Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Protesters blocked off a spot near the science building at L'Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) on Sunday and put up a sign, renaming the square they now occupy as the Al-Aqsa University at UQAM, in tribute to one of the 12 universities destroyed in the Gaza Strip.
A video posted online purports to show the first moments of the encampment, with protesters said to be taking material from nearby construction sites to campus grounds.
Within a few hours, at least a dozen tents went up, and since then a constant flow of supplies, including water bottles, food, tarps and even a speaker system, has entered the camp. Students and supporters seem to be settling in behind the barricades for the long haul.
"What is happening inside right now? We are starting to organize and checking out how we are going to do that. We want to start to also engage in learning activities," said one protester who did not want to be identified.
"The main point of these encampments is we don't want to stay here, but we will stay here until you (universities) acquiesce."
This protester is among many at UQAM who have seen first-hand how encampments run. Many here have spent time at the McGill site, which is just a few minutes walk away. That was the first pro-Palestinian encampment set up on a campus in Canada.
Others at UQAM say protesters plan to use some of their time behind the barricades discussing ways they can make more of an impact.
"It is really peaceful inside," says Leila Khaled, a UQAM student and spokesperson for the camp. "We are organizing. So we are creating, for example, setting up a committee."
That group will be involved in discussions about life in the encampment, including food and sleep, Khaled says. But a daily general assembly is also in the works, she adds, to allow for the exchange of ideas and dialogue.
In recent days, McGill has escalated its bid to dismantle the tents on its campus and has cited health and safety concerns among the main reasons it wants to take the protest down. Administrators have said barrels of human waste are stored inside the camp, there are no clear emergency exits and tents are blocking a fire exit from a library building on campus.
McGill has hired extra security guards to patrol the area, but they have no access to the encampment itself. Some Jewish students have also said McGill failed them by not acting weeks ago to dismantle the encampment, which has made them worry for their safety on campus.
In the face of a potential for police intervention at McGill, UQAM students say they had to set up their own camp in solidarity.
"We've been helping out there," the UQAM protester said. "We've been advocating there, taking up space there. And it is definitely time to escalate now. Students cannot sit idly by and do nothing."
UQAM says it has no investments in weapons makers and already has a policy in place for responsible investment, one of the main demands of campus protesters across the country. But students say, among other demands, they want UQAM to cut ties with Israeli universities, which they say are major actors in producing propaganda and developing technology for arming the government in Israel.
