A project in the works
In about a month I will be replacing my comfortable routine of work, gigs and gym with the unpredictability of travel. I won’t be diving head first into the realm of travel but testing the waters with volunteer work in Serbia for 3 months. I will be joining other activists in helping People on the Move(POM)/migrants as the attempt to find a better life in the EU. After that the plan is to get on my bicycle and pedal in the opposite direction to the people I have tried to help towards Cambodia. Both activities are things that I have wanted to do for some time and since there is never a perfect time to give up the comforts of a stable life I figured now is the time.
The first leg of this project will take me to Belgrade where I have volunteered before in 2023 with an organisation called Collective Aid. That time they were running a shower and washing service for POM and the homeless. This time I am working with another organisation called No Name Kitchen (NNK) whose name might imply that they provide food, but that is not the case. The name comes from the early days of the organisation but has since then evolved to doing whatever the situation on the ground requires. Currently I am still not sure what the context is in Belgrade and what exactly that project is doing but I will find out soon.
I am however going to have a legal focus. This is something I don’t know anything about but I will receive the training and try my best to help those who need any legal advice or direction. I am eager to learn more about the Balkan route and hopefully more about border politics. There is only so much you can learn from books before you need to be on the ground in the thick of it. I have spent the last few years studying so it’s time to put down the books and put the knowledge to good use. I am no academic and much prefer the direct action approach. My hope is that this experience provides me with a foundation for the next part of the project. The longer and possibly more difficult part of the whole endeavour.
I have always wanted to do a long cycle tour. I have watched multiple travel vlogs of people cycling around various parts of the world as well as read multiple books by renowned authors and adventurers. While I have done some touring before I have never embarked on a journey of this scope before. Again its time to put the books down and stop living vicariously through others on YouTube and try it out for myself. While I will be following in the tire tracks of thousands who rode before me I do want to do it differently. Something I have noticed that most folks do with a trip like this is use it as a way to rekindle their joy for living and finding themselves. This is all good and well but that is a privilege for a small group of people.
We who are able to experience the world for all its beauty and variety in cultures and customs almost always seem to forget that the vast majority of the world has never been able to do this. This isn’t a critique of the people but an observation on the inequality of our planet. Then there is also the fact that the global north has been destroying the natural world for decades and the effects of that are felt unequally. Those who are bound by the borders drawn by colonialism are also the ones watching the natural world die in front of their eyes. I want to try document this journey through the lens of climate change and border politics. Obviously this is no easy task but I will do what I can and hopefully everything works out.
I have not yet figured out an exact plan for how I will accomplish this but I figure that if I take it one day at a time then the parts will fall into place. I suppose that isn’t the best way to go about it but I am just one human. I will try keep things more active here which will hopefully keep me on track and hold me somewhat accountable. I hope that if you have read this far then you will join me on this journey.