It is day ten. James Darling is drinking his raspberry leaf tea. His most recent choices have been green, black (for its caffeine) or lemon grass. Aside from that, his only sustenance is water, salts and some drops that have potassium and magnesium in them. I phoned less than two hours before he and Robert Fuller leave. Last week they demonstrated in from of their MLA’s office. This week it is MLA Doug Routley’s turn. What do the Nanaimo hunger strikers hope to accomplish?

What do They Hope To Accomplish?
“I hope that the government bans old growth logging, but it will take more pressure from people to do that. So I hope this inspires other to take more dramatic actions, rather than just relying on petitions and emails – which I think do help, but are not sufficient in themselves. I hope that people will organize blockades, or tree sits, or do their own hunger strike,” says Darling.
Immediate results
One of the immediate results of their hunger strike is a demonstration at Maffeo Sutton Park in Nanaimo, Saturday, August 8, at 1 PM.
“I’m hoping there is a good turnout for the rally. I know someone who wants to organize a tree sit, so we will have a sign-up sheet for people who want to get involved.”
There has been media coverage in Cortes Currents, the Nanaimo Bulletin, Tyee and National Observer.
In response to a query by Carl Meyer, of the National Observer, Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, said he ‘shares’ the hunger strikers ‘concerns over biodiversity loss.’
Darling doesn’t how to interpret that comment.
When Will the Hunger Strike End?
So how long will he and Fuller keep fasting?
“I don’t want to risk my health. I am to a certain extent, but at a certain point I will have to start thinking about possible organ damage,” said Darling.
“After three to four weeks, you are at risk of potentially damaging internal organs. Someone can probably go between two and three months before they die of starvation, but I am not going to last that long.”