Car tires of Amazon and LivEye cars slashed

Aachen, 3rd august

In the early morning hours between August 2nd and 3rd, we, a Feminist Autonomous Cell (FAZ), slashed the tires of two cars connected to the surveillance and security industry, one by an Amazon contractor and one by the surveillance technology company LivEye. This is to show our resistance against surveillance, technological attack and securitization.
The attack is part of a choreography with the action of a Cell in Karlsruhe (GER) at the same time (Tor link: http://raxuatgmxdvnp4no.onion/node/1596537085956703/).

To sabotage both cars, we used a simple kitchen cutting knife to slash all four tires each through the side (not through the tire profile). This makes the air leave the tire immediately rather loudly, but without a bang. This method does not require much strength. In order to not leave traces, one should wear multiple layers of clean disposable gloves. The sharp knife should be transported in a clean package that prevents accidental injuries. After the sabotage, the knife, the package and the disposable gloves can be thrown away separately in some distance to the location. Before starting to work on the tires, we checked that there were no people in the cars and our surroundings.

Amazons, not Amazon

With Amazon and LivEye, we chose two companies we view as responsible for increasing surveillance and gentrification of cities. As one FAZ wrote in summer 2019, Amazon is not only a large capitalist company who enforces bad working conditions, but also supplies surveillance software for states, police and intelligence (https://barrikade.info/article/2517). In cities such as Berlin, Amazon also plays a key role in gentrification, whose consequences hit poor people and autonomous spaces especially hard (mor infos e.g. here https://barrikade.info/article/3759). Amazon cooperates with multiple logistics companies. Their cars can be easily recognized by an Amazon logo on the side, as in our case, or by a sign in the drivers cabin.

LivEye is a company that, among other things, provides (intelligent) surveillance technologies for construction sites and large building projects, but also e.g. for powerplants and windparks. It’s a member of the German security business association.

We committed both actions in solidarity with the anarcha_queer_feminist squat Liebig34 in Berlin.
Liebig34 directly experiences gentrification and repression and currently faces eviction (http://liebig34.blogsport.de/).

The two choreographed actions in Karlsruhe and Aachen (GER), together with the action against the reactionary church Tübinger Offensive Stadtmission by a FAZ in December 2019 (https://barrikade.info/article/3033), mark the beginning of a campaign with explicitly feminist topics. We thereby want to support the Liebig34 call for sabotage and riot for the project’s survival and send our solidarity and strength to Liebig34, its habitants and supportees.

Why feminist topics and targets?
Being queer_feminist, to us, means constantly resisting patriarchal, bourgeoise society (and having to). Being forced to defend our bodies, work force, minds and well-being against colonisation and violence. As a Cell recently put it in their text (https://barrikade.info/article/3700), however, queer_feminism and militant action are being artificially separated from each other all the time, also in leftist discourse. Either, militant action is being perceived as non-feminist, or feminism is being addressed only under the dogma of ’non-violence‘. This self-reduction, to us, is used as a strategy to limit feminist struggles and seperate them from other leftist struggles. Therefore, verbalizing our forms of action and stating our feminist standpoint is of major importance to us.
What this division also means is that connections of feminism and militant action are (and could be even more) powerful. Therefore, we call for feminist militant actions: attacks on stakeholders of patriarchal society such as anti-abortion and conversion therapy propagandists, religious sexists and anti-queers, antifeminists, perpetrators and profiteurs of societal ‚beauty‘ norms, nazis etc.

We thank the Fantifa Witches from the Black Forest (https://barrikade.info/article/3209), the people who sabotaged a Telekom car in Hamburg (https://chronik.blackblogs.org/?p=11723), Bosch cars (https://chronik.blackblogs.org/?p=12090, https://chronik.blackblogs.org/?p=11518) and Gunnar Schupelius car in Berlin (https://de.indymedia.org/node/57093) for their greetings and send our best wishes back to you and all the wonderful people acting against patriarchy and oppression. Whether it’s with a lighter or a soup spoon – we are looking forward to the future!

Greetings and kisses,

a Feminist Autonomous Cell

P.S. For those who want to visit Amazon in Aachen again, here are some addresses:

1) Amazon Development Center Aachen
One of Amazons three research centers in Germany. Working here on Artificial Intelligence and Alexa. Amazons Center is located in the building of AachenMünchner (part of Generali) in Aureliusstraße 2, 52064 Aachen.

2) Amazon Hub Locker
Amazon lockers (for more info, see text by other FAZ):
– cherokee: Shell Tankstelle, Prager Ring 106, Aachen
– chantal Shell Tankstelle, Von-Coels-Straße 11, Aachen
– rafi: Shell Tankstelle, Hauptstr. 244, Würselen
– Shell Tankstelle: Erkensstraße 2-4, Herzogenrath

3) Digital Hub in the former St.-Elisabeth-Kirche: start-up location cooperating with Amazon
Jülicher Straße 68, Aachen

4) Vehicles by Amazon logistics contractors: Cars with Amazon logo or sign are parked around the city.

P.P.s: Bild: Symbolbild – natürlich nie ohne Handschuhe!
Picture: random picture – of course never without gloves!

Source: geistige-gefaehrdungen.net, Diymedia (Tor)