Asher Lennon — Sound Engineer, Christiana, Copenhagen, Denmark
By Kaf Blamire Thursday 2 December, 2010 20:02
??“Do not start running as you might make people think that a police raid is happening and then the dogs will be released”. ??
This was the advice I received while entering the graffitied walls of Copenhagen’s self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood known as Christiana. Night had fallen and silhouetted against burning oil barrels large dogs ambled through the freezing drizzle. In the past week a police raid had swept through and it seemed to have left in its wake an air of nervous subdued energy. Nevertheless a few stall holders huddled under their stalls selling marijuana, hash and skunk out of small plastic tubs. It is regarded by many as a commune-like environment and has separate laws and societal structures to the rest of Copenhagen. I met with Asher Lennon, a sound engineer at Christiana’s Flea Club and former resident to find out why he believes its survival is so important.
Can you explain to me the history of this area?
I lived here for two years, from 2006 – 2008, so that was a while after the historical events that shaped the area. It used to be a military base owned by the State Defense Department. It was deserted by the military and in ‘72 the slum stormers came and broke through the barricade. They were a movement of squatters who believed there should be cheap places to live and alternative lifestyles than that of the modern capitalistic society.
So, it was mainly born out of accommodation issues?
Accommodation yeah, but they were freethinkers. They wanted a free haven where people could live and create a cultural environment to allow for a free state and an anarchistic society, using consensus democracy to resolve important matters. In this area after the military left a lot of dope was being sold here– by dope I mean heroin. So when the slum stormers came in, there were probably already people squatting here and it was not long after the Junk Blockade was decided on. So there was no hard drugs allowed, only hash.
What sort of people made up the movement?
There were a lot of artists, a lot of people on benefits but also people with regular jobs. They set up their own Council. If you live here you have to pay rent and it goes into the community’s main account and you can go to the general meetings, there has to be a consensus for a decision to be passed. There are some basic laws, no hard drugs, no violence, you’re not allowed to wear gang colours. In Denmark they are a patch on your back, so no patches are allowed, like Hells Angels patches or anything. No weapons are allowed either. No one owns any properties here.
What is it about normal society that stops you from feeling free?
It’s grown out of proportion, people with fewer resources often get lost in the ambitions of the elite.
Did living here have a great affect on the course of your life?
Yeah I got a job here, I was educated as a sound technician and so it gave me a profession. It gave me the opportunity to express myself with no restrictions, it’s given me a way to live. I could have done that in the outside world, it just would have been different. I like the core of the vision here – ultimate freedom under responsibility. The responsibility of the self instead of living under pre-defined rules.
Is Anarchism the prevailing mentality here?
That is the controversy of Christiania – people think it’s hippy or anarchist, but everyone has their own vision, there is no one true way. There are a lot of unique personalities in Christiania. There are people who are interested in democracy, there are anarchists, there are people with no interest in politics whatsoever.
Whoever you are you can live in Christiania. What they agree on is that everyone should have the freedom to do what they want without impacting the freedom of others.
Are tensions here generally high between the residents here and the authorities?
Well, it’s an anti-authority place. Police aren’t tolerated well here. There’s no police station here, it’s not under the direct jurisdiction of law, we abide by human law. A lot of progressive and alternative minds built a very good strong foundation so a lot of conflicts are solved on a personal level and never really reach a high level that impacts everyone. Sometimes it just takes longer to deal with problems because more views are put forward.
