Freedom Village, The story of the 2022 New Zealand Convoy and Freedom Village Camp at Parliament Grounds
Freedom Village is a new book by Sue Grey and Alan Simmons. It’s the people’s story of the “controversial” 2022 occupation of the New Zealand Parliament grounds. It’s a confronting story of hope, courage, collaboration and determination in the face of abuse of state power.
Grey says of the people who contributed their stories to the book that “The story was in them, and they wanted to get it out to the the public. Creating the book was similar to the energy that was present at the protest, very inspiring.” Grey adding, “Now it’s time to get the story told. I thought I knew the story because I was there, but now I have a fuller picture of what happened, as told from other’s perspectives and experiences who were there.”
People united to reclaim freedoms from government overreach. They soon learned that the real battle line was for control of information, and for the public mind and mood. The authors were there from the beginning and record this historic event revealing shocking information many would prefer to remain hidden.
This book is a historic record of the 23-day protest camp, and has information, hidden from the public. This publication goes hand-in-hand with other excellent projects in New Zealand, such the films River of Freedom, and We Came here for Freedom, which expose the truth of what really happened at the protest against government overreach and media manipulation at the behest of powerful forces. Much of the untold story would have remained hidden without the startling revelations in this book.
From the book’s website: “Each generation needs a war, or a Woodstock, to remind us of what it is to be human, the magic of people power and the rewards of finding the courage to step up for humanity. Our Woodstock was the Freedom Village at New Zealand’s Parliament grounds in Wellington for 23 days starting 8 February 2022″.
“Perhaps our most important role is to sprinkle seeds of inspiration, hope, courage, aroha [love] and unity“
About the Authors
Sue Grey is a self-employed lawyer who specialises in complex emerging issues. She is also co-leader of NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party and one of New Zealand’s freedom heroes. Sue has a double major in Biochemistry and Microbiology and RSHDipPHI. Her first career was as a Health Protection Officer where she worked for central government included investigating infectious diseases and contact tracing – perfect training for her to spot the many red flags with the unorthodox Covid response
.
Alan Simmons lives in Turangi, NZ, and for the last 50 years worked as a full time fishing and hunting guide. The Covid response put an end to international travel and clients and in 2022 he was forced to retire by police thuggery when his hip was fractured in a police action while he was standing on a street corner filming.
Sue suggests you and others request your local library to have their it on their shelves. Or one can donate to their library. Also mention it to your local bookseller.
Here’s what filmmaker & journalist Alistair Harding (We Came Here for Freedom) has to say about the book: “Sue and Alan have created a book that will be worthy of the very Kiwi descriptor: ‘Taonga’, for our nation’s history. This book is a treasure because it is a first-hand account in the absence of any true journalism of the time. And so one day this story will be the source material that historians will turn to. Where they will find a vast difference between the voices of the people who were there and the narrative spun by a news media that mostly appeared incapable of any empathy for their fellow New Zealanders who had had their lives destroyed by the vaccine mandates.“
By Randall Richards Mountain Spirit Media It’s one thing to read the newspaper, or watch the evening news, or listen to national radio (or NPR in the U.S.) and to think that this is “the news”, that “this is reality”. I’m here to say, – No it’s not. One learns to crack the hard shell of that paradigm once one considers, possibly, just maybe, that these sources are not “the whole truth” or, are not “All Things Considered” as they claim. You learn to break the trance once you realize that there’s much more that they’re actually omitting. Check out the Hegelian Dialectic, (or this link ): where public debate is confined to a range of issues between limits of right and left, but not beyond those defined boundaries. Here in New Zealand, (and worldwide) it’s becoming glaringly clear that the media establishment is panicking because its citizens, and even some of its reporters, are fed up with being told what to think and what to say on air. It’s also obvious that creators of the news cycle promote an agenda akin to selling an old used car. They roll out talking points and subjects like an old merchant selling wares that nobody wants. For example, take the recent rollout of the hit pieces regarding New Zealand’s alternative media, (which is a collection of citizen reporters), who did their best to cover what happened during the Wellington protest. They didn’t do a perfect job, but damn close. Were they unbiased? No, most of them were there because they cared about removing unjust mandates and restoring some common sense and freedom. But they were truthful in reporting of what they saw. How do I know? I was one of them, and I saw others doing good work. In the age of the internet, the truth will come out, eventually. The New Zealand official Mainstream media’s clumsy attempts at the protest, and these recent days to produce absurd hit pieces on those reporting accurately, do nothing more than erode their own credibility. Their actions are nothing more than temper tantrums from a cornered and wounded animal, – Oh sorry , a dinosaur. Take for example Marcus Lush’s comment on IHeart Radio. “The amount of traffic on Facebook misinformation pages even eclipsed that of pages operated my NZ MSM outlets combined – receiving 357,089 and 247,620 interactions respectfully on March 2, 2022” One of my fellow open-minded friends adds, “And that’s just comparing FB to FB, there are other platforms as well.” Eyewitness testimony is gold. Each day at the Parliament grounds in Wellington, thousands saw one thing, only to be shown a completely dishonest accounting on the evening news and other media. Not only that, but events were clearly staged, such as “The car squealing into a crowd” event, which was a set-up. The media were invited to be present for the show. More on that from personal interviews I’ve conducted with people that were right at the car, and saw the whole thing. Can’t argue with that one. More on these latest feeble attempts: “NZ’s “Disinformation Dozen” drove 3/4 of fake news chatter.” (Another friend in the alt media thinks it’s time we adopt “The Dirty Dozen” moniker) The video clip in this piece, of some official-looking talking head news anchors, makes me nauseous. Their featured pundit in the piece is Kate Hannah of The New Zealand Disinformation Project. I feel like contacting her and asking, “Do you actually believe what you’re saying, or are you being paid?” Well, part of the answer appears to be the latter, as Planet B Mediareports “The Project received $4 million from the Governments Tertiary Education Commission and $4.2 million funding from the Marsden Fund.” Sorry to repeat but, let me put it more simply, If you’re in MSM and doing this sort of reporting, you’re either being played or being paid.
And this lovely attempt at truth: “Alt-Right and Conspiracy Theories have ‘Grown in the Shadows'” Really? I’ve had unbelievable reactions from friends in the US that think we must all be Trump supporters and all right-wing racists. On a personal note, while I do agree, Trump has done some obviously good things, he’s still pushing the “vaccine” though. You you know a man by his enemies – so time will tell in the end. My point is, many of us who agree with what he has done don’t fit the stereotype imagined by my friends who have drunk the mainstream Kool-Aid. Again, anyone who was actually at Parliament grounds saw that there were good people there, a cross section of NZ humanity, fathers, mothers, whole families, young and old, farmers, Maori, and lawyers, hippies, and yes, there were even meditators (see image below), yoga practitioners and musicians. One thing they all had in common was, they simply wanted the government to come out and speak to them about the mandates, and they wanted it all to remain peaceful. The guy behind this article above actually has a title, “Disinformation Researcher.” And this just came out in yesterday’s The Press, from Christchurch, NZ:
Really, a guy in a tinfoil hat as evidence of our craziness? Don’t you think you might want to get some context to this image?
Back to the Disinformation Project: It turns out they have been watching us through foggy-colored glasses: This, from their home page: “The Disinformation Project is pleased to release a new working paper discussing the occupation of Parliament grounds from February 2022 – March 2022. Download it here. ” I can’t wait. The good news is there are critical thinking reports like this from The Looking Glass. Their title: Meet the new thought police: the ‘Orwellian’ researchers working to pathologise dissent. I like that. More from that report: “The propaganda war is heating up, and we need to respond with coherence by unravelling their disinformation with good argument and proof, even though the elites are not listening ….The public is. We need to treat the public with respect and as adults who can think for themselves, something the government and media is not doing. So just check the card is not belittling. Here are a couple of good responses to the Disinfo Elitist view that we should all share ONE narrative (their one) to wash your brain out.” And this recent piece by Ian Wishart entitled: Your right to be wrong: how far does it go?
I was a “stringer”, a photojournalist, for United Press International in New Hampshire, (US) where all the presidential candidates would rifle through on their whistle-stop tour on their hopeful way to the US Presidency. I had a fleeting thought on the first day of the protest when my family and I arrived by ferry from Picton on New Zealand’s South Island. It briefly occurred to me, I should contact UPI again, and see about reporting for them, what I knew would be an important event. Then it dawned on me of course, that they would never accept what I would report. So I started a Telegram channel instead. More on the take-down of my content on that channel in a later post. And why is eyewitness testimony gold? Because all those who were at Wellington, who saw what they saw, and then, saw “The News” report a completely unrealistic, (sorry, untrue) version of what happened, headed back to their homes throughout New Zealand, and told their friends and family what they actually saw. That is game over. They say it only takes a fraction of the populace to affect change for the good. Evidently US independence from the crown was started by only by a handful of the colonists before a shift in critical mass happened that changed history.
This is the Gadsden Flag, originally flown over The US’s first four naval ships in the war for US independence. It was first raised by John Paul Jones
A Chinese proverb states, “May you live in interesting times.” That we do. It’s time to walk your truth, in a peaceful way, and not care what others think of you. Good luck. Editor’s Note:
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