Demosanis/streetmedics
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Introduction to the International Medics Group
This group was set up during the meetings at Camp Inski in Germany August 2006. The main purpose of our group is to facilitate exchanging experience and ideas aimed at the creation of a network to maintain a basic level of health care for the participants at the protests against the G8 in Germany 2007. The members of this working group are all trained street medics/demo sanis with varying levels of experience and training. We are men and women of different ages and hail from different countries all over the world. Our goal is to anticipate and deal with some of the challenges facing anyone wanting to provide activist health care. We aim to organise logistical and communcations issues such as transport, medical supplies, accomodation/clinic space, organisation concerning camp sites, legal issues facing medics, and much more. We also wish to empower other activists to take care of themselves and their comrades. We will do this, by providing them with information and experience for all comfort levels about health issues in general and on actions in particular. Also we will provide several opportunities for activists to be trained as actual medics should they be interested.
To get in touch with the international medics group, please email: g8-medics_2007[at]riseup.net
Introdution to the Street Medics / Demo Sanis
We are people from all walks of life, who have gone through a certain minimum of first aid and helath care training. Many of us also work with health care professionally in our everyday lives. We use our skills as tools in the resistance against repression and injustice. We seek to empower both ourselves and our comrades to take greater part in the resistance, by providing the security of a minimum of care if you are injured or ill and by giving back control over our bodies through actively making the decisions about it. We organise ourselves alongside the legal teams and anti-repression groups. Unlike regular hospital and emergency services we never collaborate with the police. We look after injured comrades before, during and after actions. And we hope that our comrades - you - will look after each other and also think about the consequences your actions might have for yourself or others.
We offer first aid workshops to promote self-protection, so people can help themselves and others. For this it is not necessary to acquire an immense medical knowledge or skills. It is more important to know how to apply your common sense and stay calm, how to deal with the injuries that are most common on demonstrations, and how to prevent them.
Another part of your health is the mental aspect. We believe mental well being is as important as physical well being. Being on actions, in stressful situations, getting arrested or beaten or seeing it happen to your friends, can be very frightening and distressing and often leaves a big mark. We encourage people to be aware of this and to talk to their friends and comrades about their experiences. We are also very happy about the newly founded group Out of Action, whose prime concern is providing emotional first aid.
For more information about the demo sanis, try the following websites:
(D)
http://www.demosanis.nadir.org
(NL)
http://www.xs4all.nl/~keyser/ehba/ehba.html
(UK)
http://www.actionmedics.org.uk/
please feel free to add further websites!
To contact the G8 medics write to "g8-medics2007[at]riseup.net".
additional email adress of Berlin medics:
sanis[at]so36.net