Meg Perry, 1979 - 2005 : NOLA Indymedia

Meg was volunteering with Common Ground Relief in New Orleans, and had previously worked with S.O.S. - Saving Our Selves, in rural Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. The bus, a vegetable-oil powered 'community free space', was on its way from the People's Hurricane Relief Fund Conference in Jackson, Mississippi back to the march for human rights in New Orleans Saturday afternoon when the accident happened. Several of the other eight volunteers who were on the bus were injured.

Meg Perry was an energetic, passionate, kind and dedicated person. She filled her days working for justice, building community and bringing love and joy into people’s lives. She was always ready with a warm smile or to lend a hand. She came down to the Gulf Coast soon after Hurricane Katrina, and only left in October to recruit more volunteers to come down. A local Maine newspaper quoted her in September saying, "Get enough people and you can move a mountain."

Meg lived every day her philosophy of progressive change and mutual aid. She owned the Frida Bus, a vegetable powered mobile community space, that has been used for the last two and a half years to bring people together, share resources, and provide education about sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. Meg logged many hours designing, renovating and decorating the bus in an effort to create a beautiful, safe, educational space for her community. For her it was truly a labor of love.

Showing people that it is possible to run a vehicle without dependence on fossil fuels was an important part of Meg's philosophy. She wanted to help people realize that it is possible to face the big injustices in our world, and to make an impact, by changing the ways we interact with each other and with the world around us. Small actions can have a big impact, and Meg showed every day how true that is. She changed so many people, affected so many lives, in the short time she was in the Gulf Coast doing relief work.

On Nov. 13 of this year, the Frida Bus along with 13 hurricane relief volunteers and a full load of donated supplies traveled to the Gulf Coast region to support communites whose lives have been devastated by the recent hurricanes. For the past month, the Frida Bus and its volunteers have been distributing supplies, cleaning and rebuilding people’s homes, and supporting other relief efforts in New Orleans and around Mobile, Alabama.

Meg and other volunteers that traveled to the Gulf Coast were deeply moved by the tragedy that people in the region suffered this hurricane season. They went to the Gulf Coast in a spirit of volunteerism and mutual aid, and the survivors have vowed to return to continue Meg's legacy, in particular by building up the community garden project at St. Denis St. and Havana Pl in the 7th Ward where Meg spent much of her time. They are putting a call out for volunteers from around the country to come to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and continue Meg's labor of love.

RIP - Meg Perry
by soon2bgreasy (from Greasecar forum) Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2005 at 6:23 AM

Rest in Peace, Meg - this is sad news indeed, however the impact of the sadness is greatly softened by reading of all the work that Meg has done throughout her life.
She seems to have been an amazing role model for the rest of us - serving as a reminder that volunteering, helping others, and 'being the change the one wishes to see in the world' are some of the most important things we can do with our time.
My thoughts and prayers are with Meg, her friends and family.

I was one of the participant of the Dec 8-10 Assembly and the rally and very sad to hear the death of Meg Perry.

I am currently writing an article about teh conference and rally for Z MAgazine and hope to submitt along with my article (no promises the photo will be publish), I would like to ask the permission for reproduce.

Thanks.

Lee Siu Hin
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
United for Peace and Justice

I'm very touched by meg and her work. Her smile and outlook are inspiring me to work harder and show love to my family and comrades.

this is absolutely crushing news. i met meg and stayed at her home this summer while travelling through portland, maine to participate in the beehive anniversary celebration in machias. she was by far and away one of the most beautiful, lively, committed, visionary, open-hearted souls that i have ever met in my life. meg was a devoted anti-capitalist. i remember her telling me, "i'm allergic to money." and she lived this philosophy in all of her actions. she took me on a radical bike tour of the city, and we visited an amazing free-space cooperative that she helped found...truly a model for autonomous community building. in addition to being a "safe" space for community activists, feminists, gay, lesbian, trans-gendered and people of color to host meetings and reading groups, they had a lending library, food bank and one of the most bountiful free-clothes bins i've ever seen...i'm still wearing the pants and shirts that i "borrowed" from it.

anyway, i'm still processing this tragedy. for myself, i know that the best way for me to honor her life is to live mine with passion, respect, humor and service.

we'll miss you meg!

voice

I was very sad to hear of megs death, i only knew her briefly, we stayed at the United Peace Relief camp for a few days. She seemed to always have a broad warm smile and a sprawling bear hug even for folks she didnt know that well. How are the other volunteers who were travelling with her??? Can someone post on that?
John

All the members of the frida bus crew who are back here in Maine seem to be doing pretty well, some better then others. Injuries both mental and physical are healing and plans are being made to return to the gulf coast. If you wish to keep up to date on the crew's return to the gulf coast (in ~3-5 weeks) info will be posted at http://peoplesfreespace.org/ as stuff is decided.

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