The megamachine must expand constantly or else collapse. So it came to be that the Hambacher Forest, already a leftover from a much vaster ancient woodland, was almost completely destroyed by the expansion of a huge coalmine, the largest in Europe. Only a small portion of the habitat was spared, owing to fierce resistance centred around numerous occupations of the forest, starting in 2012.
The Hambi has been a focal point for anti-capitalist and radical ecological struggle in Europe. The autonomous zone opened up here is comparable in size to the ZAD of Notre-Dame-des-Landes and Exarcheia in Athens. Hambi also served as a key predecessor for many other land struggles in Germany alone, of which Lützerath and the Dannenröder Wald are but the two best known examples.
All the sites of resistance explicitly mentioned here, however, have since been evicted. Yet Hambi remains autonomous to this day, a lawless place where we can do what we want. Rather than being crushed outright, Hambi has mostly been forgotten about – both by comrades and broader society – since the supposed coal-exit was announced. It would be a strange conclusion for this struggle to wither into irrelevance.
The Hambi was never “saved”. Instead of being logged directly, it was sentenced to the slow-death of having its ground water stolen by a toxic pit which continues to expand. There are plans to further exploit the region by turning it into an eco-yuppie tourist resort, complete with a yacht harbour. And in times of militarisation and increased resource scarcity, the state is only an election away from forgetting about the coal-exit and finishing off what remains of the woodland.
Moreover, the Hambach Mine is at the centre of power’s restructuring, in its own words “from coal to AI”. Microsoft is building multiple data centres on the east side of the mine, attempting to establish what some are calling the “Silicon Valley of Europe”.[3] On the west side, in Jülich, the most powerful computer in Europe has recently been installed, symbolising Germany’s entry into the AI arms race.[4] Even closer to the occupation, in Morschenich-Alt, the local mayor rattles on about building the “village of the future”, a hotspot for neocolonial tech firms.
Now is not the time to forget about the Hambi. We are calling on friends old and new to join us here, settle in, and participate in the regeneration of the occupation. There are challenges to living in a forest through the seasons. But it is also a unique living opportunity, in which structures – social structures as well as physical infrastructure – can be built free from the rules imposed by the outside world.
The door is always open to outsiders. Though with this call we invite you specifically to an event this Spring. It would be a great moment to renovate structures, deconstruct those which need it, and maybe also to build something new, depending on our priorities at the time. There is trash to collect, too, including from trees which were once occupied.
This will also be a moment to propose workshops and other happenings, as we have done at skillshares here many times before. It would be a good opportunity to talk about visions for the future of the occupation. And on April 14th, we have the 14th anniversary of the occupation itself to celebrate.
Donations of building materials would be great, especially tarps (truck tarps, no woven tarps please, they poison the forest). Tools would also be nice. Feel free to bring some vegan food for the collective kitchen.
For anarchy and high treason!
some forest dwellers
p.s. We invite you to translate and spread this call far and wide.
mail[at]hambacherforst.org
Source: Kontrapolis