Letter to the Black Bloc of Egypt

We present here, in Arabic and English, an open letter from participants in Black Bloc actions in the United States to participants in the Egyptian Black Bloc. It aims to start a dialogue that goes beyond the exchange of YouTube videos. This is of interest to everyone in the world fighting for liberation, so print and distribute it.

Printable PDF in English [3.5 MB] Printable PDF in Arabic [3.7 MB]

The emergence of the Black Bloc in Egypt at this time should not surprise us as much as it surprises the pacifists and authoritarians. The struggles of the 21st century will be limited to neither non-violent civil disobedience nor reformism; they cannot avoid getting into open conflict with the state. In addition, they are becoming increasingly international in scope and character. Whenever someone anywhere in the world stands up for their own cause - however clumsy and humble - it sets a precedent for the next generation of resistance. Let's make sure we rise to the occasion.

“Black Anger” by MC Sayed appeared on the two-year anniversary of the Egyptian uprising. These clumsy subtitles are part of our effort to facilitate intercontinental communication

By some “Black Bloc Anarchists” in the United States

You strike the tone – it resonates within us.

It is an honor to write to you because of your courage as the battle in Egypt continues to unfold.

For a decade and a half we have participated in black bloc actions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Of course we represent nothing and no one; The Black Bloc is a tactic, not a group - that is what makes it so fearsome to our rulers. However, based on our experience with this tactic, we would like to share some of our perspectives in the hope of establishing a more explicit intercontinental dialogue.

We have already engaged in a kind of dialogue with you, exchanging signals of revolt across the ocean. We have circulated reports about your struggle here and now we see photos and videos of our actions in YouTube collages from Egypt. But we want more dialogue than YouTube collages allow. We also want to be able to discuss strategy, tactics and goals.

First and foremost: you are not alone. You are part of a global struggle against oppressive power. The same economy that is plundering Egypt is ruining our lives and the country here in the United States. The same networks of armed forces that tear gas you in Cairo maintain “order” in New York City. If we want to win anything in this fight, we can only do it internationally.

It is shameful that it took us so long to write to you in Arabic - which shows how unprepared we are for the possibilities that history offers us. But that could change quickly in the coming years. It will have to change.

We gained our experience with black bloc tactics under what you would probably call unfavorable conditions - as a small minority acting against stable power structures, without much support from the rest of society. The Black Bloc emerged in this context and it is interesting to see it emerge in a situation of more general revolt.

In fact, everyone is surprised by the longevity of the Black Bloc. He has been declared dead over and over again, but still he always comes back. That's because, like Anonymous, it expresses the spirit of our times. In an era in which vast inequalities are maintained through surveillance and control, no meaningful movement can do without anonymity and clashes with the police.

The Black Bloc is important because it gives this anonymity and contradiction a political content: it links particular struggles against oppression with the possibility of a generalized struggle against any dominant power. It is a coup to give the anonymous, collective confrontations with the authorities the anarchist “brand” - this means that everyone who stands up for themselves against the authorities will sooner or later have to ask themselves what their relationship is to the struggles of others.

It is fitting that the Black Bloc emerges in Egypt on the second anniversary of an uprising that has merely replaced one tyranny with another. The problems caused by capitalism and government cannot be solved by simply replacing regimes. A fundamental struggle will be necessary - the emergence of social formations that can defend themselves against government and capitalism. It is not about making demands on those in power, nor can this be achieved simply by attacking presidential palaces. It is necessary that we confront the power structures wherever they appear and in doing so change our strategy, away from mere protest and towards asserting a different way of life.

We are all familiar with the criticisms of the Black Bloc in Egypt - we have seen the reactionaries reading from the same script since 1999: you are blamed for police violence, while the police are always just as violent as they need to be to maintain their dominance; Their ongoing violence only becomes visible because you resist it. People with more privilege and power than you accuse you of being spoiled rich kids. Those who are unwilling to take such risks accuse you of cowardice. Those who have different goals than you complain that you are unstrategic. Those who see democracy as amplifying their own voices insist that you submit to the law of the majority - to silence you. Those who depend on foreign military aid, who bow to foreign political pressure and sell out the Egyptian people accuse you of importing foreign tactics. More than anything, the authorities of each variety do everything in their power to isolate you from others who might resist.

In our experience, this is actually the greatest risk of using black bloc tactics: by giving identity to anonymity and struggle, you offer authorities an opportunity to make us an “other” and thus quarantine our revolt and ideas. It is a mistake if we see ourselves as separate from the rest of society. The Black Bloc is only powerful and dangerous as long as it remains a space of revolt that everyone can immerse themselves in - the tip of the iceberg of something much broader. Our rulers do not fear anarchists – they fear that anarchist values ​​and practices will spread.

It is important not to create a dichotomy between “standing by our goals” and participating in movements that are bigger than us. On the one hand, it must be clear that we reject all forms of domination; If we don't, everyone will have to learn again and again how little the police and the poverty they impose change from one government to the next. That's why we shouldn't hide our values ​​under the same banner of democracy that disguises other people's thirst for power: in this way we only legitimize the structures that will later be used against us. At the same time, we must maintain an openness that allows tactics and ideas to circulate. Anarchism is not an identity, it has no meaning in itself, it is a relationship that must expand.

In the United States, anarchists on both sides of this dichotomy have gone astray. We have often served as shock troops and free workers for liberal causes, taking great risks to advance their agenda while failing to act in accordance with our own analysis. We hoped this would connect us with the rest of society, but connections based on hiding our values ​​are meaningless.

In other situations, anarchists have acted as if we could achieve our goals on our own, only to wear themselves out in a private war with the police that everyone else thought had nothing to do with them. Certainly we cannot wait for mass consensus to begin our project of revolt, we can only find others in revolt if we rise up ourselves - but the point is to find others. Time and again we've found our own dreams too bold to propose, only to see other people spontaneously bring them to fruition. Indeed, the time is ripe for us to move forward with our proposals: capitalism is in crisis around the world and soon millions will have to choose between totalitarianism and a kind of freedom that no government can provide.

If it is true that the state cannot solve our problems, then those who want to wield its authority will discredit themselves once they come to power. The sooner all the Muslim Brotherhoods of the world link up with the state, the better: this will clarify things for those who have not yet understood why everyone should be anarchists. When opposition parties join those in power in calling for people to stay off the streets and for the streets to remain full, it suggests that people are catching on. In this situation, anarchists could help transform regime changes into social revolutions that completely transform everyday life.

The US government needs a government in Egypt with which it can coordinate the extraction of raw materials necessary for global capitalism. The Black Bloc scares her because it is incompatible with her conception of politics - it offers no one to negotiate with. She wants to bring all political parties into “talks” in order to fit everyone into her power structure. We want to take the fight completely out of the hands of the political parties and introduce conversations among people instead of with parties and governments. We try to spread struggles by communicating directly with others and inspiring them, just as you have inspired us.

We will continue this dialogue in the most meaningful way we can - by challenging the power structures here in the United States that support those in Egypt and elsewhere in the world. But if any of you could send us reports of your struggles or translate materials from English to Arabic and vice versa, we would be delighted to hear from you. May we meet on the streets of a stateless society.

Source of the German translation: magazinredaktion.tk/black-bloc-egypt.php

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