Swedish syndicalist militant dies at 88.One of the most prominent activists
in the libertarian movement in Sweden has now left us. Britta Gröndahl
became 88 years, years she had filled with compassion and sincere
revolutionary activism. She played a special role as translator of foreign
material and also as a link between SAC and the Spanish libertarian
movement during the 60’s.
In the beginning of the 50’s Britta found the syndicalist newspaper
Arbetaren, which put forth thoughts and views she felt resonated with her
own. Her first meeting was with the Stockholm local of the Syndicalist
Women’s Club at the People’s House. She became active in a libertarian
publishing venture. She wrote a study of Proudhon and established a
reputation as a serious historian and journalist with books about amongst
other things the IWW and Simone Weil. Workers who chose to organize
themselves into the LS (local organizations) of the syndicalist movement
had the basis of the libertarian thoughts explained in her book “Party or
union?”, which is and was liberating in it’s condemning of centralism and
Party authority.
At the beginning of the 60’s Britta worked as teacher in French, was editor
of the women’s pages in Arbetaren and took part in the pioneering work of
organizing the service sector. She also became engaged in SAC:s contacts
with the underground libertarian movement in Spain, and in 1962 she
travelled there for the first time, but was not the last one. In 1965 she
travelled to Paris to study the libertarian “anarchomarxism” and the
growing student movement. Later the same year she was elected to be the
first international secretary of SAC. Her home became a haven for political
refugees from Spain and Italy.
She and a group of other SAC-members also travelled to Portugal in the
turbulent and liberating days of 1975. During this time she mainly made a
living as a translator, and thanks to her many Swedes could read amongst
others Foucault’s giant work “the history of sexuality”. As long as she had
the strength she continued sharing her knowledge through lectures and
women’s meetings and during her last years the work of the SAC archival
committee.
She continued watching the developments of international syndicalism in
Arbetaren. At the SAC congress in 1994 she participated as a guest of
honour, together with her very good friend, the Portuguese syndicalist
Ligia de Oliveira. When she was to weak to walk the whole way with the 1st
may demonstrations in Stockholm she instead just went to the end square and
met up with the march there.
Those who knew her know that we have really lost a human with a strong
intellect and empathy that did lot for us who are of the view that a person
is worth more than power and capital.
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=02/12/01/2880105
S.Syndrome.
The syndrome explains what happens in hostage-taking situations, but can
also be used to understand the behavior of battered spouses, members of
religious cults, Holocaust victims, household pets, and perhaps even users
of Internet Explorer. I think it may also help explain the popularity of
government and of the mass institutionalization of young people.
http://www.sniggle.net/stock.php
