***Mustering point - Saturday 17th Sept, London Liverpool Street station, meet 11am, for the 11:13 train to Wickford. We will meet you at Wickford station with transport to the site***
If you can't make it you can support in another way, we are in desperate need of funds. Please donate!
The background
Dale farm in Essex, a former scrap yard which is now home to 90 Traveller families, is under threat of imminent eviction. To find out more check out the website. The eviction will make 400 people homeless, and will devastate the brilliant and close-knit community at Dale Farm, breaking up families, pulling children from schools, and denying the elderly and sick vital community and health care. Basildon Council and the Coalition government have pledged between them to spend £18million wrecking the lives of Dale Farm families. Legal routes for stopping the eviction are almost exhausted; we need people to help stop the eviction now!
The eviction has been set for 19th Sept and could last over a week, perhaps weeks. The police can raid the site before this date and the more people on site the better protection we can provide and the more chance we have of preventing the cruel and brutal planned eviction of Dale Farm.
Dale farm residents are calling on supporters to come to Dale Farm as far in advance of that date as possible to help them stop the eviction. Residents have invited us to set up a base, dubbed ‘Camp Constant’. Launched in August, 2011, it is a mass gathering of national and international supporters of the Dale Farm community. Activists are supporting the Travellers in defending their homes and community.
As the eviction date looms, we are in constant need of more and more people. There's many different ways of getting involved – we need medics, legal observers, site defenders, cooks, etc.. More people are needed on all fronts.
Please sign up for txt alerts, as we can’t trust the council not to try an early eviction.
Getting to the site
Either turn up at the mustering point on Saturday 17th Sept or make your way to the site independently. Dale Farm is about 30-40 minutes from London by Train, you can find directions here. From Wickford Station (30 minutes journey from London), it’s a 15 minute cycle/45 minute walk from the station. To arrange a lift call the site phone: 07583621312
Please see map for more info on access to the site.
Be Prepared
Things to bring:
-warm clothes
-snack food
-water bottle
-sleeping bag and roll mat
-notepads, pencils
-torches
-cameras for taking photo evidence
-clean phone
Things not to bring:
-offensive weapons
-Things you would not like the police to take off you
Food
A vegan kitchen is running. We will be asking for donations to cover our costs.
Sleeping arrangements
Sleeping space is available in caravans and residents homes but we encourage you to bring a tent, and you are welcome to sleep over anytime. Please bring a sleeping bag if you can, and a roll mat is highly recommended especially since most of the tent space is on hard ground.
Legal info
Write on your arm before you get here:
Dale Farm Legal Hotline: 07928 669 515
Birds Solicitors: 07966 234 994
Hodge Jones and Allen Solicitors: 07659 111 192
Other info
Camp Constant site phone: 07583621312
The welcome pack is available here (in three formats, all versions have the same content):| pdf | odt | word - if you have trouble opening any of these for any reason, please email savedalefarm@gmail.com The welcome packs contain information on Dale Farm and the political context of the current eviction, Camp Constant and what to bring, Traveller history, and legal advice for activists.
People coming organised as affinity groups are very welcome.
Please promote our Facebook event through social networking sites, and see the original callout here.
