Why do I live at the heart of these green mountains?
I smile without replying,
My mind wholely serene,
Flowers fall, water flows .. (Li Po)
Well, that's on a good day, but with an outrageous war about to be unleashed on the world, and with the Irish branch of our community involved up to the neck in anti-war activities, I have decided to dedicate this 'Green' letter to their trials and travails.
Our long-term (over 22 years) community member Mary Kelly is now a heroine in Ireland - or a shameful criminal, according to your position on the US/UK empire-building plans.
Mary's first brush with the law at Shannon Warport happened towards the end of a demonstration there last August, held to bring attention to the US warplanes landing there in contravention of Ireland's own neutrality laws. There were about 150-200 people on it. Here is Mary's own account:
"After marching to the airport, we gathered outside the terminal and many of us made declarations and speeches, including myself. I spoke about my recent experience in Palestine and about the fact that Iraq was only about 7 hours away by air and of the need to get active about the US using our airport to refuel. I directed a lot of my words to the Gardai (Irish police) who are protecting this illegal use of Shannon. Afterwards, we did a 'die-in' in front of them (ed.: where protesters lie in the road to represent the dead in a war), and after that, some of us tried talking to them. They were blatantly denying that any US planes land there to refuel, and kept saying things like 'You've done your protest now, why don't you go home, we want to go home for our tea'. I said, 'What about the people who can't go home or are under curfew (in Palestine) or have no home because it's been bombed?' They would not answer.
"Finally everybody drifted off. I was left with a friend and I talked with her about how empty and unsatisfied I felt after the protest. I did not want to go away. I decided I had to push it much further.
"I went for a walk with my friend along the perimeter fence and at the control tower area, with her help, I was able to scale the fence and get through the barbed wire, then over and on to the runway. It was about 6 p.m. I had a placard saying 'NO US BOMBERS'. My intention was to get arrested in order to get the issue into the media.
" A patrol car immediately screeched towards me and a Garda jumped out. I gave him a good run. When he caught me, he forcibly dragged me to the patrol car, pulled my hair and twisted my arm up my back.
"I told him to take it easy, that I was going without a fight. He was really freaked out and I thought he was going to have a heart attack, as he was so unfit and gasping for breath! He took me to the place where the baggage comes through and there were loads of passengers there. I yelled out several times that there were US bombers landing illegally at the airport. People looked astonished to see me being yanked off into a room.
"The Head of the airport security told me I had committed a very serious crime and was being charged with endangering the lives of people and planes! I asked them why they did not protest themselves and that Ireland would be colluding with the bombing of Iraq as we did over Afghanistan. They were very rude. I kept myself in good spirits by annoying them.
"Then I was taken to Shannon Garda station and was greeted with, 'Oh No, not you again.' I kept talking to them and at one point was near to tears when telling them about Palestine. Suddenly their attitude completely changed. The previously obnoxious sergeant said, "Look, the Government has been taking it up the .. for years from the US and they are not going to stand up to them, and ye don't know the f.ing half of what goes through here at nighttime!" He said they felt sickened by it themselves but don't know how to do anything and have not got the will!
"The main guy told me that one night at 4 a.m., he went out and found Clinton's special jet on the runway with two fighter jets accompanying it, bearing Chelsea, his daughter on a visit to her pen pal in Switzerland. This disgusted him. He also mentioned that there was some jet in recently that they - the airport security guards! - were not allowed near. He repeated that we don't know the half of it. He then said that the only way our protest might work was if we got over 1,000 people at Shannon! And do a daily protest outside the Dail (Irish Parliament) as well!
"They had seen me on TV at the time I was in the siege of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem and asked me a lot about Palestine, and said that the Palestinians were a lovely people, as they met many of them in the police station who were turned down from getting visas to the US. They said they had listened very carefully to all our statements about Shannon and were impressed! The main guy gave me his name and address and said he would like some information about what goes through there!
"And then they let me go!! They did not want to charge me as it would
cause too much publicity. A reporter phoned while I was there but they
denied that I had been arrested .
"If the people lead, the leaders will have to follow" (quote found on the
Internet)
Then came the setting up of Shannon Peace Camp as described in the last Green Letter. The story continues in Mary's own words:
"On January 28, numerous US warplanes were still coming into Shannon. That night, I scaled the fence and went into the airport at around 5 a.m. with a heavy tool, a mixture of a big axe and a lump hammer. It was a rainy and stormy night and I felt unable to do the job I wanted, i.e. to get to one of the US planes, as it was nearing dawn and they were parked too near the brightly lit terminal. So, I considered it a practice, mended the barbed wire and returned to camp!
"Next day I talked to Becky about the extreme frustration of not being able to stop this war and the reality of people being killed, the brutality and senselessness of it all. That night on Irish-language TV, there was an interview with 2 fluent Irish speakers from the peace camp, and they told us they had inside information that there would be three US planes in that night. . From the perimeter fence, I noticed there was a US Navy plane in and parked well away from the airport. It was a chance not to be missed. I climbed the 7 foot fence, and started walking across the rough ground towards the runway. It was a dry night. I felt very calm. Beforehand, back at camp, I had sat in our huge empty Teepee and thought strongly of all the American Indians who had been slaughtered by the US . and I imagined the huge space in front of me as I crossed the airport as a desert in the Middle East, as I made my journey towards the white plane with US Navy markings. "As I got near, I noticed a car parked almost next to it, and it looked as if there were four people inside. That stopped me in my tracks, but I decided that I had come this far and wanted to get a swipe or two at this killing monster before I got arrested. "I went to the left front wheel. I had heard that the fuel lines are near there. I saw them and gently gave a few thuds with my new untried axe. The metal was soft and soon I had destroyed them without making much noise. I had been told that the nose cone holds the most sensitive equipment, so next I went and struck a couple of blows there. I really had to swing the axe high above my head and whack hard. It took two good strikes to make it penetrate the metal. Then I saw that it was fairly easy to do, in fact as easy as chopping a hard log of wood. I got hot and took off my heavy dark jacket and left it on the ground with a bag with a bottle of water inside. I had on dark trousers, a hat, and a bright fluorescent high visibility half jacket so that I might look like an airport worker at first glance. I swung the axe many times all over the nose cone, then moved on to the wings where I was told the engines are encased. They were covered by a huge hard strong material. I started slicing through it trying to get at the engine. It was surprisingly tough material.
"Then the car suddenly drove right up to the plane and I could see someone's legs walk towards the plane and pick up my coat and bag which I had left near the wheel and bust fuel lines. I saw his legs walk back to the car, then he returned to the plane. He walked all around, and as he did, I would slink into the shadows. Then came the moment when he saw me. I took one last swing at the back end of the plane, then dropped the axe and shouted that I was a peace activist and was disarming a war machine, as he caught me and twisted my head saying, "I'll break your fucking neck" (that used to be my colonel father's favourite expression when he got angry).
"He was really hurting me badly so I started screaming at him to let me go and that I was unarmed and to please calm down! My hat had fallen off and he could see my woman's face. He marched me with my head held in a lock grip towards the airport building. I slowed right down to try and calm him as he had probably received a fierce shock.
"He was demanding to know where my accomplices were. I insisted I was alone. He took me into a building that said, 'Immigration control' and into an office where a detective jumped up to attention and my captor explained he had caught me. They got a Garda to come in and mind me while they had a quick conference in another room. The new detective was very slimey and cynical towards me. I told them all that I was doing the job they should be doing, and I spoke about the innocent people in Iraq who are living in terror and we in Ireland are contributing to the unjust war being waged on them. "That's what YOU believe," he said. Another younger Garda that I knew came on the scene after having seen the plane and said, "Thanks VERY MUCH Mary." A cheery-looking burly Garda who was minding me grinned and said, "You haven't made some people's day!" He was nice, a bit of sunshine in a horrible downpour!
"I was pacing up and down refusing to sit. I could see the arrivals and departures listed on a TV screen and I commented to them that none of the US planes were listed on them, as if it doesn't happen. About 50 minutes after being captured, 3 of them took me to a squad car, and a World Airways plane came in quite near us. I said, 'Hey, here's another US warplane.' They denied it outright.
"They drove out of the airport and soon we were passing the sleeping peace camp and saw the sign "Beep for Peace". "Ah, c'mon, beep for peace!" I said to them. Stony silence.
"We got to Shannon Garda Station and a cheery Garda on duty introduced himself to me as Liam. He was very correct, polite and did everything by the book. He brought me a lovely cup of weak tea as I'd asked for and said, "I like it weak too, nothing worse than strong tea which sticks to the roof of your mouth!" There was a nice older Garda present who ticked Liam off for giving me a cup which had some slightly rude sex joke on it.
"The detective who arrested me was a real farmerish looking bull of a guy
and he soon paired up with another detective and they both had the coldest
looking eyes that made me quite scared. I kept talking to Liam and asked if
I could make a phone call. I phoned Tim and said, 'I've been arrested for
damaging a US warplane. Please could you phone Becky and tell her my news.'
The Lone Protester
The lone protester is a voice
Inconvenient to the gilded ears
Of policy makers in the rarefied air
Of marble rooms in London and Rotterdam
To be muzzled with money, guns or both
Or shut in prison where silence
Locks doors and windows by day and night
And throws away the key
Into History's incinerator
(Ken Saro-Wiwa, executed
for anti Shell-oil protests,
Nigeria, 1995)
Mary's story continues:
"It was past 6. a.m. and they called for a female Garda to hurry up and come on duty and do a body search. She was a very nice buxom woman in her 30s who told me her name and said, "My God, you're a mighty woman!" She was very kind and not intrusive when I had to strip. She asked with interest about the bottle of Rescue remedy I had in my pocket and I explained it was great for shock or when dealing with new experiences!
"Then I was taken out for questioning. When this ended, I asked them to let me call Becky, but I couldn't even speak to her, I was in bits. She quickly let me know she was coming up straightaway. I was shaking with relief as everything suddenly felt huge, much bigger than I could handle. I was trying not to cry. The friendly Garda woman said to me, "Maybe now is the time you need a drop from your bottle?" I asked her to put a few drops of Rescue remedy in a glass of water and within a few minutes I was right as rain and able to laugh and joke again!
"Later I was told I was going to court about 30 miles north. As I walked outside with a friend who had come to be with me, TV3 and RTE (Irish TV) were filming us. I chatted in the car with the detective beside me and invited him to come and visit the Peace camp and added that he could come in disguise if he needed to keep his identity concealed from his colleagues. He said, No way, 'If I visit I will come as myself.' He then said he respected my beliefs and that I had acted according to them!
"The court hearing took place in Killaloe. The TV cameras were outside and the press were already inside. The charges said I had done upwards of HALF A MILLION euros damage to a US plane. I nearly fainted! I thought I had just given it a few bashes. I looked around and all my friends from the peace camp were struggling not to laugh out loud. The court clerk looked at us all with daggers.
"The prosecutor said he believed I was dangerous and would continue to do more damage. My solicitor, Joe Noonan, said that I did what I did with lawful excuse, I was not a criminal and it would take a long court case involving international law to present my case fully. He had the task of fending off a pack of wolfhounds baying for my blood. We were all full of admiration for his handling of the case.
"The Judge said that to get bail, I was banned from entering County Clare, had to pay 5,000 euros, surrender my passport and sign on three times a week at a Garda Station. He then walked out. I told my solicitor no way would I accept those conditions and I would go to prison. Then I said goodbye to everyone, made a statement to the Press and was taken to the Garda Station. The Sergeant in charge was very nice indeed - he was from West Cork and was delighted when I said I was too. He made a cup of coffee for me.
"Then we set out for Limerick jail, with one driver and one detective. The guy who arrested me had fallen asleep at Killaloe Station and so they left him behind.
"The Gardai at Limerick were amazingly friendly, delighted to say hello and some of them said, "You're one of our own." Even some visitors and prisoners were trying to get a look at me, as it was now 6 p.m. and it had been No. 1 item on the news. The four guys working in the office where I had to give in my few possessions were all smiles .
"Then I was delivered to the women's prison. Immediately two female screws told me to take off my clothes. The most senior one, a blonde fatty misery, said she did not believe my age (50) and asked how I kept looking good. I said it was my lifestyle and invited her to come and visit me at the peace camp. She said, ''Tis you that will be spending many a long year with me in here m'dear!'
"I was then put in a cell with a huge bruiser of a woman, very bitter looking, and I was upset to find she was a heavy smoker. I had to sleep on a bunk above her and she smoked throughout the night. I hadn't slept for two nights and was relieved to collapse, but I woke hardly able to breathe with a stinking headache. At 8.0 a.m. I was asked if I wanted to speak to the Doctor. He shook my hand and said, "Well done, I'd love to take you out for a drink some time." I said, 'Forget that, I am dying and need your help. I came in here healthy, sound as a bell, and now my health is deteriorating very fast.' I said I would go on hunger strike if I did not get a cell of my own or with a non-smoker.
That afternoon, my cell mate was moved out.
IRELAND ON SUNDAY, 9th Feb. 2003
Imagine - all it takes to make our Government look thoroughly ridiculous and inept is a handful of peaceniks. The Shannon agitators . achieved all their aims with devastating impact, then dismantled their tents and left. . The protest has been an unqualified coup for the peace brigade . Gulf-bound US troops .. have been diverted to Germany. I call that game, set and match . What a public relations disaster for Bertie (ed. The Irish P.M) this has been: silly doesn't begin to describe his handling of the affair. .. Just look at the sequence of events. Mary Kelly sneaks in and manages to do 500,000 euros worth of damage on a US Navy plane and Bertie responds by despatching one Garda to protect it. Then five more saboteurs breach defences and carry out additional damage to an aircraft . belatedly, 120 soldiers are ordered to do sentry duty at the airport, just as it emerges that World Airlines planes carrying troops will refuel in Frankfurt instead.
No wonder the peaceniks packed up .. obviously there wasn't enough room in the camp for them and their enormous grins . We've had several ministers lecture us on neutrality, attempting to define its nuances for us, when it's news to me that there are any. Then we have Bertie whining about how much it's costing us in lost revenue because the Americans aren't paying landing fees any more..
It's a good job Mary Kelly doesn't belong to al-Qaeda or Shannon Airport
would be a smouldering chasm by now.
Why We Are Here ..
.. Because the sun has become cancerous
And the planet is getting hotter
Because children are starving in the shadows
Of yachts and economic summits
Because there are already too many planes in the sky ...
By Robert Arthur Lewis, extract of poem distributed
at protests at the WTO Summit in Seattle
Some words from 13 year old Julie, Mary's daughter.
"I spent a few weeks in the camp at Shannon. The camp was just at the side of the road where all the business people pass to their jobs. We had signs up saying Beep for Peace and some of the airport workers would beep! But some of them would tell us to get a job and to f. off. We had a banner saying, "We don't trust you Mr. Bush" and some young boys came up with a banner saying, "In Mr. Bush we trust, in Mr. Bush we believe," but ran off as soon as they saw us coming.
"Sometimes I would go plane spotting with Tim (he knows everything about
planes) and once or twice I saw Soldiers eating crisps and drinking coke,
some of them were looking at magazines and relaxing around the airport
waiting for the planes to be refuelled. It made me so angry to see the
young guys, black and white, small and tall, just going to kill innocent
people ."
Excerpt from a letter from a gardening penfriend in the US, a middle-aged man:
"Many of the people in my neighborhood believe, as I do, that we should
stay out of the political affairs of other nations, not only in the Middle
East, but elsewhere also. Whenever the economy or the stock market goes,
we (the US) have to start trouble to boost it back up. .. Instead of
spending on arms, I believe we should be confronting situations in the US.
Years ago, I knew a young man who froze to death in a snowbank because he
had no place to go."
I would like to end with some slogans copied from placards held aloft on
the massive anti-war demonstrations in the United States . here is a
sample:
If War is the Answer, We're Asking the Wrong Question God make Texas Take Him Back.. How many Lives Per Gallon? How did 'Our' Oil Get Under Their Soil? Régime Change begins At Home What if God Blesses Iraq? Who's the Unelected Tyrant With The Bomb? My President is a Psychopath And simply: Relax, George