Faslane 365 campaign: An experience of direct action

by Adam Dickson (Leeds Speak Group)

On a cold autumn morning in 2007, I found myself in quite a surreal situation. I was walking along a road with two police officers flanking me, to the collective sounds of different groups of people chatting and cheering away. As I strolled away with the two officers who had just arrested me, I saw the beaming face of Chris, a good friend of mine and an Anglican priest, as he uttered “God bless you, Adam.” This was no ordinary road, and on no ordinary morning. The road was the entrance to Faslane, the main nuclear weapons base in the UK, and the morning was that of the “Big Blockade,” a carnival of resistance to celebrate the end of a year of protests under the name of Faslane 365.

So why on earth did I choose to blockade the entrance to Faslane (as opposed to standing on the edges to protest) which would inevitably mean being arrested (ironically) for the civil offence of breaching the peace? I suppose my answer would be similar to at least most of the other 170 who were arrested that day; that I am utterly opposed to any nation having possession of nuclear weapons and wished to protest as a statement to the authorities that I, along with many of the public, will not allow the potential threat of violence on a mass scale to go unopposed. On a more personal note, however, I volunteered to get myself arrested because I have faith in a God of scandalous grace. The Jesus I worship proclaimed a love so passionate and all encompassing that it falls upon all people with neither condition nor discrimination, teaching us to be peacemakers and to make disciples of all nations.

I had great respect for how the police had handled the situation and treated us activists. At no point did I feel like I was being looked down on or viewed as a drain on their resources. The police I personally dealt with were quite pleasant and some even professed to sympathise with our cause. I spent my day in the cell enjoying the company of two other protesters and also writing a letter of appreciation to the police officers at that station. I explained to them the reasons why I’d been there that day, and that I felt it was a shame people of such integrity had been coerced into serving the corruption of the state. My letter ended with the hope that we could one day stand together in the love and peace of the Kingdom of God.

I would have been very bored and disillusioned in my cell that day if I wasn’t so convinced that God was with me, as well as being active throughout the protest itself. Of course, the UK still has nuclear weapons, and Faslane is still operational, but how encouraging is it that so many people are willing to make a stand for what they feel is right, and, just like everyone within the SPEAK Network, wish to hold the authorities accountable for injustice? It was just one of those days when, while I don’t know exactly how, God’s will was definitely achieved. And that’s good enough for me. For the time being at least!