As anti-capitalist demonstrations, modelled after New York’s Occupy Wall Street, are about to start in the North-East, Alli Pyrah spoke to demonstrators in Manhattan about the growth of the movement and their messages for protestors across the Atlantic.

WITH its vibrant music, souvenir stands and outrageous costumes, Occupy Wall Street feels more like a festival than a traditional protest.

At weekends, thousands swarm to the event in New York’s Zuccotti Park, which has become a popular tourist destination. At bedtime, most of the crowds disperse, leaving a few hundred dedicated protestors who camp there round-the -clock.

The protestors have been occupying the park since mid-September, and refer to it by its former name, Liberty Plaza. In its early days, the movement was derided or ignored by many media outlets, but its growth and longevity – fuelled by social media and reports of police brutality – have since earned it a place in the international spotlight. Groups around the world have been inspired to start their own Occupy protests in locations as diverse as Sidney, Rome and, most recently, Middlesbrough, Darlington and Northallerton, in North Yorkshire.

Ask the protestors why they are there, and you will get a range of answers as diverse as their ages and backgrounds. The dramatic growth of the movement has attracted special interest groups, including unions and environmentalists, along with people of diverse political persuasions. However, most agree on two things: corporate money in politics has corrupted democracy, and the richest one per cent is being unduly enriched at the expense of everyone else.

The camp is well-organised. Volunteers staff dozens of stations, including information booths, a medical tent, a sanitation department, a library, regular educational workshops, groups which create signs and T-shirts, and the comfort station, which distributes donated clothes and bedding.

Crowds dance and chant around the drummers’ circle, where musicians play until the 10pm cut-off. Popular refrains include “we are the 99 per cent”, “banks got bailed out, we got sold out”, and “Occupy Wall Street – all day, all week”. There is also a kitchen, which serves a free buffet-style feast to anyone willing to stand in the enormous line. The food is contributed by supporters or purchased with donations, and is prepared in the kitchens of sympathetic local businesses. Saturday night’s menu included burgers, salad, fresh fruit, bread, and vegetarian options such as sauteed yellow courgette with kidney beans and green plantains.

Decisions at the camp are made by consensus at the General Assembly, which takes place at 7pm each day. In order to circumvent the ban on megaphones, protestors collectively repeat the words of each speaker, phrase-by-phrase, so that the message can be heard by those at the back. Hand signals are used to indicate agreement or dissent. As the movement aims to hear everyone who wants to speak, decision-making can be an arduous process.

Protestor Benjamin Hitchcock, an 18-year-old student, is among those sleeping at the park.

Benjamin, who is originally from Maine, arrived on day three of the protest and has been amazed by its growth. “On the third day, there were fewer than 100 people,” he says. “The police presence was incredibly intense and aggressive.

There was no infrastructure. The discussion was essentially political and ideological.

It seemed a lot more focused than it is now.”

HIS message to protestors starting up Occupy groups in the North-East is to exercise patience and respect during discussions, and to split into smaller groups which can report back to the General Assembly. “I think just being present and listening and speaking to people and trying to develop some sort of connection is a victory in itself,” he said.

Ironically, the protest has not been ejected from the space because the park is privately owned – under local regulations, demonstrations in public parks require a permit. Brookfield Office Properties, which owns the park, recently announced its intention to eject the movement – with the help of police – so that the space could be cleaned. However, the company reversed its decision after the protesters organised a mass clean-up. Some demonstrators speculate that the park’s owners are hoping to avoid the PR problem of evicting them by waiting for the brutal New York winter to drive them out. However, many campers have expressed determination to brave the plummeting temperatures, following advice from local mountaineering groups and donations of blankets and waterproof clothing.

Grandmother Marsha Spencer, 56, has spent the past 23 days at the park, knitting hats, scarves and mittens to shield protestors from the cold. The unemployed seamstress, who has so far donated more than 30 woolly creations to the cause, said she came to Occupy Wall Street because she fears for the future of her five grandchildren. “I think we can handle the winter,” she said. “With the right education, you can live anywhere. I don’t think they realise the resolve that some of these people have.”

For those starting the Occupy movements in Middlesbrough and Darlington, she has the following advice: “I think the most important thing is to be well-educated on your issues, so you can be well-spoken on them. Research all the facts and really know what you want.”

As a native of North Dakota, protestor Douglas Ficek, 33, is no stranger to the cold. Mr Ficek, an adjunct professor of philosophy and black studies who moved to Queens ten years ago, was thrilled that the Occupy protests have spread as far as the North-East of England.

“I think it’s fantastic,” he says. “This is totally organic, so the fact it’s spreading means there must be some sort of message that’s resonating.

Even though this is an incredibly diverse group politically – you have anarchists, socialists, libertarians and liberals – one thing they have in common is that they recognise there’s something problematic about our economy, and that has to change.”

• Occupy Teesside will stage its protest at the crossroads of Linthorpe and Corporation Road, in Middlesbrough, on Tuesday, November 29.

• Occupy Darlington’s protest will be held on Saturday, November 5, in High Row, in the centre of the town, from 2pm.

• A third group, Occupy Northallerton, has not yet revealed when or where it plans to protest.