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How Can We Get More Workers’ Voices in Red Flag?
Thirty-eight participants in the recent international conference discussed this after hearing a report on Red Flag/Bandera Roja. We divided into five groups to answer the following questions:
- Do you remember any Red Flag items that you liked? Why do you remember them?
- Which articles have you shown to friends and discussed with them?
- How can we ensure greater worker participation in the production of content for Red Flag?
The group discussions were then reported out in plenary. The results are as follows:
Question #1: Individuals gave different answers, which helped us understand more about what they think. They remembered articles and letters about:
- The situation in Venezuela
- Struggles in India and South Africa that make us see that we are all in the same situation and help us and inspire us with weapons to win our own struggles
- Immigration and all the anti-fascist protests that ICWP has participated in
- The air in India that can’t be breathed
- Imperialist wars
- The Gaza genocide, especially Comrade Hamza’s letters
Question #2: Comrades discussed articles about
- What is happening in Gaza
- The raids and deportations in the US. These have had a great impact because many have relatives there and receive remittances.
- India, where women workers have the same struggles as we do. These gave us courage and helped us a lot to win over more comrades.
- Sexism. This helps us to discuss that.
- Experiences that we can relate to what we are going through.
- Imperialist wars. These demonstrate that only in communism will mass genocides end.
Question #3: Two kinds of answers were given.
The first kind concerned the design of the newspaper. These included:
- More images that reflect struggle, courage, and feeling.
- Cartoons that attract attention.
- Try to keep articles shorter or easier to understand.
- Always have an eye-catching cover.
- Not many articles should have continuations.
The second type of response concerned how to involve more worker comrades in writing for the paper.
- Addressing comrades’ fear of expressing their ideas and sharing their problems.
- Expressing our experiences within the factory and the importance of writing them down, even in small pieces.
- Supporting each other to make writing easier
- Providing audios that other comrades can transcribe
- Creating writing and political study groups.
The Red Flag report and discussion created an opportunity to encourage more workers to write and engage more with writing ideas for our newspaper. Groups also discussed the importance of mass distribution.
We could have used more time for this. Our evaluation also concluded that better use should be made of time, and that activities should be planned in the spaces before the main days of the meeting.
Readers, Writers, Artists: Contribute to RED FLAG!
Everyone who works on Red Flag/Bandera Roja is a volunteer. We don’t have paid staff. And we need your help!
Write a letter: Describe an experience or conversation. Offer an opinion or a criticism. Ask a question. Letters are usually under 500 words. They can be much shorter. They may be edited for length and readability.
Not a good writer? Don’t worry. We can help. You could send us a short audio file instead of a written document. Letters are not signed with your real name. Use a brief description like: “High school student in (your city)” or “Transit worker” or “Revolutionary music lover.”
Write a draft of an article: Report on your collective’s political work. Describe a discussion about communism, world events, your workplace: what were the main disagreements (contradictions)? Were they resolved? Or offer a communist analysis about something that your friends or coworkers are talking about.
Articles are usually under 750 words – often much shorter. Articles are not signed and should represent the ICWP political “line.” They are reviewed by our editorial often much shorter. Articles are not signed and should represent the ICWP political “line.” They are reviewed by our editorial collective, which often will suggest changes. Final drafts will be edited for length, readability, and sometimes for “line.”
Send photographs. The best show ICWP in action among the masses. Or mass struggles that show the potential to win masses to communism.
Send original drawings or cartoons. They might expose or ridicule bosses and politicians. Or show the working class as a revolutionary force. Or illustrate your ideas about communism. Remember that they will print in grayscale, not color.
Offer your skills or learn new ones. Copyediting. Proofreading. Translation. Photo editing. Layout.
Distribute Red Flag/Bandera Roja. Publicly (where possible). Hand-to-hand to friends, family, coworkers. Via social media or communication apps. Leaving stacks in coffee shops, independent bookstores, libraries, and other public spaces.
Contribute financially. If you can, make regular donations. Ask friends too. Publishing and distributing Red Flag/Bandera Roja is one of ICWP’s main expenses.
Everyone’s contribution matters! Talk to the person who gives you Red Flag/Bandera Roja or email us at contact@icwpredflag.org