Occupy Toronto Eviction

I headed down to St. James Park at about 11pm on Tuesday night and spent the evening photographing what I figured would be the last hours of the occupation of St. James Park. Unfortunately, I was right. Toronto Police arrived the following day at about 6am and moved in at 7am. What followed was a day-long process of systematic evictions, property destruction and arrests. The entire process dismantling and disposing of the community lasted from sunrise to sunset. Although police and media contest that the eviction was peaceful, many people, including myself, saw as it as a violent assault upon the rights and emotions of the occupiers. The worst part was watching the police drag protesters into paddy wagons before they destroyed the sacred fire that had tended to by First Nations elders since the beginning of the occupation.

On a personal level, this process was very hard to watch. I'm not afraid to admit that I shed a few tears while my face was behind the camera. You can say what you want about the OWS movement, but I saw the occupation of St. James Park as a powerfully symbolic community. The dedicated individuals who gave their time and effort to make it possible are real heros. Their hard work created a lightning rod for passionate hope and change where everyone was welcome to contribute. It will be dearly missed.

Tents and signs may be crushed in trash compactors and buried in the ground, but their occupants and authors live on. Thoughts and ides cannot be censored or silenced between whispering lips and open ears. Words cannot be punched, kicked or stomped under military boot soles. A movement can never be evicted from a park, just as the growing outrage of a people will never go away on its own. The 99% are still the 99% and that fact will carry them into the future with strength and unity.