. It's really almost inconceivably shitty.
I know, this is hardly a revelation. But I was reminded of it afresh after talking to several progressive friends/relatives who had been relying on mainstream American news sources (albeit liberal ones) for news of the Freedom Flotilla massacre, and realizing that the gap between their knowledge of those events and mine was a chasm. And these were people who'd been actively trying to find something other than the stream of utter bullshit known as the official Israeli propaganda line.
This made me to stop and think about where I get my news, particularly about Palestine and the Middle East, and reminded me that I shouldn't keep those sources to myself. So I've made a short, entirely non-exhaustive list of the news sources I routinely go to when I want the truth, in the hopes that you too, dear reader, will have a light to turn to when the unrelenting barrage of crap that passes for news in the United States gets you down.
I don't check all of these sources every day. But if you read even one of them once a week, you'll probably be better informed than the vast majority of Americans.
MSM (that's Mainstream Media for the uninitiated)
The Guardian--if you only read one source for international news, read The Guardian. This British daily also has one of the best websites I've ever seen, with an incredible editorial/commentary section, Comment Is Free, that allows way more diversity of opinion on a huge variety of topics than would ever fit in a print edition.
Al Jazeera English--sometimes awesome, sometimes inane, but they actually have correspondents on the ground in places where shit happens in the Middle East, and no squeamishness about showing the reality of war. You can watch the TV channel online on their website.
Haaretz--the "liberal" Israeli daily. There are serious limits to liberalism in Israel, but you'll often find more debate about the wisdom of Israeli policy here than in the pages of the New York Times.
Alternative Media
There are many great alternative radio programs, all of which can be listened to online from anywhere in the world now, but Democracy Now! still holds the gold standard.
Socialist Worker--whenever I want not just facts, but analysis of the significance of particular events, this is the first place I turn. The newspaper of the International Socialist Organization had a crap website for years, but they've made up for it in the past couple by developing an awesome site that's updated daily during the week. With literally hundreds of volunteer reporters embedded in the front lines of every struggle around the country, and links to smart and insightful commentators around the world, the SW website has become a one-stop shop for grassroots activist news. I'm a particular fan of the new Critical Reading blog, collecting the best reporting and analysis from other news sources around the interwebs.
Blogs/Websites
Electronic Intifada--a great all-around news source for all things Palestine.
Mondoweiss--excellent commentary on Israel/Palestine by a variety of writers, with a particular focus on the American Jewish community.
In Gaza--Eva Bartlett's blog from Gaza, where she's been for about 18 months now. Along with Tales to Tell, this was my primary news source during Operation Cast Lead.
Jewbonics--the blog of another friend who's on the ground in Gaza now, with a focus on Jewish anti-Zionism, but also many fantastic eyewitness reports from Gaza.
Twitter
For a long time I didn't get Twitter. Then came #iranelection, and a bunch of people realized Twitter had incredible potential as a grassroots, from-the-front-lines news source. Even in situations where you may not have internet access, there is almost always someone with a cell phone. This makes Twitter an ideal medium for communicating instant news updates from rapidly developing situations like protests--I used it during the Gaza Freedom March, then followed people on Viva Palestina 3, and it was my primary news source during the Flotilla massacre. I don't go on Twitter every day because it's a definite time-sucker. But for breaking news, I can't recommend it enough.
I know, this is hardly a revelation. But I was reminded of it afresh after talking to several progressive friends/relatives who had been relying on mainstream American news sources (albeit liberal ones) for news of the Freedom Flotilla massacre, and realizing that the gap between their knowledge of those events and mine was a chasm. And these were people who'd been actively trying to find something other than the stream of utter bullshit known as the official Israeli propaganda line.
This made me to stop and think about where I get my news, particularly about Palestine and the Middle East, and reminded me that I shouldn't keep those sources to myself. So I've made a short, entirely non-exhaustive list of the news sources I routinely go to when I want the truth, in the hopes that you too, dear reader, will have a light to turn to when the unrelenting barrage of crap that passes for news in the United States gets you down.
I don't check all of these sources every day. But if you read even one of them once a week, you'll probably be better informed than the vast majority of Americans.
MSM (that's Mainstream Media for the uninitiated)
The Guardian--if you only read one source for international news, read The Guardian. This British daily also has one of the best websites I've ever seen, with an incredible editorial/commentary section, Comment Is Free, that allows way more diversity of opinion on a huge variety of topics than would ever fit in a print edition.
Al Jazeera English--sometimes awesome, sometimes inane, but they actually have correspondents on the ground in places where shit happens in the Middle East, and no squeamishness about showing the reality of war. You can watch the TV channel online on their website.
Haaretz--the "liberal" Israeli daily. There are serious limits to liberalism in Israel, but you'll often find more debate about the wisdom of Israeli policy here than in the pages of the New York Times.
Alternative Media
There are many great alternative radio programs, all of which can be listened to online from anywhere in the world now, but Democracy Now! still holds the gold standard.
Socialist Worker--whenever I want not just facts, but analysis of the significance of particular events, this is the first place I turn. The newspaper of the International Socialist Organization had a crap website for years, but they've made up for it in the past couple by developing an awesome site that's updated daily during the week. With literally hundreds of volunteer reporters embedded in the front lines of every struggle around the country, and links to smart and insightful commentators around the world, the SW website has become a one-stop shop for grassroots activist news. I'm a particular fan of the new Critical Reading blog, collecting the best reporting and analysis from other news sources around the interwebs.
Blogs/Websites
Electronic Intifada--a great all-around news source for all things Palestine.
Mondoweiss--excellent commentary on Israel/Palestine by a variety of writers, with a particular focus on the American Jewish community.
In Gaza--Eva Bartlett's blog from Gaza, where she's been for about 18 months now. Along with Tales to Tell, this was my primary news source during Operation Cast Lead.
Jewbonics--the blog of another friend who's on the ground in Gaza now, with a focus on Jewish anti-Zionism, but also many fantastic eyewitness reports from Gaza.
For a long time I didn't get Twitter. Then came #iranelection, and a bunch of people realized Twitter had incredible potential as a grassroots, from-the-front-lines news source. Even in situations where you may not have internet access, there is almost always someone with a cell phone. This makes Twitter an ideal medium for communicating instant news updates from rapidly developing situations like protests--I used it during the Gaza Freedom March, then followed people on Viva Palestina 3, and it was my primary news source during the Flotilla massacre. I don't go on Twitter every day because it's a definite time-sucker. But for breaking news, I can't recommend it enough.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
one if by land, two if by sea
If Israel's goal with the Flotilla massacre was to deter future grassroots siege-breaking efforts, well, let's just say EPIC FAIL on that one.
Already, activists in Lebanon and a spokesperson from the Iranian Red Crescent have pledged to send ships to Gaza in the coming weeks. While the thought of what Israel might do to ships sailing from the ports of two of its sworn enemies is pretty frightening, I think Israeli propagandists are going to have a harder time spinning this one: German Jews bringing candy and musical instruments, both currently banned under the blockade of Gaza.
And then there's this. Viva Palestina founder George Galloway, speaking to a crowd of 20,000 in London as part of the global day of action to break the siege on Gaza on June 5, announcing what very well may be the Convoy to End All Convoys:
The details are now up on the Viva Palestina wesbite. (Scroll down a bit to "Dear Friends of Palestine"...I really wish they'd make their news items separate clickable links.) Departing September 12, joint sea and land convoys will attempt to simultaneously break the blockade at the two points where it's been cracked before--the Rafah crossing and the Mediterranean--and thus "render the siege null and void."
If this sounds like the international solidarity version of a David Lean epic...well, it kinda is. And I kinda really want to go. Who knows how things will develop in the next several months, but I have a feeling this is gonna be one for the history books.
Already, activists in Lebanon and a spokesperson from the Iranian Red Crescent have pledged to send ships to Gaza in the coming weeks. While the thought of what Israel might do to ships sailing from the ports of two of its sworn enemies is pretty frightening, I think Israeli propagandists are going to have a harder time spinning this one: German Jews bringing candy and musical instruments, both currently banned under the blockade of Gaza.
And then there's this. Viva Palestina founder George Galloway, speaking to a crowd of 20,000 in London as part of the global day of action to break the siege on Gaza on June 5, announcing what very well may be the Convoy to End All Convoys:
The details are now up on the Viva Palestina wesbite. (Scroll down a bit to "Dear Friends of Palestine"...I really wish they'd make their news items separate clickable links.) Departing September 12, joint sea and land convoys will attempt to simultaneously break the blockade at the two points where it's been cracked before--the Rafah crossing and the Mediterranean--and thus "render the siege null and void."
If this sounds like the international solidarity version of a David Lean epic...well, it kinda is. And I kinda really want to go. Who knows how things will develop in the next several months, but I have a feeling this is gonna be one for the history books.
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