Uranium Fist | Page 8

climate I gravitated towards the Workers' Democratic
Front (WDF). After the announcement of Martial Law, I was scared
and wanted to know what we should be doing, so I hurried to the WDF
party offices. The new paper had just come out and we were going to
try to sell as many as we could before the police stopped us.
"Before I got to our party office, I could already hear a commotion.
Voices argued. People were screaming, I couldn't tell if it was in fear or
anger, but I was tempted to turn back and go home. I didn't fancy being
caught up some kind of police action.

"An unmarked van skidded round the corner and tumbled on its side.
Sirens suddenly echoed through the urban canyons. I stood stunned, not
knowing what to do. Moments later, the driver crawled out of the
wrecked vehicle. He was covered in blood and swayed groggily. Then a
patrol car skidded round a corner and slammed into the
concussion-drunk man. The car skidded to a halt, rolling the man
underneath it like a broken doll.
"I was scared. They'd just killed a man. They must have seen me. I
ducked into the cover of a factory doorway anyway, and cowered on
the ground. I was shaking, my teeth were chattering, and the noise
seemed terribly loud. Car doors banged. Glass crunched under booted
feet, then I heard something thrown onto the road.
"Carefully, I peered round the wall. The ruined van was being
ransacked. One of the officers threw bundles of newspapers onto the
ground. The other stacked them in a pile before setting light to the lot.
"I watched - still shaking - from the cover of the doorway until the cops
left, then I crept cautiously to the junction with the next street. The
office was being ransacked, its display windows shattered. Amongst
the shards of glass was a broken word-processor and the desk that the
police must have thrown through the plate-glass. Then I saw Sara, one
of my comrades, as she was dragged out of the building and thrown to
the ground. She landed on the glass shards and was badly cut.
"'Drop that or I'll drop you!' a cop barked at a man in an office worker's
cheap suit. He held a lump of broken paving stone and was about to
throw it. Others followed his lead. More flagstones were ripped up to
provide ammunition.
"'I warned you!' The cop pulled out a tazer and fired. The office worker
dropped to the ground in spasm, silencing the enraged crowd. I didn't
know if they were going to disperse, or riot, but the atmosphere was
intense.
"'All of you, go home! This office has been closed by order of the
Government's emergency powers. If you don't disperse you will be

arrested.'
"More police came to the door and stared at the angry crowd. One them
began to speak into his radio, I knew that meant riot cops, but the rest
of the crowd ignored it. One of the cops walked a few paces towards us.
With one hand resting on a hip, legs apart, he pointed his baton at the
crowd and angrily told them to disperse. The crowd ignored him. That
pose of authority made no impression.
"'Cops go home!' someone cried, followed by the rest of the crowd as
they took up the chant. Someone threw a stone at the leader. He went
down, the side of his face smeared with blood. Everything went crazy.
Stones pelted the police. They tried to duck into the building for cover,
but the crowd surged forward.
"A distant wailing made itself heard above the noise of the fighting.
Two black vans clad in steel mesh slammed into the body of the riot.
People fell through the air and writhed on the tarmac. Hordes of
black-uniformed, amour-clad cops rushed out of the vans and without a
word they charged at us. I was caught in the middle of a pitch-battle as
the police hammered anyone in their way. With club and shield they
smashed people to the ground. People were dragged away, bruised and
bleeding, to be thrown into the waiting vans.
"But the crowd fought back. It was getting too dangerous there. Hastily
I pushed my way through the struggling figures and tried to get clear of
the fighting. A riot cop appeared in front of me. He grinned like a
madman, the gleam of joy in his eyes truly frightening. With a blow
from his riot shield he knocked me to the ground and I felt a hefty kick.
I curled into a ball to protect myself from the expected beating, but
nothing more came. The tables had turned and the cop was no longer
smiling. I crawled away quickly,