Natural Writers

Men Trees

Eva Wissenz — 2010-08-23T09:57:29Z

Photographies by Angélique Boudet in Mexico, India, France, Canada

On the road

Eva Wissenz — 2010-08-23T09:53:21Z

Photographies by Angélique Boudet

Visions

Eva Wissenz — 2010-08-23T09:49:32Z

India, Thanjavur.

France, Aix.

Mexico, Real.

Photographies by Angélique Boudet

Greek Tree

Eva Wissenz — 2010-08-23T09:46:11Z

Watercolor - a winter in Paros.

Princess K'Gari

Chavez — 2010-08-19T04:13:03Z

It is 6pm and night has fallen on the 10th of June.

I am camping on the shore of Lake McKenzie, on Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world.

Fraser is situated a few kilometres from the eastern seaboard of Australia, 400 kilometres north of Brisbane.

To reach Lake McKenzie, I walked 11 kilometres from the west coast of Fraser Island. The barge, which travels between the continent and the island 3 times a day, dropped me there a few hours earlier.

That night beside the lake the temperature was cool, 13°C.

Winter is upon the southern hemisphere. In Queensland, during the cooler months, temperatures vary between 8°c and 10°c at night and 20 to 23°c during the day. No rain, as winter is traditionally dry in the sub-tropical and tropical regions of Australia.

A few moments before nightfall, silence around the lake is almost complete, briefly interrupted by a few birds. Their calls, rather than spoiling the silence, accentuate it... total peace.

Fraser Island: 123 km long, 14 to 22 km wide. An area of 162,000 to 184,000 hectares, according to the tides.

Fraser Island being made entirely of sand, one may wonder where so much of that material came from. This sand mass is an accumulation of eroded rock from the New England/Great Dividing Range region of NSW, carried out to sea by rivers about 400 million years ago, then swept northwards by coastal currents to form Moreton, Bribie and Fraser Islands. The sand that makes up the Great Sandy National Park comes from that same process of erosion. About 40 different types of sand compose the soil of Fraser Island. Among them, the oceanic sand (usually yellow/gold in colour due to sea minerals and micro nutrients attached to sand granules). Each silica grain is enveloped by a thin film of iron oxide and feldspars. Feldspar retains miniscule amounts of potash and phosphates. Salt spray supplies additional micro nutrients, or the ‘Coffee rock' which is sand cemented into tightly packed formations with humus found along the beaches. Also there is the white sand surrounding the lakes. This sand is virtually pure silica, up to 25m deep and is very low in nutrient levels.

Perched, window and barrage lakes.

Situated at 100 metres in altitude, Lake Mackenzie covers an area of 150 hectares. It has been formed by the wind which blew a depression in the sand. Leaves, barks, and other vegetable matter from the surrounding vegetation accumulated there. The sediments cemented together and formed an impervious layer. Then rainwater created a lake 5 meters deep.

Lake McKenzie, crystal clear water, white sand…

40 lakes sprinkle Fraser Island. They account for half of the world's sand lakes. Some are defined as “perched”, meaning they are not connected to underground waters, namely the water table. Lake Mackenzie is a perched lake. Window lakes are formed where the water table comes to the surface. Finally, a third type of lake is found on the island. These are the barrage lakes. In that case, the wind, by pushing sand against the current of a creek, created a lake.

Wanggoolba Creek and its rainforest.

Lake Wabby, one of the barrage lakes on Fraser Island.

The vegetation

Numerous communities of plants are found on the island. Amazing diversity in regards to the sandy soil on which they strive. On the coastal dunes, the leaves and the fruits of the Angular Pigface, Carpobrotus glaucesens, were eaten by the aborigines. The Pandanus, Pandanus tectorius, can grow to a fair size. The seed of that tree was also appreciated as food by the aborigines.

Angular Pigface.

Pandanus.

A bit more inland, sheltered from the wind and marine salts, larger plants were able to establish. There banksias such as Banksia aemula, or the Grass-Tree, Xanthorrea latifolia, and many more grow.

We are in Australia, and the landscape would not be complete without Eucalyptus.

But one of the peculiarities of Fraser Island, making it a place unique in the world, is the presence of lush rainforests growing on high sand dunes. These rainforests have no reason to envy other tropical rainforests anywhere in the world. They consist of dense canopies, giant ferns, vines, strangler fig trees, orchids, epiphytes, towering trees… Stangler fig tree.

There are also a good numbers of fungi species. These help the rainforest develop and grow. They rapidly recycle dead vegetation, allowing the forest to regenerate quickly despite the lack of nutriments in the soil. Here are some specimens of fungi.

Encounter with the dingoes of Fraser Island

After a night's camping beside Lake McKenzie, I started walking again, this time towards Central Station. On the way, a further 5 km, I had a break at Basin Lake, another perched lake. Having planned to spend the night there, and before I set off again, I managed to secure one of my backpacks in a tree, a few metres above the ground. It is a precaution to take if you want to find your gear in one piece on your return. Indeed, the backpack containing food, could have been ripped to pieces by the dingo, the mighty wild Australian dog. With the increasing number of people visiting the island, encounters with the dingo are on the rise. Out of ignorance, some bush walkers, campers or visitors feed the dingoes. The animals have ended up associating human beings with easy to obtain food. It is therefore absolutely forbidden to interfere with the animals on the island. The national park's service will fine anyone caught feeding a dingo or leaving food available for dingoes to find. A fine of $3000 exists for anyone caught (1). The aim is to stop the animals from becoming dependent on people and also to prevent any possible danger. A few years ago a 9 year old boy was attacked by a pack of dingoes and killed. The dingo is therefore potentially dangerous for human beings. Following that tragedy, and over a two years period, 45 dingoes were shot by the national park service. They were the animals being the most aggressive towards people.

Once my backpack was safe and secure, I started walking again towards Wanggoolba Creek. Shortly before I arrived there, I came face to face with two dingoes, an adult and a young female of about one year old. The female was the boldest of the two, showing a great interest in the other backpack I was still carrying with me, especially when I took out my camera. The animal probably thought I was going to give her something to eat.

The boldest of the two dingoes I came across that day. Maybe a future alpha female (dominant female).

The other animal which stayed behind during the whole encounter.

The pictures are blurred. I didn't have the time to adjust the camera as I had to keep an eye on my backpack and that female which was not shy enough for my liking.

The dingoes of Fraser Island are considered to be the purest dingoes in Australia. In autumn, from March to May, the adults compete to mate. A pack will fight to the death to protect its territory. Some dingoes will also try to dominate humans by snarling, nipping or biting. In winter, from June to August, the whole pack looks after the pups. From September to November, during the spring, the pups learn survival skills from their parents and other members of the pack. From December to February, the young dingoes learn the pack's rules through play, showing aggressive behaviour to gain dominance. The young dingoes will try to dominate people, especially children. Children entangled in dingo play can be mauled or killed. The average number of dingoes found in a pack is 12. There is a strict hierarchy among each member of the pack as well as a defined hunting territory. The pack leaders (one Alpha male and female) are healthier and well fed. Their subordinate dogs are thinner and leaner and they must submit to the dominant pair. They will couch, cough and fold their tails between their legs to gain access to available food. The dominant pair breeds once each year and the other pack members help to raise the pups. The habits of the dingoes are quite similar to the wolves' (Canis lupus). However, the wolf very rarely attacks humans, while the dingo (Canis lupus dingo), is not shy and will come close to people. After this encounter, I kept on walking towards Central Station. There, beautiful Wangoolba Creek runs through the rainforest.

Central Station was a hub of the logging industry up to the 1950's. Huge damage has been caused to the island's environment due to logging and mining from the time of its discovery by Europeans in the early 1800's. Fortunately, since 1992, Fraser has been protected from all industries except tourism. It's also in 1992 that Fraser Island was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, alongside Colorado's Grand Canyon, the pyramids of Egypt and the Louvre Museum.

Basin Lake

A lot smaller than Lake McKenzie, it is quite easy to walk around Basin Lake in less than half an hour. The lakes of Fraser Island are hosts to several species of amphibians and fresh water turtles. On their banks grows a carnivorous plant, the Spoon-leaf Sundew, Drosera lovellae

The plant attracts insects with a scented liquid. Being sticky, the liquid traps the insects which cannot free themselves. Once the insect is dead, the plant will digest it.

During the night, while camping on the banks of Basin Lake, I was woken up by a howling pack of dingoes. Dingoes howl to keep in touch with the pack. They don't bark which is another common trait with the wolf. It is always pleasant to be woken up in such a way.

Beside the dingoes, several other types of animals cover the forests and the dunes of the island. At least two species of kangaroos live on the island, the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolour, and the Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Macropus giganteus. The Eastern Grey is rarely seen, being not a permanent resident of the island. A kangaroo is a pretty good swimmer and, from time to time, it won't hesitate to cross the channel separating Fraser Island from the Australian continent. Quite a few reptiles inhabit the island as well. Forty-six species are officially registered. Among them are a number of snakes including the Carpet Python, Morelia spilota, the Death Adder, Acanthopis antarticus and the Red-Bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus. Note, that the last two are quite venomous but non-aggressive and will stay away from people. Also present is the large lizard species the Lace Monitor, Varanus Varius.

Lace Monitor (Varanus varius)

The waters surrounding Fraser Island shelter a rich animal life. Dugongs, sharks, 5 species of dolphins, 4 of marine turtles and the Humpback Whales, Megapteria novaeanglia, which, from the end of July to November, take a rest here during their migration.

Humpback Whale “breaching” and Fraser Island in the background

A lot of birds inhabit the forests of Fraser Island in total about 350 species. There are also quite a few migratory species which, like the Humpback Whales, will use the area as a resting place during their migration.

Mongolian Plover, Charadrius mongolus. It migrates from Siberia and spends the summer in Asia and Australia.

Bushwalking.

The island can be visited in a 4X4 vehicle, but the softest and most interesting way to explore it is to do it walking. You then experience nature as a whole, while your breathing regulates itself to the rhythm of your footsteps. Your spirit and the surrounding smells and noises become one. You are in symbiosis with the present moment, and, despite the weight of your backpack, you feel lighter. Then, only the moment counts. Those sensations cannot be felt when you travel in a car with air-conditioning. Walking is the most ecologically friendly means of transport and the most economical. In comparison, a car is totally inefficient, in terms of energy consumed and the distance travelled. Walking, it's the use of a free energy in an ecological economy. Fraser Island is a hymn to nature. And the best way to realise it is to explore it by foot, where 4X4 vehicles don't go. That way, trees, flowers, animals will accept you more readily. If you feel bushwalking is the way to go, there is the possibility to do several days walks with Footprints on Fraser, a tour operator specialised in that kind of expedition. Different to the walk I did by myself, Footprints on Fraser uses the camp sites managed by the Island's national parks' service. When camping, I isolated myself to find the inspiration to write this article. Bill Henderson, manager of Footprints on Fraser, takes great pleasure in sharing the spirit of the Island with his clients. See footprintsonfraser.com.au

Bill Henderson, on the left, and one of his guests at the foot of a Tallow wood, Eucalyptus microcorys, Valley of the Giants, Fraser Island.

After one night spent by Basin Lake, I took the direction of the mouth of Wanggoolba Creek (7km), where I caught another barge to get back on the continent. In two days and two nights, I only had a glimpse of the complexity of the ecology of Fraser Island. Yet, even a short stay allows you to take the measure of this area where a multitude of fascinating life forms have established themselves, way before human beings first appeared on earth.

To conclude, here is how the Butchulla people, traditional custodians of the area, explain how the island was created. The name they gave to the island is “Princess K'Gari” (2), meaning paradise. According to the legend, K'gari is the name of the feminine spirit which helped Yindigie, the messenger of the god Beeral, to create the world. To reward her for her help, Beeral changed K'Gari into a beautiful island, covered with trees, flowers and lakes. And, so that she would not feel lonely, he also created birds, animals and human beings.

Life, as a whole, was far from easy for the aboriginal people of Australia. Yet, because of the respect they had for their environment, and with little technology, they managed to live in a harsh environment for at least 50,000 years. Without considering the earth as sacred, they would not have survived.

Notes : (1) On some of the island's camp sites, the national park service has installed shelters where campers can leave their food away from the dingoes.

(2) There is no concept of king, queen, princess in aboriginal tradition. Europeans added the term “Princess” to the name of the island.

An inspired entrepreneur

Eva Wissenz — 2010-08-11T07:04:39Z

Mr Desai, could you present a bit of your background?
My father was a farmer in Gujarat. I have an elder sister, 10 years older than me and we had 8 brothers and sisters who died very young. From highschool I was impressed by Mahatma Gandhi's books. I understood that in the name of the so-called development industry was going wrong. After becoming an ingeneer I realized it more and more and could not bare it. For example, when they built the capitale of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, I understood that the government was taxing people but building only for government employees and never for the well-being of the poor. Of course, change things is ambitious, you have to start somewhere. Where to start? First, reduce poverty, give them strenght. So I resigned my job and started Tinytech in 1982 after 14 years of struggle in my mind because I had a familly to sustain, at that time I was 40 and today I am 67 years old. The first two years have been difficult, we had little space, all my savings were spend the first year with atiny cement plan but there was no order. Then I started the little oil mill and after another year, the success was there.

What is Tinytech?
I believe in small scale industry and I am sure that entire economy can be done by tiny industry. I subcontract to produce and everything is assembled in my factories. It means that 20 small factories are working with us, completly independen from us, they are not our employees. I purchase the raw material, they produce the pieces and Tinytech assemble. For them it means they have no marketing and they don't sell : they do the work and they get paid. For me, I don't have to invest in machinery, have big places, etc. So investments (and problems) are divided. Today, 10 to 15 persons are working at Tinytech, in offices, 2 factories and a third out of the city. We export our small machines in 85 countries. We are efficient but we want to stay small and I would be happy if others are inspired by all this. Actually, our machines are not patented and I encourage people to copy them. Everytime I do something I ask to myself: “ does it give wealth to the poor? does it reduce wealth for the rich?” and both have to be satisfied. You know big companies can only survive by creating monopoly with the help of government.

Why are your factories called “yoga temple”?
The first one is called “Prayog Mandir” (Temple of advanced yoga) and the second “Udyog Mandir” (Temple of higher yoga). When you practice yoga, you do it for you, for your own benefice, it's a first level of yoga but all activities should be for the benefit of the entire society, not for you so, by our activities poor people should prosper so it is yoga!

What are your experiences with solar energy?
I started the experience about 10 years ago because I tought solar technology could be the main revolution because you see, sun has an equal blessing on entire earth. Sun energy cannot be centralized, no monopoly is possible. I did not have not much knowledge so I contact W. Scheffler and I learn from him. But if Scheffler's solar machine is great and very usefull for large uses, it is very complicated, beyond the reach of common masses. Then I designed a small community cooker There are 300 of these solar cookers already in India and we sell them in 25 countries. But I was thinking that one day somebody would find a way to produce simply and at low cost a more powerfull solar energy... and it seems to be you Eerik with your Solar Fire !

You are involve in many social works and you also wrote books about various subjects like indian constitution, economy, traditionnal sari. What do you think about western and eastern worlds?
I think that Europe became a victim of gigantism. In Europe, and maybe also in North America, many people do understand that something is going wrong qnd try to find a way out of it. India is interesting for European people because here the country is still very decentralized, everything still exists at a small scale. India has a key but unfortunately our government is a slave of the same gigantic model and this is because our leader have all been educated in western countries! So poverty and unemployment are increasing here. The Eastern world has his capability to go on, to create his development, we have to stand here, to improve everything that can be like the position of women for example. We have to learn from the West in our terms and the West has to learn the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi and the beauty of simplicity.

Interview by Eerik & Eva Wissenz - Rajkot - 22 Oct. 2009

Sustainable archive

Eerik Wissenz — 2010-01-27T14:19:21Z

- Ecology

Why we left our farms to come to Copenhagen

Eerik Wissenz — 2009-12-17T20:32:02Z

Speech of Henry Saragih, general coordinator of Via Campesina at the opening session of Klimaforum

Tonight is a very special night for us to get together here for the opening of the assembly of the social movements and civil society at the Klimaforum. We, the international peasant movement La Via Campesina, are coming to Copenhagen from all five corners of the world, leaving our farmland, our animals, our forest, and also our families in the hamlets and villages to join you all.

Why is it so important for us to come this far? There are a number of reasons for that. Firstly, we would like to tell you that climate change is already seriously impacting us. It brings floods, droughts and the outbreak of pests that are all causing harvest failures. I must point out that these harvest failures are something that the farmers did not create. Instead, it is the polluters who caused the emissions who destroy the natural cycles. So, we small scale farmers came here to say that we will not pay for their mistakes. And we are asking the emitters to face up to their responsibilities.

Secondly, I would like to share with you some facts about who the emitters of green house gases in agriculture really are: new data that has come out clearly shows that industrial agriculture and the globalized food system are responsible of between 44 and 57% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. This figure can be broken down as follows (i) Agricultural activities are responsible for 11 to 15%, (ii) Land clearing and deforestation cause an additional 15 to 18%, (iii) Food processing, packing and transportation cause 15 to 20%, and (iv) Decomposition of organic waste causes another 3 to 4%. It means that our current food system is a major polluter.

The question we have to answer now is: how do we solve the climate chaos, hunger and assure a better livelihood for farmers, when the agricultural sector itself is contributing more than half of the total emissions? We believe that it is the industrial and agribusiness model of agriculture that is at the root of the problem, because those percentages that I mentioned earlier come from the deforestation and the conversion of natural forests into monoculture plantations, all of which is being carried out by Agribusiness Corporations. Not by familly farmers. Such large emissions of methane by agriculture are also due to the use of urea as a petrochemical fertilizer through the green revolution, very much supported by the World Bank. At the same time, agricultural trade liberalization promoted by free trade agreements (FTA) and by the World Trade Organization (WTO) is contributing to the greenhouse gases emissions due to food processing and food transportation around the world.

If we genuinely want to tackle the climate change crisis, the only way we have to go forward is to stop industrial agriculture. Agribusiness has not only highly contributed to the climate crisis, it has also massacred the small farmers of the world. Millions of farmers , men and women from around the world, have been kicked off their land. Millions of others suffer violence every year because of land conflicts in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Small farmers and landless farmers make up the majority of the more than 1 billion hungry people in the world. And because of free trade, many small farmers commit suicide in South Asia. So putting an end to industrial agriculture is the only way we can go.

Will the current climate negotiations, that are relying on carbon trade mechanisms, bring solutions to climate change? To this we say that carbon trade mechanisms will only serve polluting countries and companies, and bring disaster to small farmers and indigenous peoples in developing countries. The REDD initiative (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) has already kicked off their land many indigenous peoples and small farmers in developing countries. And more and more agricultural land is being converted into tree plantations in order to attract carbon credits.

At COP 13 in Bali 2007, La Via Campesina proposed the landless farmers' and small farmers' solution to climate change, which is: “small scale sustainable farmers are cooling down the earth”. And here, at COP 15, again we bring that proposal, backing it with the figures that prove that it could reduce more than half of the global greenhouse gas emissions. This figure comes from: (I) Recuperating organic matter in the soil would reduce emissions by 20 to 35%. (ii) Reversing the concentration of meat production in factory farms and reintegrating joint animal and crop production would reduce them by 5 to 9% (iii) Putting local markets and fresh food back at the center of the food system would reduce a further 10 to 12%. (iv) Halting land clearing and deforestation would stop 15 to 18% of emissions. In short, by taking agriculture away from the big agribusiness corporations and putting it back into the hands of small farmers, we can reduce half of the global emissions of greenhouse gases. This is what we propose, and we call it Food Sovereignty.

And to achieve that we need social movements to work together and struggle together to put an end to the current false solutions that are today on the table at the climate negotiations. This is a must, otherwise we will face an even bigger tragedy worldwide. We, as social movements, have to bring our own agenda onto the table, because we are the first climate victims and climate refugees and therefore climate justice is in our hands.

At the FAO Food Summit in 1996, governments committed themselves to reduce hunger by half by 2015. The reality is that the number of hungry people has recently increased dramatically. We do not want the same thing to happen with the climate talks and see the emissions increase even further regardless of what the governments negotiate within the UNFCCC.

We invite all the movements present in Copenhagen to join together to bring climate justice to the table. Climate justice will only be achieved through solidarity and social justice.

Copenhagen, 7th December 2009

My Personal Program on Civil Disobedience (3)

Eva Wissenz — 2009-12-02T17:29:03Z

"My personal program of civil disobedience" is chapter 6 of Experiments in Moral Sovereignty, The Diamond Printing Press, Jaipur, 2006 by Jeff Knaebel.

I slowly progressed in self purification and spiritual growth through meditation practice as taught by the Buddha. Unbearable became the inner moral conflict and despair arising from the knowledge that my labor - through the income tax - was supporting murder of innocent women and children at many places around the world. In order to save myself from internal disintegration, it became imperative to act.

At first I reacted out of anger and despair at the desecration which was being financed by my labor. As my meditation practice deepened, it became clear that anger was only hurting me. Anger was doing nothing to cure human ignorance, which is the root cause of evil. Gradually I desisted from putting more fuel on the fire of anger. Anger attenuated and was replaced with first forgiveness, and then compassion for those people caught in the great MNC killing machine. The call to action metamorphosed into anguished love with malice towards none.

Now, my actions are designed with such mindfulness as I can muster to rotate anger at a system gone mad with the violence of its greed into compassion for evil doers, while dissociating myself from them and from the system. I am doing my best to walk the path pointed by Buddha and Gandhi: self purification through meditation, renunciation of worldly pleasures and comforts, combined with a constructive program of humanitarian service.

Guided by Gandhi, I undertook a moral inventory of my deeds in relation to my government. I had served my country across a span of thirty years in a range of voluntary humanitarian and public service. As an officer of the US Navy, I had served in Vietnam during that horrible war. My work had received awards and recognition from all levels of citizenship, including local community organizations, a State governor, a Secretary of the US Cabinet, and the President. As an entrepreneur, I had founded companies that created hundreds of jobs and financed a lot of kids through school, paid a lot of taxes. I founded nonprofit charitable organizations, co-created a new Montessori School, an adult learning center and indigenous social programs. I did significant work in the largest Native American land settlement in history. I had obeyed the laws of my country. To this extent I had earned the moral authority to make my decision.

I examined the possibilities of actual, practical, timely administrative recourse in terms of an individual obtaining permission to cease filing and paying income taxes on the basis of conscience. It is my natural right to act as an individual and not be required to be a member of an "authorized" religious organization. No organization has moral sovereignty over my conscience.

I have had long personal experience with government at all levels including the judiciary. They are not bona fide repositories of high moral wisdom. The closer the approach to inner circles of power, the more pervasive are corruption and the lie. I and my companies had been through tax audits with 100% clean marks. Some of my acquaintances were not so lucky. I am well informed of the abuse of citizens through tax audits. The invasive procedures of auditors into personal affairs of citizens are an unwarranted violation of The Bill of Rights. The power to tax is the power to destroy. The lives of many citizens have been destroyed by IRS abuses. These methods keep the public intimidated. Those who request to keep back the "war tax" portion of their payment on the basis of religion are flagged for special treatment and subjected to harassment. It is vicious.

I studied these matters for long. Based upon my observations and common sense, it is clear that a citizen acting as an individual has no chance against the government in matters of conscientious objection to the income tax. The destructive activities of the military-industrial-political complexes are so systemically embedded that withholding the "war portion" of a tax is ineffective. It would be like trying to distinguish blood corpuscles which serve the liver from those that serve the lung.

The State has framed the rules. I cannot prevail in a petition brought within the bounds of the self same rules which my conscience requires me to disobey. I can only act as guided by my conscience in response to my perception of events and my understanding of a civil human society. My choice as a moral being was to take the path of civil disobedience.

It is incomprehensible that any government has a moral right to force a person to kill, or through taxation to finance murder and even mass extermination of innocent human beings. How can I support war crimes, human rights violations, crimes against humanity? During the past fifty years the US government has built an inhuman machinery of escalating violence that threatens all life with extinction. The government, having no moral right to require my participation, must rely on brute force to coerce my payment of taxes. Certainly this meets the test of "a great and unendurable tyranny." If I submit to this, I become a slave. I cannot obey the law without violating my conscience and my loyalty to the human race. My choice was to participate as an automaton in the organized, systematic destruction of life or to withdraw from participation in the corporate controlled society. The only safe and honorable course for me to keep my self respect was to disobey and willingly face the penalties.

These words are not by way of defense, but simply a description so that rational people may have a basis for understanding my actions. I am a simple human being trying to live my ideals. If I run afoul of the State, let it do with me as it wishes.

Having tried hard to understand the Law of Ahimsa, to meet its prerequisites in my personal life, to prepare myself for self purification and a life of sacrifice and to embark upon a program of constructive humanitarian service, I committed myself to a personal solo program of civil disobedience.

I hereby declare that I have deliberately disobeyed the tax regulations of my country (but not the underlying Constitution). I make distinction between regulation, law, and Constitution because I believe them to be inconsistent and because law and regulation are so complex and permeated with obfuscation as to be incomprehensible to me. The regulations as promulgated in IRS publications seem clear on one point: if a person fails to file and pay taxes due, he is subject to civil and criminal penalties. I hereby serve notice upon authorities of the US government that I have deliberately failed to file tax returns as an act of conscious civil disobedience. I also declare that no taxes are due, as will be set forth in the following.

I admit that I have often been unable to act according to the highest moral law, which rules thought as well as word and deed. This does not invalidate the law. It demonstrates the practical difficulties. Geometry is not less true because I may not be able to draw a straight line. I can only take one step at a time. The point of beginning is my capability for nonviolence now, to be improved one day at a time. The point of departure for moral practice is prevailing morality, which must be changed, one action at a time towards the goal.

Upon making the decision to cease filing and paying income tax, I undertook a radical reorganization of my life. I would have to emigrate, to become a "tax exile." It would not be right to benefit from the facilities and protection of my country while not paying my share. Reorganization had to be in gradual steps bemuse of obligations to children. Only when the youngest reached majority could I make the final move. Withdrawing from my businesses, I began devoting myself to a wide range of humanitarian service without pay. I ceased generating income and lived on savings. Personal property of every description was sold to the point of a simple lifestyle. Stocks and securities were sold at substantial losses. Corporate and partnership businesses were divested at large losses. These losses generated a large “net operating loss carry forward” for tax purposes.

No income tax would be due for remainder of my life. As a tax protestor I cannot in good conscience make a claim for Social Security retirement benefits. The funds I paid to Social Security over a period of more than forty years are lost to me. It is part of the price of freedom. The needs of my simple lifestyle could be met out of savings on which taxes had already been paid.

Knowing that deposits at interest are indiscriminately loaned to government and business engaged in destruction of life, I abstained from interest-bearing instruments. I had come to see interest “earnings” as the wages of death.

When my youngest child reached majority, I moved to India. I ceased filing tax returns. Demands by mail notwithstanding, I believe that filing is not required if the taxpayer has no income. In my circumstances, the demands for information are an unwarranted violence upon my person, my privacy, my right to personal security and to be left alone to pursue my peaceful life. I will not respond. I declare myself to be a free man, no longer a slave to the great corporate government killing machine.

The path of civil disobedience marked out by Gandhi requires self-sacrifice, self-purification, and a constructive humanitarian program to run alongside the action of non- cooperation with evil. Here in an Indian village I rent two rooms of stone and mud, take two meals per day of rice, lentils and chapatti, bathe with a bucket of hand-carried cold water and use the same open field toilet as my Indian hosts. My basic cost of living is about 2000 rupees per month (less than $50). I maintain a practice of Buddhist meditation, practice eight precepts to the extent capable and fast for one day each week. I have helped build two meditation retreat centers and am working towards a third. I tutor English, do voluntary service at meditation centers, help build village schools, establish libraries, sponsor education of refugee children and a tuberculosis program, and assist in agricultural and reforestation work. I work to contribute to the pool of quietude and peace in human consciousness, to balm the brutality of Western imperialism, to save our ecosystem from destruction. I organize my life around the ultimate goal of Self -Realization, the birthright of every human being.

My decision to undertake civil disobedience through emigration and self imposed exile has entailed some hardship and risk. The life of an aging foreigner alone and homeless in India is not easy. It is painful to be separated from family, friends, and homeland. There are problems with safe water, food, health, sanitation, and personal security. The cold of snowy winter in unheated rooms is penetrating. Support arrangements are unstable and keep on dissolving. Obstacles of language and culture are daunting. It is a two day journey by jeep, bus, and train to the nearest bona fide medical doctor. Hospitals of which I have personal knowledge are filthy and septic. Disease is prevalent, civil disturbances are rampant, and war is an ever-present threat. Everywhere I witness poverty, misery, and suffering.

I mention the above only to serve as verifiable background against future actions of nonviolent civil disobedience that are beginning to present themselves to my mind. We do not have a lot of time remaining in which to save ourselves from self-destruction. The looming crises of water and failure of agriculture are powerful “weapons of mass destruction,” leave aside the threat of nuclear holocaust. Simply withdrawing from participation in the “system” may not be of sufficient moral vigor.

The text is published here with courtesy of the author.

Jeff Knaebel manages three websites :
Free of state
Trees of tomorrow
Gandhi Padyatra

See a video about Jeff here

The Decision to Resist (2)

Eva Wissenz — 2009-12-02T17:26:13Z

"The Decision to Resist" is chapter 5 of Experiments in Moral Sovereignty, The Diamond Printing Press, Jaipur, 2006 by Jeff Knaebel.

Gathering of Elders, Pasquah, Canada: Indigenous spiritual leaders had come from around the world. The Cree Elder had asked my profession. Upon my response, he said: "You are like a bank robber. First your people took our animals, then they took our fish, then they took our trees. Then they began breaking even the rocks of Earth herself and taking them. You pushed us from our homelands onto the reserves. Now you are going to flood even the little bit left to us, so that your hydro power project will keep the houses of your big city people cool in summer. You people are like termites eating their own house. What will you do when there is no home left for anyone?"

Chihuahua City, Mexico, Environmental Conference: The World Bank had proposed to finance a project of logging the last of old growth forest in Sierra Occidental, where Tarahumara Indians are struggling to survive. The timber is feed for a pulp mill. Before an audience of scientists, bureaucrats, environmentalists and trade officials assembled in University of Chihuahua auditorium stands a Tarahumara Elder. His hand holds a cheap pulp magazine, a transmission of rubbish. Gazing calmly at the industrialists and bankers, the Tarahumara speaks softly: "You are cutting the last of our trees to turn them into this. The forest is the life of my people. When you have cut the trees, we will die, and you will read this." A few miles from the auditorium, Tarahumara women and children are living in burrows dug into mounds of garbage at the city dump. At a small village in the Sierra, a Tarahumara elder had said: "I tell my young men not to fight. I tell them we must be patient, we must wait. The white man will destroy himself."

I had piloted my personal aircraft from Alaska to Mexico to provide volunteer flight service for an environmental organization. The mission was to fly opinion makers for a direct took at logging devastation. In a kind of epiphany I realized for sure that my whole lifestyle made me part of the problem. If I sincerely wished to become part of the solution, I must change - entirely change - my way of life.

I made the decision to leave my own, my native land forever. I would become a man without a country, separated by a vast ocean from friends, family and my young adult children. No more would I smell the rain on high desert sagebrush, nor hear the wolves howl across moonlit tundra, nor watch the Northern Lights dance in Arctic sky.

I would owe allegiance to all of humanity and to no State. I would be the indentured servant of no gang of murderers sitting in any legislative body. By paying tax to no State would I finally make a farewell to arms. I would seek peace and brotherhood.

Man does not lose his freedom except through his own ignorance. The primary ignorance at play in a corporate state society is ignorance of the Law of Cause and Effect, the Law of Moral Causation, the Truth of Dependent Origination. Freedom and slavery are mental states. First say to ourselves we shall no longer accept the role of slave. Then be willing to act and suffer the consequences. There is no high destiny without self denial.

* * *

Law of Ahimsa (non-violence): Love is the law of the human race and is infinitely greater than and superior to brute force. Ahimsa requires a living faith and commitment to Truth, which is Love (or God if you prefer). It is inconsistent with modern imperialism based on force for its defense. It protects one's self respect but not his property. Nonviolence can be practiced by all who have a living faith in Truth and therefore equal love for all mankind. Moral activity on behalf of others is self realization because humanity is One.

Gandhi speaks: "In order to see face to face the universal and all penetrating Truth, we must be able to love even the least of creatures as we love ourselves. The man who attempts this cannot be indifferent to anything in life. Ahimsa overrides all other forces. It is the only true force in life. ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all else shall be added unto you.' The Kingdom of Heaven is Ahimsa.” One must renounce violence in the heart, and then consciously exercise of the power of Ahimsa generated by this renunciation.

The pre-eminence of these principles is made known to me through my personal moral conscience, life experience and reason. These Laws have been expounded by the great sages of humanity. Most notable in my personal studies are the Buddha, Christ, Lao Tzu and Mahavir. In modern times they have been exemplified by Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, John Ruskin, Albert Schweitzer and Henry David Thoreau. I have drawn on the inspiration of these and others to organize my thoughts into a plan of action.

Principal Axioms of Theory and Practice of Nonviolent Resistance: Evil is parasitic on good, inhumanity on humanity. No man is entirely devoid of humanity. Suffering, accepted in the spirit of nonviolent witness to truth, can restore to a person his lost humanity. All exploitation is based upon cooperation, willing or forced, of the exploited. Non-cooperation and fearlessness go together. The nonviolent resister fights with his power of suffering in order to arouse his opponent's power of sympathy. This restores to the oppressor his humanity, while restoring to the oppressed his justice denied. Non-violent struggle properly conducted, even if it fails, leaves behind no trail of bitterness. Passive resistance is a method of securing rights by personal suffering. It is the reverse of resistance by arms. It involves sacrifice of the self. Sacrifice of the self is superior to sacrifice of others. Civil disobedience serves all, including the tyrant, by teaching him his error. Evil can be sustained only by violence. Therefore, withdrawal of support for evil requires complete abstention from violence. Nonviolence requires voluntary submission to the penalty of non cooperation with evil. The government itself does not expect our full cooperation. It does not say: "You must do this." It says: "If you do not do this, we will punish you." Sincerity of a moral position requires willingness to accept the costs necessary to see the principles realized. When it violates his moral conscience, no person will submit to the evil of another or group of others except under coercion. The means pre-exist in, predict and determine the end. It is impossible for violent means to achieve moral ends.

Justification for Civil Disobedience: When the injustice is great and morally repugnant. When it is of a nature that can be resolved by non-cooperation. When the offence is real to the best of one's knowledge and belief. When administrative recourse is not reasonably available, or after thorough examination is deemed to be ineffective. The goal must accord with natural right. The resister must not hate his opponent. The goal must conduce to the good of all.

Certain Gandhian Prerequisites for Civil Disobedience: The following are required in order to earn the moral authority to make a distinction between moral and immoral law. One must have obeyed consistently the law of his country. He must have served society. Must have embarked upon the work of self purification and be adhering to the five basic moral precepts. Must have met his family obligations and made arrangements for them to be covered in his absence. Must be prepared for self sacrifice and significant hardship. One cannot disobey the law while continuing to live under its protection and with its comforts which are financed by the other citizens who are obeying it. One must strive for harmony of thought-word-deed. To think one thing, say another, and do a third is a lie. One must be prepared to embark upon a program of constructive service to humanity along with self sacrifice. The resister must not hate his opponent. The goal must conduce to the good of all.

The text is published here with courtesy of the author.

Jeff Knaebel manages three websites :
Free of state
Trees of tomorrow
Gandhi Padyatra

See a video about Jeff here