Barada
Saboteur
This isn't good. This is happening three blocks from my house.
I live in a small town of about 14,000 people. Over half of them live in the surrounding farmlands. There may be 6000 people in town with me. We have one major road that passes through our town from north to south, with a small road connecting us to the next town west of us, and a major highway that bypasses around us on the east. The only access to that highway is from either the north or south end of town. Oh, and to leave town to the north, we need to cross the Grand River, the largest river in Southern Ontario, which flows right through downtown. Access is via one large bridge.
Our town is small enough that I can walk from one end to the other in 30 minutes. We have only three traffic lights, and only one grocery store, with no department stores, but are a 20 minute drive down the highway from a major city with 1/2 million people in it. Small town community but close to all amenities is a good way to describe it here.
Anyway, the fires started in the south end effectively blocked any way in or out of town at that end. Thankfully, the big city is north of us, and access to the highway there is unimpeded. A second fire was started this afternoon 5 minutes north on the highway, and all side roads in the area are closed. Now, this evening, an abandoned bridge in the middle of town was ignited. Three fires in three different locations around and even in town within 12 hours. These people mean business.
The police have closed access to that road at the intersection right down the street from me, only three residential intersections away. The actual standoff is on a plot of land I can walk to in 5 minutes or less.
Now, the Provincial Police have closed the major highway that surrounds the town on the east. They reduced the highway leading north to one lane, and to pass through the police stops, you need to provide ID. The only road out of town not closed or seriously impeded is the one to the west, and that makes the 20 minute drive to the city into one that would take over an hour. Our one grocery store just happens to be right on the intersection where the protests are happening, and they closed the doors with a sign saying "For the Safety of Our Staff, Closed Until Further Notice". Two of the town's three schools have been closed (one because it's playground fence borders the occupied land, and the high school because there are fears that the mixed native/non-native population may begin racially motivated fights on school property).
Hundreds of native people from across Canada and the US are here in this protest, and hundreds more are expected overnight as I write this. We have 1000 police either on the scene or waiting for the call to join in, from several neighbouring townships, and apparently at least 200 members of the Canadian Army are waiting 15 minutes away at the nearby airport for a call to move in. Everyone is hoping for a peaceful resolution, but the police are going to enforce the cease and desist court order they have, and the protesters are apparently willing to do what it takes to stay.
To put it as simple as possible, we are nearing complete isolation from the rest of the world right now, with a war brewing down the street from my house. I am fully expecting to start hearing gunfire within the next day or so.
Ian (Barada)
I live in a small town of about 14,000 people. Over half of them live in the surrounding farmlands. There may be 6000 people in town with me. We have one major road that passes through our town from north to south, with a small road connecting us to the next town west of us, and a major highway that bypasses around us on the east. The only access to that highway is from either the north or south end of town. Oh, and to leave town to the north, we need to cross the Grand River, the largest river in Southern Ontario, which flows right through downtown. Access is via one large bridge.
Our town is small enough that I can walk from one end to the other in 30 minutes. We have only three traffic lights, and only one grocery store, with no department stores, but are a 20 minute drive down the highway from a major city with 1/2 million people in it. Small town community but close to all amenities is a good way to describe it here.
Anyway, the fires started in the south end effectively blocked any way in or out of town at that end. Thankfully, the big city is north of us, and access to the highway there is unimpeded. A second fire was started this afternoon 5 minutes north on the highway, and all side roads in the area are closed. Now, this evening, an abandoned bridge in the middle of town was ignited. Three fires in three different locations around and even in town within 12 hours. These people mean business.
The police have closed access to that road at the intersection right down the street from me, only three residential intersections away. The actual standoff is on a plot of land I can walk to in 5 minutes or less.
Now, the Provincial Police have closed the major highway that surrounds the town on the east. They reduced the highway leading north to one lane, and to pass through the police stops, you need to provide ID. The only road out of town not closed or seriously impeded is the one to the west, and that makes the 20 minute drive to the city into one that would take over an hour. Our one grocery store just happens to be right on the intersection where the protests are happening, and they closed the doors with a sign saying "For the Safety of Our Staff, Closed Until Further Notice". Two of the town's three schools have been closed (one because it's playground fence borders the occupied land, and the high school because there are fears that the mixed native/non-native population may begin racially motivated fights on school property).
Hundreds of native people from across Canada and the US are here in this protest, and hundreds more are expected overnight as I write this. We have 1000 police either on the scene or waiting for the call to join in, from several neighbouring townships, and apparently at least 200 members of the Canadian Army are waiting 15 minutes away at the nearby airport for a call to move in. Everyone is hoping for a peaceful resolution, but the police are going to enforce the cease and desist court order they have, and the protesters are apparently willing to do what it takes to stay.
To put it as simple as possible, we are nearing complete isolation from the rest of the world right now, with a war brewing down the street from my house. I am fully expecting to start hearing gunfire within the next day or so.
Ian (Barada)
Hang in there.