Views of Liberland

Poetry and reflections to document my time at Liberpulco

It’s 1st September 2024 as I begin to write this. Currently, I am sat in Budapest’s departure lounge after my direct flight from London to Belgrade got cancelled shortly before I arrived at the airport. It also means I miss my bus connection to Apatin - a small Serbian town on the country’s western border with Croatia - and there are no other buses to Apatin today. It may be a case of getting to the next town over then ordering a cab to Apatin. We’ll see once I land.

Why am I going to some small town in Serbia?

Liberpulco.

I’ve had my eye on the Liberland project for a couple of years now. I’m fascinated by how countries and communities become established and how different governance styles balance individual liberty and territorial sovereignty. Liberland - a nation with voluntary taxation, a blockchain-based government and a big focus on voluntaryist principles - is certainly an unusual but interesting oddity as countries go.

Proof It Works

Combine this with a festival stacked with great people doing great things, and my own thirst for a change of physical scenery and local culture, it was a no-brainer.

This piece will be a series of short poems and reflections for the festival’s duration - including the decentralised Forko events. I’ll be adding a new piece with each day that passes. So if you want to see that happen, why not subscribe and share my work with a friend?

---

Monday 2nd September

Twas not an easy fight
to win myself distance
Not when pulling punches
in the matches leading up.

Slowly, I learnt I could
follow through the expanse
while keeping a rigid,
uncompromising stance.

Now I find the glory
through my fumbling nerves
so now the question is:
What am I to do next?

Liberation ~ A Poem by Tom Shaw

I’ve been in Serbia for around 24 hours as I write this piece, and I’ve been blessed with nothing but generosity since arriving. I ended up in Sombor - a small town in the north of Serbia - late at night, and with tiredness getting to me I resorted to find a place to stay. I came across a pizzeria with a few guest rooms in the upstairs… but they had shut for the night. The owner of a nearby bar was walking past as I tried the door and, as it so happens, he knew the owner well and offered to get in touch with her. Within about 20 minutes, I was inside and had a room for the night. I’ll be carving out some time to buy a few drinks from his place when I am next in the area.

Morning comes and I finally complete my trip to ARK Village. I meet some of the other attendees, go for lunch with some of the guys, and now sit in the restaurant we just ate in to write up this update and do a few bits of admin.

So where does the poem fit in to all that? Well, it fits in because the past 48 hours is a demonstration that I have what I need to navigate complex situations - or know how to get what I need - without having to compromise a part of who I am or how I will be perceived. Part of my conversation over lunch was on exactly how many have been conditioned to ask for “permission” for every single small action they may want to take, even when we know it is moral and something that will benefit others. And I know, because I have been a victim of that. For the longest time, I was unwilling to trust that I could be the sovereign and decisive figure in situations that demanded it, instead succumbing to expectations about what I think others might want from me. That destroyed me.

And now I’ve finally begun doing that, everything else is falling in to place.

---

Tuesday 3rd September

The pond is stagnant, even when
the pond-skaters, frogs and insects
make ripples on the pool's surface.

Every member is dynamic,
but the situation remains.
And that is the way of nature.

Apparently.

Impressions and Preconceptions ~ A Poem by Tom Shaw

I went on a walk around Liberland’s “Diaspora Village” - known as ARK - this morning, which gave me time to collate some of my initial expressions and experiences with some of those involved in Liberland. Liberland is a funny sort of place. ARK has done well to collect a good number of bohemian and hippie-types who espouse ideas around liberty and freedom. But yet, there seems to be so little progress in actually claiming the land and doing things in a sovereign manner on the land. They essentially still ask permission from the Croatian police to enter the land, even though Croatia themselves have said its not theirs. I was having a chat with a Canadian guy who had come along just for Liberpulco. He believed the path forward for Liberland should be to lay of on some of the “peaceful diplomacy” that has been the main strategy thus far - giving that the Croatian police have already shown themselves to have little regard for the legal status of the land - and send a few hundred people to occupy the land for about 3 months. If police try to pick off people, the settlers all band together to bring them back. In that time, the borders to Liberland are secured and permanent infrastructure can go up. By that point, Croatia will have to admit defeat as it wouldn’t be worth the international press headache of going to land that isn’t theirs and shooting/beating a few hundred people. At which point Liberland is secured as a sovereign micronation.

I do think there’s something to his idea, and it reminds me of the way that the Soviet Union collapsed in the Western-most territories through initiatives and ideas like the “Parallel Polis”. In countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic, communities of ordinary people came together and simply refused to partake in society, instead forming their own parallel communities and services. If one member of the community got arrested by the police for doing something disliked by the state, the entire community would do what they could to rescue that individual, even if it meant breaking into police stations to break someone out. And, in time, this sort of strategy was replicated across the Soviet Union, with the Soviet administration simply not having the manpower required to quash such rebellions.

These strategies work for two reasons, in my mind. One is the numbers game. But the second, and the one that interests me more, is the ability of all those individuals in those groups to fully stand in the fire of what they know to be moral and beneficial, regardless of the dictat of “authority”, and to refuse to cave in.

A lot of the creeping totalitarianism that Western governments get away with only happens because people do not choose to resist it, for whatever reason. This is made easier when there is a community all willing to do the same thing, for sure, but it requires each one of us to take responsibility for our actions and to do the best we can in the world, regardless of what anyone else believes - or what we think they might believe!

There is a time and place for peaceful diplomacy, but when one party won’t agree to stick by their own and internationally-agreed rules regarding their actions, then such attempts are essentially wasted. It’s like me making agreements with a serial thief not to steal things, the thief continues to steal stuff, and I just let him do it while trying to tell him we made an agreement. The thief will only stop through physical intervention and to show I’m serious about how much my stuff is to me. Liberland seems to be submitting itself to this level of bullying, and it’s sad to see.

I believe there is an incredibly valuable place for Liberland, and some of the things they have accomplished are impressive. In my eyes, Liberland would see more success if there were more of those kinds of people backing it who were willing to stand in the fire of their integrity and sovereignty, on the ground. It needs people who are running to Liberland, because they believe in what it stands for, and not just people who are running from some other fear.

There are definitely lots of individuals who have that “running to” drive in them who are attending Liberpulco, and I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting a couple of them. Perhaps this kind of event, and seeing these kinds of individuals, is exactly what Liberland needs in order to step into the next phase of its life - a territorially sovereign micronation.

---

Wednesday 4th September

Today’s update is a short one. With a significant number of people arriving, there are a lot of interesting people and conversations drawing my attention. What I can say is that being able to have such a wide range of completely unfiltered and deep discussions has been fantastic, and I look forward to it continuing. Here’s a little haiku to summarise my thoughts:

The sacred sayings,
words that liberate our hearts
spoken into life.

Sacred Sayings ~ A Haiku by Tom Shaw

---

Thursday 5th September

Today has been a funny sort of day. It's been the first main day of talks and workshops and I've been blessed with some great moments already. Kicking off with reuniting with a friend who I had no idea was coming to Liberpulco, it's been a day of brief interactions and introductions to all sorts of people, as well as some great talks. In particular, Henna Maria's presentation on her work with Kotiinpaluu - a private member association to rekindle traditional Finnish cultural traditions - really stood out, and is already illuminating new avenues for some of the looser ideas floating in my head to take.

And yet, I don't quite feel satisfied. Perhaps its partly because I want to be doing so many things at once. As cool as it would be to do the Liberland settlement scheme, with other commitments tugging at me for next week, it seems less and less practical to undertake. This discomfort that has brought up in me is certainly something I'll be sitting with over the remainder of the day, and likely beyond.

And in the opening of that discomfort, this short poem came to me, which is what I will leave you with:

Eyes opened wider
heart sunken deeper.
Some things are clearer,
others seem dearer.

Ever surprised,
Never disguised,
I learn of new
And work ensues.

Into The Unknown ~ A Poem by Tom Shaw

---

Friday 6th September

Last night's embers still glowing
beyond the time of matter,
sparks of which have scratch'd my skin
like teeth that sink and natter.

It's the nuclear fission
of personal transition.

Preconceptions burning up
and strange encounters smoulder.
Icicles of salt-grit teeth
trickle down to my shoulder.

It's the nuclear fission
of personal transition.

The big bang can't be the start
for bangs are but reactions.
And this explosion of soul
creates beautiful actions.

It's the nuclear fission
of personal transition.

Energetics ~ A Poem by Tom Shaw

This one’s going out a little late, as yesterday’s conversations went late into the night. I had the great pleasure of listening to Steven Young’s excellent presentation on music and alchemy which acted as the perfect introduction for me to see alchemy as a framework for understanding personal transformation - and the poem written above came out of sitting with that and other experiences from the day.

I certainly feel a greater sense of empowerment from being around so many great people here, and a confidence that I can make great change and live a rewarding life while doing as much pro-human work as possible. This is not just in the speakers but the attendees too. A special mention to Aušra, Tomas and Joep for the numerous swims in the Danube and conversations on life - including this day - that contributes to that.

It is, however, taking quite a toll on my social battery, and I suspect a part of me will be relieved when I have next week to consolidate all the experiences I’ve had over the past week and get some work done in the process. My return flight has already been cancelled and I have time before I need to be back in the UK, which may give me exactly what I need.

---

Saturday 7th September

The bank I want to use
is based on the river.
Their sand coating the shore
and I can watch birds soar.

The track I want to trace
is one through wilderness.
Meandering the trees
wherever Earth may please.

The cell I want to fuel
has no bars or railings.
Instead they course my vein
and keep me somewhat sane.

The head I want to have
does not appear on coins.
it sits on my shoulders
wiser as I'm older.

The state I want to feel
does not fund endless war.
It flows with another,
open to discover...

Alternative ~ A Poem by Tom Shaw

This update comes to you just after setting up the firepits on the final evening of the main celebrations. It’s yet to quite sink in that this is the end of an incredible few days and how most of the people here will be going their separate ways tomorrow and Monday. The version of me triggered by a sense of loneliness wants to come online, but if this weekend has taught me anything, its that I can trust myself to make great friends wherever I go.

It’s not all happy news though. Earlier today I had news that a good friend of mine has been taken to hospital with a ruptured appendix, and this has been lurking in the back of my mind during the day. It’s a reminder for me on how unexpectedly things can change - something mirrored in a different context by Jeff Berwick during his talk today. I feel more motivated than ever to be the best I can be in every single possible moment, both for myself, but also for all of those who cannot do the things I can because of the situations they find themselves in. It’s a heavy weight to have on my shoulders, but an honourable one that I gladly carry. I think the poem above speaks to that.

---

Sunday 8th September

And we’ve made it to the end of Liberpulco.

I took today to head into town by myself, get some lunch and do a bit of catch-up work for a variety of projects at the pizzeria that a bunch of us met up at towards the start of the week. Most of the other festival attendees have either gone home already, or have attended either the Boat Tour of Liberland or the Cycle Tour. I couldn’t justify the expense of the boat tour, and as my passport is non-Schengen, I didn’t want to risk the 90-day ban from Croatia in case I decide to come do the Liberland settlement scheme later in the year, which I am strongly considering. Plus I fancied a bit of time to myself, which I’ve certainly got.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say I felt a little lost today. I plan to hang around Serbia for another week or so while I do some remote work and plan for commitments in the UK and beyond, and debating whether to try make arrangements to come back to Serbia for an extended period in October/November. I really like the place and the people, and I feel a lot more comfortable spending my time here or exploring the Balkans more than I do remaining in the UK. But watching the slow exit of many of those I made friends with over the past few days, and not having the clearest direction on how I can achieve the goals I have in mind, is a struggle. In many ways it’s a continuation of many of the feelings I touched upon in yesterday’s update, so it seems apparent that there is more work for me to do with this tension. Something tells me I’d be in a much better position to unpack all this if I had more permanent figures in my surroundings that I could truly trust. Liberpulco has perhaps been a double-whammy in the sense that its introduced me to quite a few people who could have fit that bill, but are unable to because of their own needs and commitments.

The next week at ARK will likely be a quiet comedown from the past week, but this may at least provide a chance to get to know the minds behind Liberland a little better - which is something I’ve not quite found the time for amongst all the other amazing speakers and attendees over this week.

With all this in mind, here’s an unpublished poem I’ve pulled from my archive which seems to fit some of the tensions I’m working with well, even if it is slightly darker than how I actually feel in this moment. And with that, I can now go ahead and formulate a new view on Liberland.

Maybe I’m afraid to dream of you,
to blow a bubble I dare not see burst,
awash with chaos as it crashes to Earth,
teeth returning to dirt as fossils.
For we both know the cosmic giants
will throw their sticks and hellfire stones.
For we both know know the know-it-alls
would bubble poison to envelop my own.

Maybe I’m afraid to die alone,
on that false pretence I could make you my own.
Maybe I’m afraid my heart will bleed out,
gushing, crushed under my foaming brain.
Maybe I am afraid to awaken
and find my love has disappeared.

Maybe ~ A Poem by Tom Shaw

---

---