BY ARUN PRADHAN
MELBOURNE — The S11 protests against the World Economic Forum convinced many of the power and strength of united action. For many, the event became a catalyst to get actively involved in the Democratic Socialist Party.
Gillian Davies, a university administrator, had long held left ideals and had already started to consider getting more involved before S11. "My work exposes me to a lot of campaigns and social action groups", Davies told Green Left Weekly. "But I knew that behind each were systematic problems, so I didn't want to join just a single issue group."
Davies had read Green Left Weekly for some time and attended the Global Action conference in July, organised jointly by GLW and Friends of the Earth. "I was impressed by the DSP at the conference and attended an introduction meeting soon afterwards."
For Davies it was both the DSP's socialist objectives and its willingness to tackle daily issues which convinced her to join the organised socialist movement. Davies is now part of a team of DSP members who organise the weekly Friday Morning Breakfast and Global Action Radio show on Melbourne's Community Radio 3CR.
For Leigh Mitchell, in his final year of high school, S11 was his first experience of political action.
He hadn't been able to convince other people at his school to attend, for fear of violence, and admits "I hadn't intended to join the blockade".
"It was only when I started talking to people there and reading the information that I was convinced to blockade", he said. Afterwards, Mitchell attended a number of meetings organised by left groups, before deciding to join the DSP.
Zoe Johnson, an office worker, did not attend S11, but the event still pushed her into action. "I always knew that too few people own too much of the world's wealth; I never accepted the existence of the Third World as 'normal'", she said.
Johnson said she was disgusted by the media coverage of S11, which supported police violence. Her brother returned from the protest with a range of leaflets and information, which provided the means for her to get involved.
Key to Johnson's decision to join was her feminist convictions. Johnson is now among many DSP members in Melbourne working with others to build the annual Reclaim the Night rally.
"Joining the DSP helped make the connections between feminism and socialism; not only understanding why women face the portrayal and treatment that we do, but also how things can be changed, and that things do change."