Revocamp 2011 success

Alex Kelby reports from this year’s REVOLUTION Summer Camp
FROM THE 8 – 12 August 2011 REVOLUTION held its international summer camp in Essex. It was a gathering of revolutionary youth from across Europe, with people from Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden and Great Britain attending. The week was full of socialist politics, discussions and partying.
There was a range of workshops to attend on a huge number of different subjects,such as Marxism and philosophy, the politics of Leon Trotsky, fighting women’s oppression and the spread of Islamophobia. The workshops were interesting and educational, and lead to insightful debates afterwards.
Debating the uprising
The week was also spent discussing the riots that sprung up all over London and across the country last week on an international level. We understand that such riots are the consequence of the poverty and alienation of capitalism, and do not condemn those involved. Rather, we say that the problem is the parasitic system of capitalism which makes the rich richer at the expense of the poor, the cuts and the crisis which are throwing ever greater numbers of working-class communities into desperate poverty, and the systematic racism of the police which sparked the rioting in Tottenham.
The rallies had speakers from other countries talking about the political situation where they live. In workshops we discussed different ways our comrades internationally had intervened into different movements, worked alongside other groups and led initiatives and campaigns. This was definitely a good way to learn about and understand the political situation globally.
Mario Bango
Perhaps the most moving talk was given by Mario Bango, a Slovakian comrade who had been imprisoned for a decade for defending himself and his family from neo-Nazi violence, who had been treated with hostility and outright prejudice by the racist Slovakian state.
There was also a brilliant performance from hip-hop group Broken Dialect, who demonstrated their lyricism and insight throughout their set, as well as live DJ’s blasting out a range of tunes from old-school punk to drum n bass. There were also campfire singalongs, games of football and the odd organised activity (courtesy of the camp) to add a bit of colour to festivities.
Everyone who attended went home knowing something new and with new-found friends from across the world. The camp was great fun, and was a great success for REVOLUTION. Many thanks to all those who helped to organise the event, and to all who attended and helped make it the amazing experience it was.