Camio Story Part 6 Last night I Was Arrested.

This year 2019  marks the 60th year of life showing up in my body suit. To acknowledge the extraordinary probability of me existing at all, (about a 1 in 102,685,000 chance !) I am busy  participating  in sixty new experiences.

 So far  I have taken up crochet, rowed to  Skellig Michael in an open rowing boat. Enjoyed a Shabbat that was hosted  by some Jewish friends of mine, was the celebrant at a hand fasting ceremony, hosted a yoga festival . On the side, am learning to wolf-whistle, play the spoons and practice the art of levitation with varying degrees of success,  mind you not all at the same time !! Let's say most of these  opportunities rose organically . What I definitely  wasn't planning was the possibility of being arrested.

Hanging out in the lobby 

On Tuesday, 1st of October  CAMIO (Cooperation against mining in Omagh ) attended a  peaceful protest at FODC Council office. This peaceful demonstration was in response to the Council’s reluctance to make a decision on a motion which has been on their agenda for four meetings. The submission was about taking legal action against DfE for granting prospecting licences in the Council area. Similar motions have already been passed by Derry City & Strabane Council and Mid-Ulster Council.

A long stand for patient conscientious objectors 

I got there late as I was coming from teaching a yoga class . There was already a sizeable number of conscientious protectors from interested  organisations. Save our Sperrins, The Greencastle Peoples Office,  CAMIO,  Greencastle Community Voices. When I arrived there was a bit of a stand off at the bottom of the stairs where two of our young people were seeking to gain access to the chamber to read out a statement they had prepared. Eventually six people were admitted at a time . Our young person Orlaith read out the following statement below .

More objectors outside the Grange

Our young folk patiently explaining why they should
 be allowed into the FODC chamber 

Lets start with a quote 

‘If you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil’ 
Greta Thunberg’s speech to the United Nations on the world leader’s total incompentancy/complacey on battling climate change.

So, members of Omagh District Council, are you evil?  The buck starts and stops with you. We have one of the most polluting industries in the world knocking on ALL our doors.  They want our gold, our silver, our diamonds, our oil, our flint.  They want whatever we have – at whatever cost.  They do not care what destruction they leave behind. And you are the ones who potentially can allow it or stop it. They should never have been issued prospecting licenses.  They should definitely not be allowed to purchase any more prospecting licenses.  This council should be working as hard as it can to stop these foreign companies from coming over here and destroying our environment.  This council needs to realize it is their job to do their utmost to achieve this aim.  This council and all its members need to come together unanimously, they need to ignore the so called (short –term) economic benefits, they need to put the health of their constituents and the environment before any mythical ‘gold’ that is flashed before their eyes.  If you do not, and in full knowledge of the facts which have been explained to you over and over again, by us, the locals fighting for their land and health, by other people in other lands who have personally witnessed mining and all the destruction it brings, and finally by the world’s scientists who have produced more than enough evidence….. then, if you do not act, with all this knowledge… then you are evil.

The world has woken up to the fact that climate change is happening, and if we do not act we are on course for mass extinction.  This is the opinion of environmental scientists worldwide.  This is not scaremongering.  With this knowledge, why would we then even consider letting these mining companies in to our land, into any land? It is an absoutely ludicrous suggestion!

We are demanding of you councilors, your promise that you will do your utmost to protect the health and wellbeing of the people you are paid to represent.  We are demanding of you, that you put the environment at the top of your agenda… not as is currently obvious – at the bottom.

If you do not, you are failing us, yourselves and all future generations. 


Whilst the vice chair woman of FODC did her best to quiet the chamber and give Orlaith the attention and respect she deserved, a young person genuinely worried about what the future  holds for her generation. What was clear and obvious was that neither of the main political parties thought it worthwhile to offer either their attention or respect. She was actively spoken over by some  and ignored by the rest.

The evening dragged on as the council worked through the minutae of a multitude of issues
It's interesting to note that languishing at  23.3 after four months, was the motion and reason for us to be there in the first place;

   To consider call-in of the decision taken at the Reconvened Council Meeting on 5 August 2019 regarding Judicial Review of the decisions of the Department for the Economy to issue Mineral Prospecting Licences to Dalradian Gold Ltd and Flintridge Resources Ltd. 

I am  supposing,  reports on artwork displays, alien species and Christmas parking arrangements take precedence over a multimillion extractive industry and mining camp which plans to destroy and desecrate our sacred uplands and turn them into an industrial zone. Needless to say the meeting never got to 23.3 !

I looked up the term filibustering and this is what it says: late 18th century: from French flibustier, first applied to pirates who pillaged the Spanish colonies in the West Indies. The verb was  also used to describe tactics intended to sabotage US congressional proceedings.

And I smiled  widely to myself . The following things occurred to me as I observed the evenings charade.

With a few honourable exceptions the councillors elected  to represent us the people (particularly from the two main main political parties ) without a shadow of a doubt fulfil the lowest common denominator required to fill this appointment i.e. warm and breathing.

The convenient absence of a sitting government in Stormount  gives free rein to blatant corruption and a lack of moral principle. We do not have the calibre of political leadership required  that will enable us to progress as a community, society or country .The complete and gaping  absence of integrity and intelligence makes me uneasy for our our council and for our  democracy. It is obvious that highly skilled people with good judgement are choosing not to participate in our political systems.

As the evening comes  to an end the frustration is palpable . Councillors pack up to leave, some scurrying quickly away, unable to look directly at any of us . More and more conscientious objectors come quietly into the chamber, as do about eight or ten police. Alison McCullagh announces that the meeting is over and we must leave the building. A heated argument breaks out between some  objectors and Sinn Fein representatives . I am sitting on a seat at the wall at the back observing everything. The police announce we must leave the building. I decide I am going to stay . Some folk leave, those that stay are arrested one at a time. I was near enough the last or maybe second last to be arrested . A policeman puts his hand on my arm and escorts me out of the chamber after taking my details. It all seems a little dreamlike.

Taking an unpopular stand for something when it counts can be a lonely and uncomfortable experience. Having thoughtfully committed myself to making a stand to protect our environment some years ago, made my  choice very clear,  on Tuesday  evening  that same declaration called me out. Even though it was not a threatening or violent situation  it took all the courage I could muster up to see my intention through by continuing to occupy the building, after we were told to leave which would lead  to certain arrest. If I don't stand, who will?

Downstairs the lobby has been more or less cleared and we emerge out into the cool  night air. Immediately I am de-arrested which I understand means that I am innocent. With a certain amount of relief we disperse into the night. Driving home alone I feel the tension in my body beginning to dissipate and ruefully chuckle to myself. Definitely not on my 60th wish list !