International Socialists

They say that there is hope in even the darkest moments of history. An inspiring act of resistance took place amidst the devastation of Manhattan on 2 November. Hundreds of angry firefighters stormed "Ground Zero"  furious at attempts by right-wing mayor Giuliani to cut back on their numbers.

 

Firefighters fear that the remains of their comrades  along with thousands of others victims  will end up in landfills as the city authorities rush to clear the lucrative real estate site for redevelopment.

 

Portrayed as a hero in the media, Giuliani was deeply unpopular throughout his mayoralty for the brutal new powers given to his notorious police force under the "Broken Windows" scheme. Under this draconian policy, police were given powers to crack down on even the most minor of infringements  leading to a massive increase in police violence against blacks and other minorities.

 

Giuliani has made sure that he was on the platform at events to mourn the 353 firefighters who died during rescue operations when the World Trade Center collapsed. But when firefighters stepped out of line, Giuliani turned on them  returning to the snarling temper tantrums that made him so hated during his eight years in office.

 

On 2 November, hundreds of firefighters  furious with new restrictions on how many could be at the World Trade Center site to help with recovering the remains of their comrades  marched on "Ground Zero," clashing with police who tried to bar their way.

 

The media blamed firefighters for the confrontation, and 12 of the marchers were arrested. But firefighters say police provoked the violence. "We were marching peacefully to Ground Zero, when suddenly, a handful of police officers waded into a line of marchers and began pulling people out," said Peter Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.

 

City officials claim that the new restrictions at Ground Zero are for safety reasons  that firefighters could be exposed to dangerous chemicals or injured by heavy equipment. But firefighters say they think the decision has more to do with serving the mayor's rich pals.

 

What's more, the announcement of the restrictions came shortly after hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold, silver and other precious metals were located in the rubble. Finding the vaults of the Bank of Nova Scotia, one of the world's biggest precious metals traders, was obviously a top priority for city officials.

 

Firefighters now fear that Giuliani will turn the cleanup into a "scoop-and-dump" operation  to get the work done as quickly as possible. The behaviour of city officials confirmed firefighters' fears.

 

For example, the Giuliani administration fueled the disgusting rumor that firefighters organised the protest because they want the overtime. Anyone who has heard firefighters talk about the pain they feel at the loss of so many co-workers knows that this is a crock.

 

But for Giuliani and the corporate fat cats he serves, the most important part of the salvage operation  finding the money  is over. They could care less about the firefighters that they praise as the "real heroes" of 11 September.