Erin Reding ’06, an RA in Butt C, thought she saw a protest in the Butterfield courtyard, but from where she stood, something seemed different.
“They were fighting each other,” she said. “Some were hurling tin cans, some were beating drums, while others ran around in circles screaming for a medic.”
Reding quickly learned that this was, in fact, a simulated protest designed as training for the Wesleyan Organized Medical Action Network (WOMAN).
Formed by Matt Montesano’05 and Zach Goldstein’05 in the spring of 2003, WOMAN’s eight members attend protests and provide medical assistance to activists in need. They are part of a larger, international and loosely organized movement called Action Medical whose members attend many organized protests worldwide.
“Police won’t let emergency medical service into areas defined as ‘insecure,’ which at a protest is anything across a police line,” Montesano said.
The street medics can administer first aid, provide information on keeping the protesters safe, distribute hand warmers and other supplies, and help bring people to safety if needed. They can also organize clinics on the spot and treat people who have been tear-gassed or harmed by some other chemical agent.
“If I’m at a march and someone falls down, trips, and breaks his ankle, I can probably splint his ankle and get them through…to an ambulance,” Montesano said.
WOMAN members agree with the aims of the protesters, but are clearly marked in medics outfits and do not actively participate in the protest.
“I don’t want to contribute to a dynamic that might incite police violence,” Montesano said. “I want the police to see medics as people who are doing good.”
Medics have varying levels of experience. Montesano has no formal medical training, but says his clout comes from gaining the respect of those he works with. Others in the group have a wide range of experience from EMT training to being certified as a wilderness first responder. Next week, a group of WOMAN members will travel to Boston to help teach other aspiring medics.
WOMAN medics will also be attending the Democratic and Republican National conventions this summer, as well as the upcoming “the world still says no to war” protest and others in the coming months. They will be outfitted with their stash of band-aids, glucose, re-hydration formulas, hand warmers, bandages, blankets, and knowledgeable in procedures to deal with harmful chemical agents. They even have water bottles to be used as makeshift eye flushes.
Last week, WOMAN medics accompanied a group of protesters at an anti-Bush rally in Greenwich, Conn.
“What we did was basically walk up and down the line of protesters, made sure people were keeping warm,” said Gretchen Krebs ’04, a member of WOMAN. “It was really cold that night.”
Krebs said their first priority was keeping themselves safe so that they would be able to help others.
“If it’s not a safe situation, we’re going to take that into account,” she said.
According to Montesano, in the 1960s and 70s, Action Medical, the loose umbrella organization for groups like WOMAN, was formed by doctors and registered nurses. It has gained more prominence in the past few years in the wake of police violence in Seattle and Ontario, and also with the popularization of the Internet for communication among protesters, he said.
Action Medical is a non-hierarchical organization and has no formal certification process whereby its medics must meet training standards.
Here at Wesleyan, however, WOMAN members underwent intense training. The simulated protest Reding witnessed was actually part of a three-day training session.
“I couldn’t help but think that this could only be happening at Wesleyan,” Reding said. “It was fantastic!”
Leave a Reply