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Paul D. Shinkman, wtop.com

WASHINGTON - It's been more than a week since the "October 2011" protesters, a part of the nation-wide Occupy movement, set up camp in the heart of the District's governmental and tourism center. Amid the daily marches, sit-ins and protests, the question remains: What is it like to live in Freedom Plaza?

"We've had ups and downs," says Doug Fahlbusch.

The bike mechanic from Boulder, Colo. arrived when this encampment first began, and volunteered to help cook for and feed the protesters at the Food Not Bombs tent, where they get most of their food. He had no prior related experience.

"I saw a place where I could help out and I enjoy it," he says, "It's been relatively smooth sailing."

The volunteers at the tent, borrowed from Code Pink, contribute to the protesters' endeavor to live self-sufficiently while they push their anti- foreign war, anti-corporate greed agenda. They collect contributions and only vegan food every day to feed the protesters, who are encouraged to give a donation but may eat for free.

Coffee is a particularly hot commodity, Falbusch says, amid sleepless nights contending with the police and long days of marching.

Chicago native Byron Pelzek also arrived on the 6th, and expressed his appreciation for local residents who have made their home showers available to the protesters, and local businesses that offer food.

"They've been welcoming," Pelzek says. "It's the very interesting thing about sharing."

There had been a bank of port-o-potties along 14th Street, which on Wednesday was reduced to only four for the dozens who still occupy the square.

When asked about how they'll share the few toilets, Fahlbusch hesitated and said, "That's a good question. We'll find out."

The protesters' main concern is finding fresh water, he says, for which they've been putting themselves at the mercy of local businesses. Some have answered the call.

Dyckmar Rodriguez is the general manager of the Potbelly's sandwich shop at the northeast corner of the plaza. She says she's happy for the occupiers to use her facilities, provided they remain "respectful."

The restaurant has given out tap water to some of the protesters, and allowed them to use the tables to make signs and banners.

Those who showed up the first week were generally young and professional-looking, she says. This week, they're older, and more resemble 1960s-era "hippies," like the protesters in D.C. portrayed in the film "Forrest Gump," Rodriguez says.

"So long as everything's clean, as long as there's nothing out of control, I don't have a problem with that," she says. Rodriguez has found the remnants of soap and shampoo in her bathroom, to her ire, but she admits nobody can fight the calls of nature.

"If I was in a situation like that, I'd like to be able to go to the restroom somewhere."

But not all comforts are available. Pelzek doesn't expect much support at the adjacent bevy of showers, bathrooms, beds and food.

"The hotels put ‘the kibosh,'" he says. "It's not appropriate, I don't think."

This sentiment is echoed by the establishments across E Street.

"Our facilities are for guests only," says Mark Indre, the JW Marriott's director of public relations. Hotel staff only allow those who have room keys to use the amenities, he says, or customers of the attached Starbucks or hotel restaurant.

"They have mostly kept to themselves, and there hasn't been very much interaction," he says.

"I don't see it affecting the Willard [InterContinental Hotel] in any way," says spokesperson Barbara Bahny. "That's the use for the plaza."

Neither hotel was concerned by the recent violent activity at the Air and Space Museum across the mall.

The whole operation is foreign to some in D.C., particularly for those counted among the more than 16 million tourists who visit the nation's capital each year.

"It's really weird," says Peter Hornat, 24, of the Czech Republic, looking out on the Freedom Plaza encampment. "People who do that are really weird."

This kind of assembly is rare to nonexistent in his home country, Hornat says. He was particularly interested by the Tuesday march Constitution Avenue, and by the longevity of the protest.

"How can someone stay in a tent for a month, on the street, because of this?" he says. "It's different. I've never seen that before."

Hornat says it doesn't help people to remain silent. "If they show up and start to complain, maybe it's a good way for things to get better."

"It made [my trip] better," he says. "It's been a good experience."

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Originally posted by RionaEire:
I wish people cared this much about the poor folk who really need things but don't have them. Don't get me wrong, I think protesting is good, but what about the people livin on the street normally? People don't share with them.

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