By Yorick F. – Revo and Gruppe Arbeiter:innenmacht (ISL Germany)
The world is on fire, both literally and metaphorically: the climate crisis, war, genocide, ever-increasing poverty, and the ever-clearer message from those in power to the youth and the working class: your lives are worth nothing except for the profit you generate for us. To ramp up the military-industrial complex and supply weapons for genocide, our schools, universities, and healthcare systems are being dismantled through budget cuts. While the climate is heading toward complete collapse, machines are being built that do nothing but destroy thousands of human lives, nature, and the climate.
None of this is a coincidence; these are expressions of imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism. In a struggle to redivide spheres of global influence, natural resources, and political power, major imperialist powers such as the U.S. or China but not only them also Germany, France, and Britain stand opposed to one another, each vying for its place in the sun. Young people and the working class bear the brunt of this: whether in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, the Congo, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, or Ukraine; whether in dilapidated schools; or in compulsory military service and conscription drives designed to send us to our deaths for their profits—everywhere we face a common enemy: the imperialist world system. We recognize, that we need a revolutionary break toward socialism with this barbaric and destructive system.
That is why we support and welcome the manifesto of the International Youth and Student Strikes calling for mobilization on November 20. This manifesto is a major step in the right direction! Currently, we are seeing youth uprisings across Europe against the effects of the EU’s military buildup: in Germany, school strikes against conscription—which serve as an important inspiration for the International Youth Strike—strikes against the hijab ban in Austria and Aserbaidschan, student protests in France against schools being cut to pieces by austerity measures that are currently spreading to Belgium, Albania and other European countries, and mass protests in Spain And Portugal against rising rents putting up huge encampments just in the past months. For these movements to succeed, they must be conceived collectively and, above all, fought for collectively!
We as the ISL support this call and want to actively participate in it! We call on all young people and workers to take to the streets with us across Europe and around the world and take a step toward an international movement against war and crisis!
At the same time, it remains important to discuss our perspectives and strategies:
As the ISL, we propose the following points for the way forward; we invite all groups and activists to discuss these with us and join our ranks:
- It must not stop at a single strike! – A movement against militarization worldwide needs more than a single strike; it requires regular, internationally coordinated actions that not only bring people onto the streets but also build solid structures—both internationally and locally, in universities, schools, and workplaces—that can sustain and carry the movement. These actions should be coordinated internationally, which requires clear and transparent structures in which all organizations in the alliance can and should participate.
- Concrete links to ongoing wars.—Solidarity must be put into practice; calls for solidarity with specific wars, genocides, and all states affected by imperialist aggression are important and correct, but we need a debate on how we can put our solidarity into practice. We must recognize that the most important step in this regard is to fight the imperialist beast at its very heart—in the imperialist states of the EU, in Russia, the US, Japan or China. This may mean organizing resistance against existing or planned production facilities and transport hubs for military equipment. At the same time, we should support actions such as the flotilla to Gaza or the International Solidarity Convoy to Ukraine; even if these are primarily humanitarian projects, we must use these moments for political purposes.
- We need a strategic discussion! – The Youth Strike Alliance consists of various organizations from different countries, each with its own agenda. What unites us is our desire to take a stand against militarization and imperialism on an international level. At the same time, we have different ideas about what that means in concrete terms and how we can achieve it; this must not mean that we agree only on issues where there is relative consensus—it must also mean that we can discuss controversial points honestly, openly, and in a spirit of solidarity. To this end, we propose holding a Youth Strike strategy conference and call for a global International Conference of the Youth of the World, after November 20 to discuss strategy, direction, and tactics for building a powerful movement; only together can we effectively oppose rearmament and militarization and the imperialist word system. We call on all organizations and activists who agree with this ideas to join our organizations in each country to fight, together, for a revolutionary perspective.
Long live international solidarity!
France
Germany
Belgium
Albania
Greece
Italy
Portugal
