#SavePikpa: Food and the Border crisis. “Those who eat together, fight together”

Opening Prayer

We are grateful for the food and remember those who do not have. We think about the labour that went into to produce this meal, from the production, the distribution and the beautiful creation that’s been made here. We hope that the work was meaningful and rewarding as we believe work can be, not oppressive and tedious as so much of it is.

Introduction

Rebel Tuesdays happen every few months at Black Cat Café, Hackney. Each time we have a three course, vegan meal prepared by the Clarence Road, E5, cooperative. In between courses, we have three speakers, one who talks about non-capitalist food production, one who will talk about a cause and another about solidarity. Hence, the event’s tag line, an aphorism from the late A. Sivanandan: ‘Those who eat together, fight together.’ The most recent incarnation, on 31^st July 2018, launched a fundraiser, starting with the money paid for the event, to get some funds to Lesvos Solidarity. As usual, speakers talked for a short time between each course. This serves the dual purpose of whetting appetites for the meal because, as they say, ‘hunger is the best source’; and also, if it goes well, leaving people with questions and ideas that they’d want to discuss with the people sitting around them. This is the talk I gave, adjusted slightly to make sense out of context.