Back to 6 May | Activist Lola Fioole: “I’ve never seen police violence like this before”
Next week marks exactly one year since the pro-Palestinian protests at the UvA got completely out of hand. In this series, Folia talks to various people involved about their experiences. Today part 1: biology student Lola Fioole (21), who was present at the protest as an activist.
“I happened to be at Crea that day when I saw a number of tents and Palestinian flags on Roetersweiland. Like most people, I didn’t know that the demonstration was taking place that day, but it had been coming for a while, of course. We had already seen occupations happening all over the world, so it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen in Amsterdam.”
“When I saw it happening, I immediately dropped everything to help. I saw images of the war every day and felt strongly that I wanted to do something. This way, I could finally help, do something meaningful for the people in Gaza. The atmosphere on the field was incredibly friendly. Speeches were given, we collected food, the sun was shining, it was really lovely.”
Hopeful
“The mood was hopeful. There were really a lot of people, and we received support from both students and lecturers. There was a feeling of solidarity. At first, it even seemed as if the UvA was willing to listen and engage in dialogue with us. We thought that something was finally going to happen, that decisions would be made.”
“But then the atmosphere changed suddenly when hooligans arrived and started throwing fireworks at us. We were really shocked. A fire broke out next to me, I almost got hit in the head by a firework, and my partner had just walked in the direction where the hooligans were coming from. Everyone panicked, we had to protect ourselves.”
War zone
“From that moment on, everyone was on their guard. I considered leaving because I was terrified. I still am, every time there’s a protest. I’d rather not go, I’ve experienced so much police violence, but my sense of duty is stronger. So I ended up staying, but it was extremely frightening. For weeks afterwards, I felt like Amsterdam was a war zone.”
“In the end, we were cleared out, and the police were very violent. It was terrifying. They drove bulldozers right through the barricades, even though we were just students. We had never experienced anything like that before. At that point, I really wanted to leave, but I couldn’t. We were completely surrounded by the police. A number of activists sat down on the ground to de-escalate the situation, but they were beaten up by the police from above. It felt almost as if we weren’t in the Netherlands, it was so disproportionate.”
Police violence
“That day, I lost a lot of faith in the rule of law. I had never seen police violence like that before. When I was hit and muttered that the officer was a jerk, I was arrested for insulting a public official. He put me in a headlock, and I had to spend the night in a cell. The police treated me like I was a terrorist. I wasn’t allowed to speak to my lawyer, I didn’t get any medication and I wasn’t allowed to use the heating in my cell.”
“When I was released the next day, the next protest was already underway. I went to my parents’ house first to recover from the situation, but then I just carried on. It really felt like we were going to succeed, and I wanted to help.”
