For the action against Schiphol on the 5th of November, the organisation group advises to go anonymous, meaning that you don’t give your identity to the police. The goal is to build a mass anonymity: If everyone goes anonymously into the action, you protect each other. Going anonymous has pros and cons, so we’ve listed those for you here. The organisation has already considered thos pros and cons, and thinks that mass anonymity is the best option. So, you are invited and encouraged to join in that. In the end, though, you are free to choose for yourself.

Pros

• The more activists who go anonymously, the more likely it is that the police just lets everyone go. This is because it is very hard to figure out an anonymous activist’s identity, and the police has limited capacity. There are multiple examples of this, primarily in mass actions like Ende Gelaende, Code Rood and XR.
• The more activists choose to stay anonymous, the better they are protecting the people who run extra risk having their identity figured out by the police – for instance for asylum, undocumented, previous grievances, grants etc.
• If the police decides to keep you for longer, you’re taking up limited space in the police department, so that fewer activists can be kept.
• If the police doesn’t figure out your identity, you get no fine and/or criminal record.

Cons

• If the police figures out your identity, you can get an extra fine of around 100 Euros.
• The police can keep you detained longer to try and figure out your identity. They can take your fingerprints and photo, and they can keep you for up to 12 hours (not counting night time).
• If you refuse to give your identity, that can lead to more repression. The police can use physical and psychological violence to force you to (for instance) give your fingerprints.
• If you are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) or if you don’t speak Dutch very well, the police might abuse you more, because they might argue that you are not an EU citizen.
• Refusing to give your identity is against the law for people who are no EU citizen. This could have negative consequences on a visa.

What does it mean to go anonymously into action, practically?

• Do not take anything with you to the action that could reveal your identity, like your passport, driver’s license, name tags in clothing, passes like OV-chipkaart etc.
• If you are at an offline/physical briefing, you can leave your ID/passport there in an envelope with your name and arrestee number.
• You can also leave your ID/passport with someone, who you can reach when you change your mind and you want to give your identity to the police after all. In that case, it’s important that that person is reachable on the 5th and 6th of November.
• Leave your telephone at home or give it so someone who’s not going anonymously (the police could take it for four weeks)
• Use an action name that’s different from your ‘real’ name (the name on your ID), so that the police does not have any information on your identity.
• Everyone must have an arrestee number, and the telephone number of the arrestee group, so that we can follow where people are and if they have been released yet. Information about this will follow in the briefings and on the broadcast.
• If you like, you can hide your fingerprints: superglue and glitter; or wood glue (which takes longer to dry but it’s hard to get off your fingers).