5 domande a Fausto Giudice, autore di “Joe Hill, in memoriam”

Milena Rampoldi, 12/7/2022

Come hai scoperto Joe Hill?

Ero un giovane immigrato in Svezia alla fine degli anni Sessanta. Erano gli "anni d'oro" della socialdemocrazia al potere, che dichiarava ogni dissenso come "devianza", da trattare con mezzi psichiatrici. Mi identificavo con i "dannati della terra" e trovavo la morale luterana imperante incomparabilmente ipocrita. Chi diceva di volere il bene del popolo aveva riscritto la storia, cancellando l'"altro movimento operaio", che aveva combattuto il capitale con mezzi tutt'altro che pacifici. Joe Hill era una figura leggendaria in questo cosiddetto "altro movimento sindacale". Nel 1970 mi ritrovai con qualche centinaio di emarginati come comparsa nel film di Bo Widerberg su Joe Hill nei quartieri meridionali di Stoccolma. Tutto quello che conoscevo di lui fino ad allora era la canzone che Joan Baez cantò a Woodstock. Joe Hill mi diceva che la classe operaia svedese non era sempre stata il pacifico pachiderma della rappresentanza socialdemocratica. E ho scoperto Anton Nilsson, "l'uomo dell'Amalthea". Questo operaio ventunenne, insieme a due compagni, aveva piazzato una bomba vicino a una nave chiamata Amalthea, ormeggiata a Malmö, che ospitava i crumiri inglesi importati dai padroni contro uno sciopero dei portuali, nel 1908. Anton Nilsson fu condannato a morte e la sua pena fu commutata in ergastolo a seguito di una campagna internazionale, condotta in particolare dall'International Workers of the World, il sindacato in cui Joe Hill era attivo negli Stati Uniti.

Cosa ci dice oggi Joe Hill?

Il suo messaggio essenzialmente consiste in due cose: 1. è possibile organizzare i più sfruttati, i più oppressi in modo intelligente ed efficace, adattando le forme di organizzazione alla realtà sociale di coloro che stanno "sotto", i migranti, le donne, i precari, i non qualificati, quello che fece IWW, evitando qualsiasi forma di burocrazia socialdemocratica. Ecco cos'è l'"altro movimento operaio", in contrapposizione ad apparati come la DGB tedesca, l'AFL-CIO yankee o la LO svedese: un movimento che si attiene alla realtà della classe, che è mobile, fluida e mutevole. 2 – si possono inventare forme di comunicazione popolari, creative, incisive e umoristiche. Le canzoni di Joe Hill ne sono un esempio meraviglioso.

C'è qualche Joe Hill oggi?

Non che io sappia. Alcuni rapper potrebbero esserlo, se scegliessero di cantare con e per i lavoratori che si stanno organizzando presso Amazon, McDonalds, Starbucks, Deliveroo, Uber e tutte le altre aziende del "nuovo capitalismo",  nuovo solo nelle sue forme.

Che cosa avrebbero fatto oggi Joe Hill e l'IWW?

Avrebbero organizzato gli "altri" lavoratori, camminando su due gambe: sul contatto fisico e su quello virtuale. È quanto sta accadendo, ad esempio, in Cina, dove i giovani lavoratori delle fabbriche mondiali, senza un sindacato che li difenda, utilizzano i social media per rivendicare i propri diritti e per organizzarsi.

Perché la collezione "Erga Omnes"?

"Erga Omnes", "Per tutti", era il motto dei ribelli schiavi guidati da Spartaco che misero a repentaglio la Repubblica romana tra il 73 e il 71 a.C. Questa collana si propone di pubblicare libri sulle grandi figure, a volte dimenticate, delle rivolte logiche – per usare le parole di Rimbaud - attraverso i secoli.

Comprare il libro Joe Hill, in memoriam

MILENA RAMPOLDI5 preguntas a Fausto Giudice, autor de “Joe Hill, in memoriam ”

  Milena Rampoldi, 12/07/2022
Traducido por María Piedad Ossaba

 

¿Cómo descubriste a Joe Hill?

Yo era un joven inmigrante en Suecia a finales de los años 60. Eran los “años dorados” de la socialdemocracia reinante, que declaraba toda disidencia como “desviación”, que debía ser tratada por la psiquiatría. Me identificaba con los “condenados de la tierra” y encontraba la moral reinante luterana de una hipocresía incomparable. Los que decían querer el bien del pueblo habían reescrito la historia, borrando “el otro movimiento obrero”, que había combatido al capital por todos los medios salvo los pacíficos. Joe Hill era una figura legendaria de este “otro movimiento obrero”. En 1970, me encontré con algunos centenares de marginales como extras en la película rodada por Bo Widerberg sobre Joe Hill, en los barrios en el sur de Estocolmo. Lo único que sabía de él hasta entonces era la canción que cantó Joan Baez en Woodstock. Joe Hill me decía que la clase obrera sueca no siempre había sido ese pacífico paquidermo de la representación socialdemócrata. Y descubrí a Anton Nilsson, “el hombre del Amalthea”. Este trabajador de 21 años había colocado, junto con dos compañeros, una bomba cerca de un barco llamado Amalthea, amarrado en Malmö, que albergaba a los esquiroles británicos importados por los patrones contra una huelga de estibadores, en 1908. Anton Nilsson fue sentenciado a muerte y se le conmutó la pena por la de cadena perpetua tras una campaña internacional, encabezada en particular por los de los IWW (Trabajadores Internacionales del Mundo), el sindicato en el que militaba Joe Hill en USA.

¿Qué nos dice Joe Hill hoy?

Nos dice esencialmente dos cosas: 1- se puede organizar a los más explotados, a los más oprimidos de una manera inteligente y eficaz adaptando las formas de organización a la realidad social de los “de abajo”, los migrantes, las mujeres, los precarios, los no cualificados, que es lo que han hecho los IWW, evitando cualquier forma de burocracia de tipo socialdemócrata. El “otro movimiento obrero” es eso, frente a los aparatos de tipo DGB, AFL-CIO o LO: un movimiento que se adhiere a la realidad de la clase, que es móvil, fluida, cambiante.

2- se pueden inventar formas de comunicación populares, creativas, contundentes y llenas de humor. Las canciones de Joe Hill son un magnífico ejemplo de eso.

MILENA RAMPOLDI 5 questions à Fausto Giudice, auteur de « Joe Hill, in memoriam »

Milena Rampoldi, 12/7/2022

Comment as-tu découvert Joe Hill ?

J’étais un jeune immigré dans la Suède de la fin des années 60. C’était les « années dorées » de la social-démocratie régnante, qui déclarait toute dissidence comme « déviance », à traiter par la psychiatrie. Je m’identifiais aux « damnés de la terre » et je trouvais la morale régnante luthérienne d’une hypocrisie incomparable. Ceux qui disaient vouloir le bien du peuple avaient réécrit l’histoire, effaçant « l’autre  mouvement ouvrier », qui avait combattu le capital par des moyens tout sauf pacifiques. Joe Hill était une figure légendaire de cet « autre mouvement ouvrier ». En 1970, je me suis retrouvé avec quelques centaines de marginaux comme figurant dans le film tourné par Bo Widerberg sur Joe Hill, dans les quartiers sud de Stockholm. De lui je ne connaissais jusqu’alors que la chanson chantée par Joan Baez à Woodstock. Joe Hill me disait que la classe ouvrière suédoise n’avait pas toujours été ce pachyderme pacifique de la représentation social-démocrate. Et j’ai découvert Anton Nilsson, « l’homme de l’Amalthea ». Ce travailleur de 21 ans avait, avec 2 camarades, posé une bombe près d’un bateau appelé Amalthea, amarré à Malmö, qui hébergeait des briseurs de grève britanniques importés par les patrons contre une grève de dockers, en 1908. Condamné à mort, Anton Nilsson a vu sa peine commuée en prison à vie suite à une campagne internationale, menée en particulier par les International Workers of the World, le syndicat où Joe Hill militait aux USA.

Que nous dit Joe Hill aujourd’hui ?

Il nous dit essentiellement deux choses : 1- on peut organiser les plus exploités, les plus opprimés d’une manière intelligente et efficace en adaptant les formes d’organisation à la réalité sociale de ceux « d’en bas », les migrants, les femmes, les précaires, les non-qualifiés, ce que les IWW ont fait, en évitant toute forme de bureaucratie de type social-démocrate. L’ « autre mouvement ouvrier », c’est ça, à l’opposé des appareils du genre DGB, AFL-CIO ou LO : un mouvement collant à la réalité de la classe, qui est mobile, fluide, changeante. 2- on peut inventer des formes de communication populaires, créatives, percutantes et pleines d’humour. Les chansons de Joe Hill en sont un magnifique exemple.

Y a-t-il des Joe Hill aujourd’hui ?

Vient de paraîtreLe futur de l’Europe a un cœur très vieux Sur les traces de Marija Gimbutas

Le futur de l’Europe a un cœur très vieux
Sur les traces de Marija Gimbutas
Essais et entretiens 2015 – 2021
Un livre de Milena Rampoldi, traduit par Fausto Giudice
Papier 18€ - E-book 6,99€
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Non, l’écriture n’est pas née en Mésopotamie. Non, la démocratie n’est pas née en 507 av. J-C à Athènes. Non, le patriarcat n’existait pas aux origines de l’humanité. Non, les hiérarchies sociales, les castes dominantes, les guerriers n’ont pas toujours existé. Non, les femmes n’ont pas été « de tout temps » soumises et exclues. Et oui, Platon était féministe.

Ce sont quelques-unes des révélations auxquelles ce livre vous invite à réfléchir si vous avez entrepris un voyage vers l’utopie d’un autre monde. Découvrez cette «Vieille Europe » mise au jour par Marija Gambutas (1921-1994), la fondatrice de l’archéomythologie, dont les travaux pionniers ont établi qu’une civilisation a prospéré en Europe centrale et du Sud-est entre 6500 et 3500 avant J.-C., et en Crète jusqu’en 1450 avant J.-C., dans laquelle régnait un ordre social sans hiérarchie sociale, sans conflits armés et avec une égalité des sexes. Puis sont arrivés les nomades guerriers et pasteurs indo-européens depuis les steppes eurasiennes, qui ont imposé un ordre brutal dont nous ne nous sommes plus défaits.

Des chercheurs et des artistes se sont engagés sur la piste tracée par Marija Gimbutas, pour alimenter leur recherche d’un autre monde possible, enfoui dans les restes de la civilisation danubienne. Nous leur donnons la parole, afin de permettre aux lecteurs francophones d’entrer dans un domaine plein de surprises, où bien des « vérités » qui semblaient définitivement acquises sont remises en cause. Lisez les interviews et articles de Harald Haarmann, LaBGC, Harald Seubert, Uwe Hinrichs, Joan Marler, Hans Bjarne Thomsen et Milena Rampoldi. 

ISBN 9783754971789
Format: A5
168 pages
Date de publication : 24/04/2022

Table des matières et extrait

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MILENA RAMPOLDI“Photography’s biggest strength is probably its ability to impart empathy on the viewer”: ProMosaik interviews photographer Tobin Jones

Milena Rampoldi, 15/4/2022

Born in Botswana, in a rural hospital his dad likes to remind him only charged them 17 pula for the privilege, Tobin began his life in the small dusty village of Gumare on the banks of the Okovango Delta. It wasn’t too long though, before his family moved on, this time to the the capital city of Lilongwe in Malawi. It was here Tobin spent the majority of his childhood, riding his bike around town, fighting with his siblings, and generally learning how to be a kid. Finally, when he was 10 his family once again moved up the African continent, this time to Kenya - where Tobin finished up high school.  

Having photographed throughout Africa, and sometimes further afield, for the last decade - through his work Tobin has attempted to not only cover the breadth of the continent, but also the diversity within it. This has included stories on Somalia’s fight against Al Shabab and the country’s emergence from more than 20 years of civil war, to transgender issues, and the intersection of modern religion with traditional healing practices in slums. 

Tobin holds a bachelor’s degree in International Development, with minors in Economics and Political Science, from McGill University and a Master’s degree in Photojournalism from the University of Westminster. Today he lives in Nairobi, Kenya, where he runs the photo collective NonAligned and works as a freelance photographer and videographer. 

Why did you become a photographer?

I first got interested in photography right after high school. I took a year off before university and went to Fiji, where I first started to take photographs. In University I then began taking photographs using film and developing those photographs in the darkroom. Slowly it dawned on me that perhaps I might one day be able to make a career out of photography and so after university I went back home to Kenya, started photographing stories that interested me, and eventually was able to make a living that way.

Daynab Jama, a midwife, delivers a baby in the maternity ward of Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia. Maternity Ward | Tobin Jones Photography | Mogadishu, Somalia

Tell us about your project in Somalia? 

I began working in Somalia back in 2012 - initially with the African Union and United Nations covering the conflict against al Shabab. This often meant joining the military on their offensives to capture new towns from the extremist group and liberate parts of the country that had been under their control for the last decade. As the country has become more peaceful though, my work evolved to capturing the country’s emergence from two decades of civil war and the development that went along with this.

In a quieter alley in Sanaa’s old city, two young boys sweep up dust and refuse that have accumulated over the course of the day. Untouchables In Yemen | Tobin Jones Photography | Sana'a, Yemen

What are the challenges of photography in countries like Yemen and Somalia?

The biggest challenge photographing in countries like Yemen and Somalia is of course security and all of the logistics that surround this. As a photographer you always want to prioritize good light and any condition that will help you to create the best photograph possible, but when your safety is at stake you of course have to enter this into the equation as well. The result is that often you have to work in conditions that aren’t optimal (like the middle of the day) and don’t have as much time as you’d normally want.

Morine, standing outside of her hair salon, takes a short break before starting on another hair cut. Transgender In Kenya | Tobin Jones Photography | Nairobi, Kenya

Tell us about the project you did in Kenya with transgender persons. Why did you do it and what is the main objective of it?

This project was quite a few years ago now, but essentially it was a photoessay about a transgender woman in Kenya who grew up in the slums and now runs a hair salon in a nearby neighborhood. She had really become an accepted part of her community, which was both really inspiring and interesting, seeing as there’s still a huge amount of discrimination generally against the lgbtq+ community in Kenya.

How do you think photography can contribute to human rights and mutual understanding?

Photography’s biggest strength is probably its ability to impart empathy on the viewer. A powerful photograph can evoke emotion in a way I don’t think the written word or even video is able to do to quite the same degree. I think that’s why photography often works so well alongside another medium like writing. Text is very good at contextualizing a situation and making someone understand the big picture (like a refugee crisis), while a photograph is very good at personifying a subject and making someone understand the personal impact of something like a refugee crisis.

What does the sentence “1 picture says more than 1000 words” mean to you personally?

I have to admit that I’ve never particularly loved the phrase, “A picture speaks 1000 words.” I think it insinuates that photography is more important than the written language when the reality is that both work best when used in tandem. Photography’s extremely important at conveying certain things, and particularly at evoking emotion in the viewer, but the written word is extremely good at contextualizing. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

What are the next projects you are planning?

I’ve currently become quite interested in NFTs and will shortly be releasing my latest project in this form as a series of portraits of a group of grandmothers in a Nairobi slum who have taken up martial arts in order to defend themselves. It’s both an interesting story, but will also be using this new medium to experiment how photojournalism can benefit the subjects of stories as well through payments in crypto.

www.tobinjonesphotography.com
Twitter: @tobinbjones
Instagram: @tobin_jones
https://www.facebook.com/tobinjonesphotography/