On 19 April 2023, Finbar Cafferkey, Dmitry Petrov and Cooper Andrews were killed next to Bakhmut fighting against russian invaders of Ukraine. They were anarchists from different parts of the world who answered the call of ukrainian people to fight back against the leviathan of Russian Empire. People of different fates, all three of them believed that the struggle for liberation goes beyond state borders or nationalities. Finbar, Dmitry and Cooper paid the ultimate price in the fight against the enemy that was bigger than any of them. They knew what they were signing up for as well as the dangers of that fight, but their desire for justice and freedom made them volunteers in ukrainian army.
These three people were not the first anarchists killed in action by the state in a war zone. Through history anarchists are well known as people who can easily exchange banners to weapons if the time demands so. From fighting Fascism in Spanish Civil War and later against Nazis in Second World War or in the modern struggles in Rojava and Ukraine we see black and red flags raised over the battlefield to symbolize the fight not for another state but for a society free from oppressions of capitalism and authority.
The memory of fallen is existential for the existence of political movement. The lives of comrades who, in the times of need, didn’t give up, are the stories that inspire further struggle and make those people immortal in our hearts and our minds. That’s why on 18 april we would like to meet in AZ Conni in Dresden to remember those, who died in struggle but remain alive in our history. For a couple of hours, we will tell their stories so they can live on among us as part of our own fight.
13:00-14:00 Memorial event
14:00-15:00 Food