Sheffield Feature Archive

The Bhopal Disaster of 1984 killed thousands of people in the Indian city of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. It was caused by the accidental release of forty tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) from a Union Carbide pesticide plant located in the heart of the city. This event remains the worst industrial disaster in history with significant injuries to at least 50,000 people.

The MIC leak began shortly after midnight on December 3, 1984. The vapors killed more than 2,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others, some 6,000 of whom would later die from their injuries.

To commemorate the lives lost in the disaster Sheffield Indymedia has arranged for a screening of the film Bhopal Express to be shown at 6:30pm Sunday 5th December at The Showroom Cinema in Sheffield with all proceeds from the film to be donated to the Bhopal Medical Appeal.

Indymedia India has a number of articles about the disaster: Fast for clean up of Bhopal Factory Site | Cloud over Bhopal | Students at 60 Colleges on Five Continents Demand Justice

See also: Wikipedia: Bhopal Disaster | Website of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal | Website of Students for Bhopal, the student network for justice in Bhopal

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Friday 12th to Sunday 14th November 2004 - 3 days of films from the frontlines of the fight against capitalism

....Political and social commentary, satire, agitprop, direct action, counterculture.....

@ Sheffield Independent Film, 5 Brown Street, S1 2BS, just down the road from the Showroom where the Sheffield International Documentary Festival is taking place.

Donations on the door appreciated, see the server appeal for why funds are needed!

Come down and watch some films and hang out - also books and direct action info.

Films include: XXI Century | 4th World War | Kilometer Zero | In Whose Interest | Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election | Genoa Red Zone | Outfoxed | Chlorine

FILM TIMETABLE: Friday | Saturday | Sunday

PROGRAM PDF print version (129kb)

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Last Thursday the FBI seized the hard disks from the web server that runs Sheffield IMC. This is likely to have been given the go ahead from Sheffield Brightside MP and Home Secretary, David Blunkett. Seven days on and neither the FBI, the Government nor the police have offered any explanation to Indymedia as to why their servers were seized. The Sheffield MP Richard Allan is planning to ask a question about this in the House of Commons on Friday, more info on his blog.

The seizure of the server has affected around 20 IMC sites around the world, including Uruguay, Andorra, Poland, Western Massachusetts, Nantes, Marseille, Belgrade, Portugal, Prague, Italy, Brazil, UK, and the global Indymedia Radio site.

Sheffield Indymedia's presence on the web was quickly reinstated due to there being backup servers, but all the other IMC sites were not so fortunate. It has taken a huge amount of work to get things in the UK running again, and the knock on effects of the server being seized are likely to be felt for a while yet. We hope that users of the Sheffield site will bear with us through this time.

Please sign the Solidarity Petition and also support the Server Appeal.

Sheffield IMC press release

Main UK IMC Story | Glogal FBI / Legal page | EFF Indymedia Page | The Register: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

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Naseh Ghafor a resident of Burngreave, Sheffield, was on hunger strike for six weeks from the 8th July to oppose his deportation to Iraq. He had sewn up his lips and was refusing medical attention. He has now removed the stitches from his mouth and stopped his hunger strike.

He believes he will be killed if he is deported to Iraq. His father and brother were killed there and his sister and mother are missing. There is more detailed background information on the NCADC web site. Local and national politicians are offering no hope to Naseh.

Local activists had organised a 24 hour rota to watch over Naseh while he was on hunger strike. Direct action, in the form of road blockades resulted in coverage in the local media and there was a demonstration from Burngreave into the centre of Sheffield on 21st August.

Daily vigil: 5pm, every day, on Ellesmere Green (top of Spital Hill) for Naseh Ghafor's right to live, stay and work in this country.
Saturday 21st August: Don't Let Naseh Die - Demonstration, from Ellesmere Green, Burngreave to Sheffield Town Hall | Photos: [1].
17th August: Milton House protest
12th August: Burngreave Road protest [video] | [photos]
7th August: Burngreave Road was blocked in a spontaneous protest by friends and supporters of Naseh for nearly an hour [ photos: 1 | 2 ] after a protest at Chatsworth where Sheffield MP David Blunkett was opening a scent garden.

Defend Naseh Ghafor web site | Defend Naseh Email List | Sheffield Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers | No one is illegal | No borders

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South Yorkshire bus workers agreed to return to work on 10th August after being on all-out strike for 21 days for better pay and conditions. This strike is been the longest bus workers strike on the UK for 30 years. The first strike web site has an article about the victory on day 21 and a bus worker posted a comment here:

First and foremost we stuck together and won the good fight. We are back to work without conceding benefits to pay for the rise...

thank you to all the passengers of first buses who are polite and decent to drivers and thank you to all who have supported us through the strike.

(read the full comment)

The hype in the local media about the economic impact of the strike, which was mentioned in the newswire post, industrial collapse in Sheffield resulted in a response from the Chief Exec of the Sheffield Chamber of Trade(!).

Previous bus strike feature | Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 Photos: 1 | 2

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The proposals for a by-pass for villages on the edge of the Peak District are now gaining momentum and have reached a 'crucial stage' according to the recent South Pennine Integrated Transport Strategy (SPITS) newsletter. The by-pass is part of wider developments for the A57/A628/A616 Woodhead route, strengthening the road links between the M1 and the M67 on the outskirts of Manchester. There are fears that this route could eventually become a major M67/M1 cross-Pennine link road. A significant component of the current scheme involves building a new road through a section of the Peak District, and other beautiful environmentally sensitive areas.

There has for a long time been talk and speculation in Sheffield about new road building in the peak district to improve links between the Sheffield area and Manchester. It has now come to light that what could eventually be the first stage of developing a new M1/M6 cross-Pennines link road, the A57/A628 Mottram-Tintwistle by-pass, is going through the public planning process. The July SPITS newsletter reports that the Highways Agency is inviting tenders for a Design and Build Contract for the bypass. The successful contractor will be responsible for the preparation and design of the road scheme, assisting in getting the project through the statutory processes, and finally for the construction of the bypass. The newsletter also reports that it 'looks inevitable that a public enquiry will precede implementation' of the by-pass' construction.

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Update 10 August: After 21 days out, the longest bus strike for 30 years is over, see victory after 21 days.

A significant all out strike is under way by 800 bus drivers employed by First Bus, a major multinational with annual profits in excess of £160m, the strike has been solid as it goes into its second week.

Drivers are striking for a 40 hour week, a reduction of the maximum hours a day to eight-and-a-half hours and a quicker increase in pay for 'starter rate' drivers, who currently have to wait three and a half years to earn more than £5.85 an hour! Steve Clark, the regional organiser for the TGWU, says "Clearly we are in for the long haul".

Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 Photos: 1 | 2
LabourNet: 1 | 2 | 3 | photos
Background info: TGWU | last years strike

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On Wednesday 14th July, Sheffield Indymedia participated in a live link-up to the first Internet radio stream from Baghdad.

Media activists from Radio LoRa in Zurich and the StreamTime Foundation have travelled to Iraq to set-up a number of community radio initiatives starting with a stream on 30th June from Halabja in the Kurdish region of Iraq. Halabja was the scene of chemical genocide on the 16th of March 1988, which saw 5000 dead and 10000 injured, and the remaining 36000 inhabitants were forced to flee their homes. The program was produced by Streamtime in collaboration with the Kurdish Communist Party and can be be heard here.

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On Friday 2nd July CIRCA, the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, took to the streets of Leeds to poke some fun at the ridiclous so-called hand over of power to Iraq. The first stop was the office of Labour MP Hillary Benn — Minister for overseas development.

Unfortunately Mr Benn was not in his office and so after 15 minutes on the stairs below his office the insurgent clowns set up a 'clown checkpoint' outside the building.

After that the rebel army had some lunch and then dispersed only to regroup sometime later at the recruitment centre for the air force, army and navy. About half the clowns set up their own recruitment table outside centre whilst the other half went inside to volunteer to join up. Those inside showed off their skills with the feather duster rifles, dogfighting with sherbet filled plastic aeroplanes and the firing of balloon propelled rockets. But the army were not overly impressed with their skillful display and so they called in the police for help. After while the clowns went outside to work on their own recruitment stall. The competition was obviously too much for the real army and so recruitment centre was closed for the rest of the day.

Two days later the clandestine army reappeared this time on the annual 'Independence from America' day at the illegal US listening base at Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire. Here the clowns used a combination of foolishness, mockery, mirth and love to lighten the atmosphere of the over-policed demonstration and provided, what one person said was, the 'highlight of the day'.

Report and pics 1 | 2 | 3

More Pics: 1 | 2

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Saturday 3rd July saw another event in Sheffield's festival season with Peace In The Park - a free festival set-up to try to raise some money, to raise consciousness and show solidarity with social struggles in Sheffield, the UK and around the world. The 'festival season' officially started two weeks ago at Heeley City Farm.

Despite the changeable weather, many local folk attended the event and many local campaign groups were present including the Sheffield Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Sheffield Against The War and Sheffield Indymedia, Nether Edge Against the War, Earthed. The Sheffield Social Forum hosted the first Democracy Cafe, a space for political discussion with great food provided by New Roots. A music stage and several tents provided some lively sounds and there was also a healing field for chilling out. A wide range of underground films were shown throughout the day in the 'Video Yurt'.

Proceeds of the Festival will go to Sheffield ASSIST - a local charity providing advice and support for refugees and asylum seekers in the area - and WaterAid - an international non-governmental organisation dedicated exclusively to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world's poorest people.

Next weekend sees the multi-cultural Sharrow Festival and Abbeyfield Park Festival which will both be supported by Sheffield Indymedia.

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Sainsbury's chilled food distribution centres were blockaded across the country on Thursday in protest against GM feed being fed to dairy cows. Sainsbury’s five biggest UK distribution centres were shut down as evironmentalists and consumers simultaneously blockaded the supermarket chain's chilled-goods depots in London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol and Sheffield. They were chained together through steel tubes, or sat up scaffold tripods, blocking the depot gates. The co-ordinated action was intended to halt distribution of Sainsbury's dairy products that come from cows fed GM animal feed.

The protest follows Sainsbury’s failure to provide non-GM fed milk as standard, despite rivals like Marks and Spencer and the Co-op doing so. The action was taken in solidarity with farmers, demanding they get a fair deal of 2p on the pound for non-GM milk. The coalition of groups campaigning on this issue includes Farmers for Action, the Small and Family Farmers Alliance, The Small Farms Association, the Wholesome Food Association, the Institute of Science in Society, Genetic Food Alert and the Genetic Engineering Network (see GM animal feed campaign PDF). Also see National press release

Local reports: Birmingham report, photos and video | London
Yorkshire | Liverpool [ 1 , 2 ] and photos [1 | 2]
Bristol report and photos
Sainsbury's Essex Waltham Point Depot Blockade Report
See also Genetic Engineering Network

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There was protest in Sheffield on Saturday 1st May outside Brighthouse, on The Moor, because it is a credit company that make huge profits by exploiting those people who don't have access to mainstream sources of debt finance. Brighthouse sell goods on credit at extortionate rates, and people who often have no other financial options end up paying double or more of the cost of the original product they buy. Brighthouse are not alone in this game, there are many more predatory lenders who profit from exploiting people who can not borrow money from banks, building societies and credit cards, and locking them further into debt. For example Provident Financial are a company who offer doorstep loans, where a typical loan could be £100 repaid at £5 a week over 30 weeks and the APR can be up to 170%!

The Sheffield Social Forum gave out a leaflet at the protest and music was provided by members of the Sheffield Samba Band and the poverty trap was illustrated with big mouse trap in a street theatre proformace. At the end of the flyering a number of protestors followed the Samba Band into the shop itself, to make the protest that little bit clearer to those inside.

Reports: [Photos] | [Sheffield Green Party: press release | photos] | [Sheffield Samba Band: photos]

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This is the Sheffield Indymedia's first ever screening of the latest film from Big Noise Films who also made Zapatista and This Is What Democracy Looks Like at 6pm on Sunday 2nd May at The Showroom Cinema.

The Fourth World War was shot by the award-winning New York film collective Big Noise Films on the frontlines of struggles spanning five continents. It is the untold human story of men and women who resist being annihilated in the current global conflict.

Whilst the US media was crowded with talk of a new world war, narrated by generals and filmed from the noses of bombs, the human face of the so-called "War on Terror" was rarely seen. The Fourth World War weaves together images and voices of the war on the ground - from the front lines of struggles in Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Palestine, Korea, to Seattle and Genoa, New York and Iraq.

• "The Fourth World War"
• Big Noise Tactical Media
• USA 2003
• 80 mins.

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As part of their 10th birthday celebrations some of the SchNEWS crew are hitting the road with the SchNEWS at Ten tour! The crew will talk about SchNews and their newsletter, show films and update people of what is happening with anti GM protests in the UK, the development of UK Indymedia and how activist groups are coming together to organise for the G8 in the UK next year, and facilitate general discussion about what mischief the people in Sheffield are currently up to. So bring you friends, drink some beer, have some laughs and indulge in some debate!

• Monday 26th April 8pm
• The Cricketer's Arms, Bramall Lane, Sheffield (opposite SUFC ground)
• Donation on the door

Also coming along with SchNEWS is the Undercurrents News Network who are on a promotional tour for this newly established service. Undercurrents will be screening several film shorts that they have either produced themselves or has been submitted to them by activist and culture jamming collectives from around the world.

There will also be a emphasis placed on the upcoming G8 meeting in the UK in 2005 and organising direct action against it. Check out the dissent site for more information.

Flyers have been poster to the newswire.

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The first morning of British Summer Time dawned bright and clear, which made a change from the high winds and intermittent rain that postponed the lantern parade. It was originally meant to take place on the 21st of March. The Creative Action Network (CAN) had originally devised this parade to celebrate the vernal equinox, mothers (and mother earth) day, and to acknowledge the first anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. Although the significant date had passed, the morning sun reminded us to "Wake up, Rise up, Stand up" as the posters proclaimed. Weeks of workshops with artists, students, schoolchildren, families and anyone else who showed an interest could be seen on the graffiti-adorned basketball court at Mount Pleasant Park. Lanterns stretched across the tarmac and were picked up, put on, and lit by participants and stewards.

A day-glo pink marabou-lined pram carried a speaker to provide the beats at the back, and the Sheffield Samba Band struck up the march at the front. The middle of the beast that began to snake its way through Sharrow was made up of lanterns, poi, bicycles, tricycles, and people of all shapes and sizes. As it progressed, the parade had everyone out of their front doors, and leaning out of their tower block windows. It could have been any community or neighbourhood in any city in the world. Children called out from balconies and got smiles and waves in return. A little boy asked a poi-twirler how to spin, and learned how to make his own poi. Bus passengers got an eyeful and most returned the grins. The traffic stopped, and red-amber-green was ignored. The only lights that mattered were the ones belonging to mermaids and centaurs, horned gods, fish, dragonflies and other creatures. Beautiful lanterns weaved through Sharrow, reclaiming the roads for a brief moment with something that no body could ignore, and that nobody could fail to smile at.

Reports: The Lantern Carnival: was it political?

Photos: Moment for Peace at Lantern Festival [ 1 ] Sharrow Lantern Procession Photos [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 ] Pics from the Sharrow Lantern Carnival [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 ] [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 ]

Video: video from sharrow lantern carnival | more video from the lantern carnival

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The Sheffield Social Forum opened to the global resistance sounds of Manu Chao. Sheffield Indymedia had a number of computers set up on the main stage complete with a wireless Internet node and help on hand for anyone who needed it - yet the basic human skill of putting pen to to paper was also encouraged by the copious amounts of sheets around the hall where you could write a poem, highlight a campaign, or just doodle! People were encouraged to brainstorm creative direct action, upload reports to indymedia, or even something as simple as putting graffiti on the rolls of paper on the walls. In the same way that the preperations for the launch were documented on the wiki the Sheffield Social Forum is documenting a report of the launch on their wiki site.

Reports: On SSF Launch | On article "Struggle NOT submission" | Social Forum Launch - a view from London

Photos: Sheffield Social Forum Launch [ 1 | 2 | 3 ] | [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 ]

Pre-launch feature

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An office occupation of a Marshalls PLC building took place on Thursday 25th March in Elland, West Yorkshire, as a group of up to 25 activists from Yorkshire, Manchester, Derbyshire and Lancashire decided to ram home the message that corporate exploitation and destruction of our woodlands will not go unchallenged (see photos). The following day people also blockaded and occupied a Marshalls depot in Mansfield Woodhouse.

Marshalls is a huge multinational company specialising in landscape and construction materials, especially stone. Marshalls is a particularly 'hot' target at the moment as its subsidiary Stancliffe Stone is behind the plan to quarry the hillside below Stanton Moor, right next to the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. This insidious plan to quarry a place of rare natural beauty in the middle of the Peak District National Park has been up to now unsuccessful due to the fight put up by the people at the Nine Ladies protest camp. Marshalls however has recently stepped up the pressure to evict the camp and go ahead with the quarrying despite objections from a whole range of actors. Read Latest Camp Update including photos (27/03/04)

Related News:
Sherwood Tree Camp: Possible Eviction Alert (week beginning 29/03/04), despite a 30 day "safe period", during which an independant survey is being conducted - read campaign report update.
A new tree occupation started on Thursday 25th March against the proposed F5 road scheme, planned for the A1159 Priory Crescent north, Southend on Sea, Essex. Meanwhile Bilston Glen Protest Site has a Free Cafe on Saturday 4th April

Older 9 Ladies feature | Nine Ladies Anti Quarry Campiagn | Marshalls PLC website

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On Saturday 27th March the Sheffield Social Forum is holding a launch event (wiki) from 1000 - 1700, At the Royal Institute for the Blind, Mappin Street.

There are lots of workshops (wiki) planned and an Indymedia Lab (wiki).

Free software / Indymedia / Wireless Networking / Hacktivism

Sheffield IMC (Wiki) with help from SlugBug and ShefNet, will be running a day-long media activist / free software / wireless workshop. There are plans to link up with WTF?! via IRC, #esp on irc.freenode.net (web interface).

The collective will also be running a workshop The grassroots go global - the emergence of Indymedia during the day with help from Penni of the London-IMC collective.

Sheffield IMC would encourage folks who participate in the event to post their reports to the Sheffield IMC newswire. We would really like to write a good feature about this after the event.

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On Friday March 19th Yorkshire CND held a mass non-violent blockade at the key US military base Menwith Hill, near Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK. They blocked 3 gates completely causing tailbacks for hours and massively disturbing the shift change-over. Menwith Hill felt compelled to issue a statement which is amazing since they never, ever speak to anyone.

"BLOCK THE BASE" started in freezing driving rain by 5am in the morning with protesters who had stayed in Leeds overnight blockading the base. Many protesters were met by police waiting for them. Yet they managed to block all four gates, many locking into place. Throughout the morning the protest was joined by more people.

The shift change, between 5.30 and 7.30, was a traffic jam. Police had moved pretty fast to try and clear two gates. Reports were they were pretty brutal with dangerous use of cutting equipment. Yorkshire CND said that despite liason some of the police behaved disgracefully and there were definite cases of extreme excessive force and violence. They want as much information and pictures as possible from anyone that was there to collect evidence. [more in article]. By 7am most of the protesters at gate one had been removed and were waiting wet and cold to be arrested. In all 30 people were arrested. Others gates were still blocked. Protesters were still arriving and demonstrating all around the base.

SeeTimeline of events
Reports and Photos: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 ]

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On March 1st, 1984, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party announced the closure of Cortonwood colliery in Yorkshire - signaling her government’s determination to ram through a massive programme of pit closures and destroy the power of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Miners had no choice but to fight, or see their lives and communities devastated. The longest major industrial battle in British history had begun - a battle that still defines the political landscape of today.

20,000 People injured or hospitalised
200 People served time in prison or custody
2 People killed on the picket line
3 Died digging for coal during the winter
966 People were sacked for striking

The full force of the state was used against the striking miners. 20,000 police were coordinated by Scotland Yard and they used massive computer-backed data gathering for intelligence. Tactics such as road-blocks, political questioning, curfews, beatings, illegal fingerprinting and photographing, snatch squads, phone taps, infiltration and agent provocateurs were widespread. Alongside this was the mobilisation of the media and the law. In the press, Thatcher compared the pickets to IRA bombers.

The strike involved enormous hardship, with many receiving no strike pay or benefits. Yet despite all the state could throw at them, for a year the miners and their communities stood firm in a magnificent display of solidarity. But it wasn’t just the miners themselves - the women played a central role. They transformed the strike, and it transformed them. At a meeting at the Easington Miners Welfare, Mick McGahey, Vice President of the NUM, referred to the "housewives in the County who understand the problems." One woman replied, "We no longer regard ourselves as 'housewives'. We are soldiers in the struggle."

Anniversary events are planned around the country - see events listing and pics | another report
Also see The Justice for Mineworkers Campaign website.

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