Occupy camp in Finsbury Square struggles to take in St Paul's protesters

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/feb/29/occupy-finsbury-square-st-pauls

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The Occupy camp in Finsbury Square, now the last remaining in London, always had a different feel from its siblings. Protest signs – "Why get a job? I have an Occupation" – sit next to charts showing fire exits and drill times (1pm every Monday).

The camp, which sits in a few hundred square feet of council-owned parkland, has been home to a few dozen activists for almost four months, making it one of the longest-running Occupy sites in the world. Thanks to a degree of co-operation with the local council, and a willingness to accommodate certain fire and health regulations, the site doesn't currently face eviction.

But the relative calm of the camp, which had been setting itself up as a sustainable eco-village, has been shattered with the arrival of dozens of displaced activists following the eviction of Occupy from St Paul's Cathedral.

The few dozen protesters established at the site now find themselves the focus of attention as they try to handle new arrivals apparently drinking and making noise through the night, and face the spectre of eviction.

It hadn't been intended to work this way. Occupy had a plan of sorts for dealing with the St Paul's eviction. Those who wanted to take a break from protesting could do so, with a plan to reconvene in May. Everyone else would be split between the two remaining sites: the "School of Ideas" in Islington, and Finsbury Square.

These were scotched. As the police moved in on St Paul's, another group of bailiffs evicted the small number of activists camping at the School of Ideas. At 6am on Tuesday morning, the bulldozers came in. By 8am, the disused primary school was being torn down, amid grumbles from activists that their food, belongings – and in one case, passport – were still inside, amid the rubble.

The small Finsbury Square site was, then, the only place to go for dozens of activists and homeless people. Room was found for around another four tents, salvaged from the St Paul's eviction, while around 20 slept in cramped conditions in the tent previously used as the site's library.

The transition hasn't been smooth: unlike St Paul's, Finsbury has operated with relatively well-enforced rules: no drink or drugs on site, no camping unless you work, and – apparently on the council's health and safety orders – no meat in the kitchen. The refusal of many new arrivals to follow these restrictions led to fractious scenes before a standoff at one of Occupy's famous general assembly meetings at 1pm on Wednesday.

"It's been really calm," says Tiffany, who says she has been at the site since it was established last year. "General assemblies are usually very short and peaceful. It's more like a village here, with no drink and no drugs. That's not exactly been the case now."

Around 30 St Paul's activists have found space at the site, with others turned away because of lack of space. A metallic "geo-dome" donated by a local artist, previously used for events, and on Saturday, a cinema night, now sleeps around five new arrivals.

The Finsbury Occupiers are concerned that increased numbers and night-time rowdiness will break the uneasy truce between the protesters and council.

"The council has been sending two people down every week, on Wednesday," says Tiffany. "Now it's every day. There are more police around near the camp, too."

The protesters believe the council has received funding to help evict the camp if they so wish, but have been told no legal action has begun.

Protesters also fear a shortfall of funds: the smaller Finsbury camp had benefitted from donations received from the large and public St Paul's gathering. Without them, money could quickly get tight.

Eventually, about half an hour after they had intended to start, chairs were dragged into a circle and a general assembly – facilitated by a new arrival called Charlie – was convened, with 30 to 50 activists drifting in and out of the grouping.

Charlie began by setting down the rules of the Finsbury camp, to grumbles from several others.

Several activists stormed out at different points, as tensions between various factions spilled over into personal rows. In a bizarre act of protest, an older Occupier called Rob, shouting "fuck your process", left the meeting to fish a ukelele from a nearby tent, then sat strumming for the remainder of the meeting, to the annoyance of several around straining to hear.

Occupy's efforts to bring unity to a divided camp were cut off in full flow, however, as several protesters sought to get to a nearby magistrates court for the hearings of two people arrested during the St Paul's eviction. One of the final contributions came from David, a veteran of Occupy movements in London and Scotland.

"If we manage to set up an eco-village in the heart of the City, that's a big win," he said. "The only thing that could destroy that is a descent into disrespect and disorder, and then we'd be evicted.

"That would be the end of Occupy in London."

Museum's Occupy collection

Whatever the fate of London's last remaining Occupy site in Finsbury Square, the movement will always have a foothold somewhere in the city – the collection of the Museum of London.

Having decided the Occupy protests were of cultural significance, the museum has been sourcing banners, posters and other material from the camp, alongside audio interviews with protesters – given on the proviso the museum share these with a copyright-free licence – and archived online material.

A spokesman for the Museum of London said that although the museum did not have plans at present to feature what it was gathering in a public display, the collection was a significant end in its own right, and a sign that Occupy had a place in the city's cultural heritage.

The museum is also hosting a discussion event based on Occupy in the next few weeks, with a panel including the Turner-prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller and the museum's director of collections, Cathy Ross.

•<em> Occupation and Protest: Documenting Social Unrest takes place at the Museum of London from 19.00 to 20.45 on Monday 26 March</em>