Anarchistic update news all over the world - 24 May 2016 - part 2
Today's Topics:
1. France, Alternative Libertaire AL - policy, Rennes: a free
transport share accused of "sabotage" (fr, it, pt) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. Anomaly is capitalism, the state, sexism and homophobia by
anarchist collective Oktana [AF] (gr) [machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. wsm.ie The making of an anarchist in Portlaoise prison
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
Nineteen people were arrested on 19 May at Rennes. They are accused of having deteriorated
ticket validation terminals in six metro stations. ---- Without violence to any person,
without arms, without endangering the lives of passengers or personal, it was an entirely
peaceful action since, according to our information, the terminals have only been
neutralized with from ... the expanding foam! ---- That did not stop West France to write
bluntly that "the radicals have tried to sabotage the operation of the metro Rennes." ----
Comrades, very active in the opposition movement to Labour law, were apparently it closely
monitored by police for several days. And the same day, the police paid a visit to the
local union Solidaires union of Ille-et-Vilaine.
This action does not proceed from the whim of an isolated group, above ground, out of
context. She backdrop of a broad social protest, and is fully legitimate.
They all deserve the support of all the social movement. Alternative Libertaire demands
and that they be immediately released. Rennes and must withdraw his complaint .
Against the proposed unjust law, the fight continues in business, in the universities, in
the street!
Alternative Libertaire, May 19, 2016
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Rennes-une-action-transports
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Message: 2
June 28, 1969: In a neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, police conduct repressive
operation in Stonewall Inn bar, one of the reference points and meeting gay and trans. -
The aim of undertaking prevention public gathering people with "odd" sexual orientation. -
Police invaded the bar arresting dozens of people. - Gays, lesbians and drag queens
various nationalities and color are at that time in the bar, resist state repression and
their humiliation. - Conflicts erupt, continue for three days with escalating tension and
massiveness. ---- Like this, conflicts of Stonewall, is the beginning of what is now
called movement lgbtqi (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, kouir, transgendered). ----
Piece of kinematics of this tradition is the 2nd "Festival Visibility and claims for the
Liberation of Gender, Body and Sexuality: LGBTQI + Crete" organized in Rethymno on 9 and
10 July. Self-organized and self-financed, without hierarchies and sponsors, the Festival
sets in the realm of (real) public debate issues relating to gender discrimination,
institutional (education, legislation etc.) And micro-social level (family, work etc..).
so attempts to highlight, discuss and analyze the power grid established by this
capitalist system and the class, racial and gender discrimination which itself generates.
The organization of the festival, for the second year in Crete, aims to give space to the
expression and visibility of people who do not fit and are juxtaposed in the dominant
patriarchal-eterokanoniko model imposed on every aspect of our lives. An authoritarian
model that systematically produces and reproduces hierarchies and divisions based on
gender, body and sexual orientation.
The municipality
On Wednesday, March 16, 2016, the Rethymno Municipality refused to cede the Municipal
Garden in the city center for the conduct of the festival, at the request of the
coordination of the Festival at the council meeting. The policy option of organizing a
festival, not a freight and independent of public or private entities, making it easy for
the municipality categorically deny granting the Garden for conducting. We imagine that
the organization of the festival in -emporefmatopoiimena, apolitical and transfovika-
standards Pride of Athens, perhaps enjoyed more favorable treatment. Other talking with
entrepreneurs and sponsors assimilated gay entertainment and other members self-organized,
political collectives antiomofovikon non electoral clientele and would not amount to five
shillings put in your pocket.
The "arguments" heard also at the council meeting, they were reminded last year's
experience of organizing the festival in Heraklion. The municipality of Rethymno also
presented this as a self-appointed protector of both public indecency (speaking of "moms
and kids will see outrages" in broad daylight) and the physical integrity of the same
organizers of fanatics, and exhausted the whole of the progressivism a culvert homophobic
comments to the Festival coordination States.
This attitude certainly does not surprise us: let us remember the positive response of
Rethymno Municipality and the mayor of the third. Marinakis to the call of the Golden Dawn
in 2012, to provide the data of immigrant children enrolled in public kindergartens in the
city. As shown, the separation of people into citizens first and second class, the
anachronistic, homophobic and racist and authoritarian deprivation of freedom of
expression in the public space, practiced by the municipal authorities of the island, with
the blessing of course the local deputies, church and other operators '' sacred '' or not.
We would like to inform the municipal authorities, that the 'Visibility Festival and
claimed for the Liberation of Gender, Body and Sexuality: LGBTQI + Crete ", is neither
sexual intercourse festival in a public place, nor youthful party or parade of scantily
clad models. They will find in their ekchydaismeni form in election spots of their
parties, TV shows or advertising signs located in public view, in shops and public places
of each city.
The "mothers and their children," come daily face / s with obscenity and vulgar character,
alleging the female body and sex, in their own home, shopping and the walks through sexist
goods TV and unrealized capital. Let's stop the hypocrisy.
The exclusion and displacement of the struggling fragments of society from the public
sphere is crucial power strategy. The complete policing of cities, the isolation of
immigrants in closed detention centers outside cities, the repression of any labor, social
struggle, and fuel social cannibalism, harmoniously compose the picture of today's
democratic Europe.
However the public space belongs to everyone and all us, understood in and defined by the
needs and desires of the oppressed and exploited pieces of society; it was and remains the
main field of struggle and collective claim against any form of power.
Class and antisexistikos struggle against patriarchy, the state and capitalism
The fight against gender discrimination, sexism and homophobia, is an integral part of
emancipatory struggles and decisive contribution to the emergence and connection of
individual forms of oppression and exploitation at home, at school, in the street, in the
workplace.
Capitalism, the main tool of patriarchy, systematically attempts to divide the working
class by making false dipoles (male-female work, normal-disordered) to break the unity of
the working class and to ensure the continuation of the rule. Even when seemingly "deny"
the dipoles are television (eg. Women and gay presenters / bands), essentially the
disproves the alienated and spectacular dimension. Converts the gay expression in
merchandise, while making them obnoxious caricatures of homosexuals in the eyes of the
popular masses, reproducing homophobia and creating within them the false narrative that
"the system promotes homosexuality." By then the complexity of the power grid and
divisions that capitalism constitutes, the gender discrimination are maintained and
reproduced by the exploited, leading to further disorientation of our common class interests.
However, the operation and the range of oppressions, has the same root for both
heterosexuals and homosexuals: capital and the state. It is the dominant capitalist
organization of society that sustains oppression on the basis of sex in order to serve the
needs of capital.
Homophobia and sexism have this mask and do not always make fuss. Presented as individual
cases (eg. Attack against gay) but it is not. There are "persistent" but rather are
"permanent crimes." Not only manifested in TV spots, which will come hypocritically
condemn left-liberal yuppies defending alleged equality and diversity at the same time do
not say a word about the (gendered and non) work inequalities, precariousness, firing
pregnant workers , individual contracts, etc. sexism and homophobia, inherent in our daily
interactions, in our speech, the story told, to shout slogans on the field. Usually not
perceived only by the victims themselves, who mostly do not know how to react because the
sexist, homophobic reason is not always manifested in abusive or aggressive manner. He is
often veiled, automated and passes from generation to generation: taught by the "bravery"
in textbooks, dolls and toy soldiers, the Mom's dishes, the ball dad.
Patriarchy is not "natural". It is the institutional legacy of power and class division of
human societies, like capitalism, so it must be destroyed.
Rejecting the logic of the distinction between "serious" and "non-serious" forms of
oppression and understanding the complexity of social relations, categorically declare
that the struggle against patriarchy, sexism, and homophobia, we have class starting point
and be directly linked broader social struggles against all forms of exploitation and
oppression, if it is to be effective.
As anarchist communists, but we put forward the right to visibility and freedom of
expression, supporting the project actively and dynamically. As last year in Heraklion,
this year in Rethymno, "Visibility and claiming Festival Liberation Gender, Body and
Sexuality: LGBTQI + Crete" will take place regardless of the institutional approval of
their local rulers. On 9 and 10 July, we will meet again in the Municipal Garden Rethymno
with all those pieces averse power and struggling to overthrow.
Self-organization - Solidarity - militancy
anarchist collective Oktana
member of the Anarchist Federation
http://oktana.espivblogs.net
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Message: 3
In 2010 I was sentenced to 6 years for having possession of 20 grams of explosive powder.
I was to serve 4 years and 8 months in Portlaoise prison. This is not an in-depth study
into prison and jails, and it is not an academic piece. It is simply an experience. My
experience of jail will be different than other people’s experience because no two
people’s experience will ever be the same. The other person’s experience will always be
different no matter how great or small. ---- My experience started with 3 days questioning
in a Garda station in Mountjoy. After the questioning was over I was charged with having
an explosive substance, having materials used to build explosives and membership of an
illegal organization. ---- From the Garda station I was brought straight to the special
criminal court which was in Green Street courthouse at the time. I was brought to the
holding cell, which resembled something out of a cowboy film or a medievil film. There was
no door on the cell, there was a gate made from bars. On the wall of the cell were
messages written on the wall by people that have come through here, messages of support,
people's names with numbers beside their name indicating how many years the person got,
names of different republican groups, pictures of soldiers with guns, symbols such as the
hammer and sickle.
At the time, I think these things gave me a tiny bit of inspiration, the graffiti showed I
wasn't the only person to come through here. From my bit of knowledge of Republican
history I knew Robert Emmet was sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered in this court.
Also O'Donovan Rossa and many other Fenian and Republicans passed through the court house.
A lot of Republican history is tied up with this court, with this building. The car park
out the back of the building, in which a convoy of Garda vans and Military jeeps were
waiting to bring me to jail, in the past had been used as the gallows.
When I was brought into the court I sat down on the seat in the bench I was put in by the
screws. Next the court cleric came in and said “All rise”, I stayed sitting in my seat as
an act of defiance not recognizing the court. The 3 judges went through the fake
proceedings like a pantomime. I sat there not bothered to listen because I knew I was
fucked. The judges came to the part where they were reading my charges out, for this I was
asked to stand, while not saying anything I refused by just sitting there not
acknowledging the court. The court cleric repeated for me to stand but this time I could
hear in his voice that he wasn't asking me but ordering me. I still didn't budge. They
read out my charges after a minute, the judges ordered me to be put in custody.
The screws led me downstairs back into the holding cell. It didn't phase me that I was
going to prison because I already knew I was going there. From the very first second I saw
the cops in my parents’ front garden banging on the front door I knew I was fucked. A
screw came into the cell, put handcuffs on me and put an extra handcuff on my right wrist
and cuffed the other to his left wrist. A bunch of screws and cops walked me through the
underground of the court out to the car park out the back.
I was a bit shocked to see the amount of cop vans and military in the car park, seeing
soldiers walking about with rifles. It was now dark out and the blue siren lights of the
the vans were flashing, I could see this weird blue glow flashing around the car park, the
blue lights flickering off the walls.
I was put in a van with a few cops and screws, there were about 8 altogether sitting in
the back with me. The vans and jeeps drove out of the car park in a convoy led by cops on
motor bikes. The whole journey from the court to Portloaise prison was surreal. The convoy
didn't stop once at traffic lights - from start to finish it didn't stop once, the cops’
motor bikes were being used to drive on ahead to stop or move on any traffic that might
have been in the way.
When the convoy reached the jail a screw came to the van and asked what group I was with,
I was still in the mindset that I was in when I was in the Garda station being questioned
to which I repeatedly said no comment for the the 3 days. I told the screw I was not with
a group, he then asked “which one I was aligned to”. I said I “wasn't aligned to any”. He
then asked if I support any group, to which I told him which one I supported.
They then took me from the van leading me to the booking-in area. As they brought me
through the grounds of the prison it was dark, here and there were big bright lights, all
I could make out were big fences, cage-like, with razor wire wrapped around the tops. When
I reached the booking-in area the screw there again asked which group I support, I told
him. He then went to get the Officer Commanding (OC) of the group to come talk to me.
After a few minutes the screw came back with 2 people, one was the OC the other was his
adjutant. I told them my story. They told the screws I was grand to go with them to the
group landing. The screws brought us to D-block, on the ground floor of this block, the
republican group had control of it. The other 2 floors were used to house social prisoners.
The first thing I noticed on the wall of the republican landing was a large painting of a
man wearing a balaclava, military clothes and holding an AK47. The OC brought me to a cell
and said I could have this one. Next the OC brought me to the kitchen and said I could
help myself to breakfast cereal and fruit. He gave me an empty 2-liter bottle and told me
to fill it with water for the night. I was then brought back to the cell I was allocated.
The cell was about 10 foot long and 5 or 6 foot wide. All that was in it was a bed that
was pushed up against the wall, the wall had a hole about 2 foot wide and 3 foot in
length, the hole went through the wall to the outside. When looking in the hole, it showed
how thick the walls were, which was about 2 to 3 foot, at the outside part of the hole
were thick steel bars with steel mesh over the hole. On the wall that was at the end of
the bed was a counter with a tv sitting on it, beside the counter was a filing cabinet
that could be used for storing your belongings.
Other than that there wasn’t much else in the cell that I could see. the first thing I
asked the OC was, "Where's the toilet?" He laughed and pointed under the counter at a
small white plastic bucket that had a lid on it, "That's your toilet!" In the cell there
was no running water or sink.
The OC then gave me a box of smokes and a lighter and left, I was locked into the cell for
the night by the screw.
Over the next few days I had conflicting thoughts about what was next, what did the future
hold? How was my family taking all this? What would my parents say when I saw them?
When a new person arrives in the jail, a lot of the time you can see the anxiety on them,
you can see it on their face, in their body language, hear it in their voice. But there
are also people that seem perfectly fine.
I spent a few days hanging about the landing chain-smoking, getting to know the people I
was living on the landing with. At every meal time we would all sit together and eat, in
the evenings some of us would make a meal and sit together watching tv.
The more time you spend with a person, or people, the more you get to know them, this
repeated itself throughout my prison sentence. It doesn't take long for you to figure out
if you like a person or a if person can be trusted. When I say trusted I don't mean in the
sense of if they are a rat, but if you trust them enough that you want them in your life,
trust them enough with your business.
Structure
After about 4 months the landing I was in in D-Block was to be transferred to E-Block.
There are 4 landings on E-Block, there is E1, E2, E3, E4 and there was also the base,
which was in the basement but wasn't in use while I was in Portloaise. I first went to
Portloaise in late 2009, at this time E1 housed gangland prisoners, E2, E3 and E4 were
republican landings. A different group occupied each landing. E4 held the INLA, E3 held
the Real IRA, and E2 was mix of republicans.
In December 2009 the gangland prisoners were moved to C-Block (along with the social
prisoners from the rest of D-Block) and E-Block became a republican block. In January 2010
the landing I was on got moved to E1, the group I was a supporter of was given one side of
E1 while non-aligned republican prisoners were given the other side. These non-aligned
prisoners had left the groups they were with and for whatever reason they chose to do
their time on their own.
In August 2010, I and another prisoner left E1 because of a split within the group we were
supporters of. We were taken onto E4 as guests of the INLA. I spent the next 4 years on E4.
E-Block is a long building, it stretches from north to south, there are two yards, one on
the west side of the block and one on the east side. There are many lengths of wire that
run from the high fences and walls that surround the yards. These wires are to prevent
helicopters from landing in the yards.
The fences and walls that surround the yards and blocks are topped with razor wire. On top
of E-Block there are watch boxes that armed soldiers sit in day and night. On the roof of
the block there is a high-calibre gun that can shoot down aircraft if need be. Aircraft
are banned from flying too close to the prison and if an aircraft flies too close there
are warning flares that are shot from the roof. There are soldiers stationed in Portloise
prison 24 hours a day.
The armed soldiers and razor wire are against EU standards and the Irish state gets fined
every year for the use of these.
Inside E-block it is bee hive like, there are rows and rows of doors going up both sides
of the each landing. On E1 the landing is like a hall, if you look up while on the landing
you can see onto the other landings right all the way up. What separates the different
landings isn't a ceiling, but a mesh like cage. On the north end of the block there are
stairs going from E1 onto E2, then from E2 to E3, and then from there up onto E4. Also,
the north end of each of the landings is where the showers and toilets are.
On the south end of each landing is the recreational (rec) area. The rec area is like a
small landing in itself. It’s a 15 foot wide corridor. On the walls going down are doors,
in the doors are rooms that are used for different things, there is a gym, workshop,
classrooms and a hangout area that has chairs and a tv. Back years ago these rec area were
actually landings and the doors were into cells and not gyms or workshops. Walls of cells
were removed to make bigger rooms used for the rec area.
Also on the south end of the block there are stairs that run up through each landing. As
the stairs reach each landing there is a gate that separates the landing from the stairs,
the gate is to prevent prisoners from getting to the stairs.
Between the north end and south end of the block on landings higher than the ground floor,
there are walkways that will bring you from one end to the other. These walkways are about
4 foot wide, on the walkways are rows and rows of doors, these doors lead into cells. A
cell is about 12 foot in length and about 7 foot wide. The ceilings in the cells in E4
were very high up, I’d say probably 15 to 18 foot high. Back years ago there would have
been bunk beds in these cells. Barred window cut into the thick wall. In spring and summer
I would be woken early in the morning by chirping birds that nest in the air vents that
are on the outside wall. These vents are beside most windows in the block.
The Special Criminal Court
For the first 6 months of being in jail I was brought back and forth to the Special
Criminal Court once every month. On the 4th month I plead guilty. At the time I was
arrested I had a 3 month suspended sentence hanging over me. This suspended sentence was
hanging over me for 2 years.
When I was arrested for what I was in jail for I had only 2 weeks left on the suspended
sentence. When I pleaded guilty the court reactivated the 3 month sentence. I was sent off
to carry out sentences. Months later when it was completed I was brought back to the
Special Criminal Court for hearing and then sentencing.
Detectives took their turn in the stand stating their evidence against me. One detective
said I had enough explosives to make either 1 big pipe bomb or 10 smaller pipe bombs. This
evidence, if it had been given in any other court would not have been taken into
consideration by the judges, because it was hearsay. Yes I was caught with some explosive
powder, but I had no pipes or plumbing fittings, so there was no evidence that I was
making pipe bombs.
I was sentenced to 6 years for having possession of 20 grams of explosive powder. If I had
been sentenced in any other court I would have been given much less of a sentence. I
remember one case I read about in the newspaper throughout my sentence, a case of 2 men
who had stolen a serious amount of plastic explosives and they openly admitted they were
planning to sell the explosives to "a criminal gang". Both men got 2 year sentences. The
difference is big, I had a few grams of powder, they had kilos of plastic explosives.
The day of my hearing, another man had a hearing too. Just after I was sentenced, this man
was up. Usually when you’re finished in court the screws will bring the prisoner back to
the holding cell, but this day they didn't bring me back to the cell straight away, I was
left sitting in the court.
The next man's hearing started, he came into the court in a wheelchair, he sat right
beside where I was sitting. His trial began. He was accused of being a member of an
illegal organization. The line of detectives took turns giving evidence against this man.
One detective said at one point in his statement that he seen the accused man run across
one side of the road to the other. The accused man had been paraplegic since the 1980s!
This detective blatantly lied on the stand, but yet the case against the accused went on.
And he was still sentenced to 3 years in jail.
In the Special Criminal Courts if you are accused of being a member of an illegal
organization, the state doesn’t need any evidence against you. Once the superintendent
stands up in the box and swears on the bible and then states that you are a member of an
illegal organization, that's all that's needed to sentence you to a few years in jail. If
it's your first offence in the special criminal court you could get 2 to 4 years in jail.
The maximum is 7 years.
My sentence was a normal enough one for the time. Most prisoners were serving between 4
and 7 years. But there were other prisoners that were doing 12 years, 20 years, 25 years,
40 years. There were four men doing forty year sentences. They were originally sentenced
to death but had their sentence commuted to 40 years without remission. The four men were
part of two different cases. Two men were found guilty of shooting a detective in 1980 and
the other two were found guilty of shooting a cop in 1985.
One of the four was fighting in the European court that they should be in entitled to
remission. For years he fought it out. Eventually they won. When I had one year left on my
sentence two of the men had been in jail over 30 years, they were allowed to be released
straight away. But only one of them left straight away, the other refused to leave till
the state got him somewhere to live, he stayed on in the jail for another few weeks till
they got him somewhere. The other two men are now coming near the end of their sentences.
When I looked at the cases of men that were doing way over life sentences each, I didn't
feel too bad about the six year sentence I got. Realistically I wouldn't have to do a full
6 years. Every prisoner is entitled to remission. Remission in the South of Ireland is 1/3
off your sentence. So, in all, I had to do 4 and 6 months for the explosive powder and I’d
have to do 2 months for the suspended sentence I had previously.
The special criminal court is not really a court, you are already found guilty before you
go in. Its more of a show trial than anything else. The special criminal court is illegal
under EU regulations, so the Irish state gets fined a good few thousand euros each time a
person is in it.
In all courts before you go in you are already seen as being guilty, even though it's
meant to be "innocent till proven guilty". But at least in other courts if the cop is
proven to be giving false evidence the case will be thrown out. In the special criminal
court it makes no odds. The cops giving evidence don't even try to get their stories
straight with each beforehand. There are many, many cases where cops were proven to be
lying while giving evidence but it always makes no odds. The case I gave above is a
blatant example of how the cops lie.
How people pass the time
There are a few things that can be done to pass the time. Big things for me to do would be
going to the gym and going to classes. The gym is good for helping you burn off the extra
energy a person may have. During a prison day, a person won't move around much, you might
go from one side of the landing to the other or walk up the landing to where the
classrooms are or to the shower. So you won't use an awful lot of energy throughout the day.
This build-up of energy after a few weeks or months can lead to mood change, bad mood,
anxiety and can cause problems while trying to sleep.
Going to the gym and working out helps a person burn off any extra energy. It will also
help a person feel good, by working out you release endorphins in your brain and this will
give a person a natural high. By doing the gym it gives a person something to focus on,
taking the mind off jail. Working out is great for your mental health.
Going to classes is another good way to spend time. Like the gym it gives you something to
focus on, it breaks the monotony. People in Portloaise have done all sorts of degrees from
law to sociology. There is a good variety of classes that can be done, music, art,
English, Irish, cooking, etc.
In jail, your concept of time changes, your whole daily routine revolves around time. You
repeat the same daily routine over and over again, day in, day out for months and years.
The only change to your day might be a visit, getting a letter, talking to someone on the
phone, having a class, or a different type of dinner.
The day of the week can determine what dinner you might have. On Friday it is always fish,
peas and potatoes, and rice pudding for dessert. But all the rest of the week the
different dinners will rotate. The dinners can be coddle, stew, pork chop with potatoes,
bacon and cabbage, mince and potatoes.
The dinners are also on a routine for 5 weeks. The dinners will be laid out over each week
in a certain order, then after the fifth week it goes back to the start. After a year or
so a person will probably be able to guess what dinner will be that day.
Your daily routine will become embedded in your head like the dinners. You will wake every
day at the same time, you will go for breakfast at the same time, you will eat the exact
same breakfast in the exact same way, you will finish your breakfast at the same time. A
person’s whole day will be played out in this manner, even when you get locked into your
cell for the night you will have the same ritual/routine till you go to sleep at the same
time you usually do. This is not intentional, people just fall into routines.
Below is a time-table everyone goes through:
8.20am the cell doors are unlocked
12pm dinner time
12.30pm bang-up (you either get locked into your cell or locked into the rec area)
2pm bang-up ends
4pm tea
4.30pm bang-up
5.30pm bang-up ends
8.20pm locked in for the night
Every prisoner in E-block does this routine. But every prisoner will have their own
routine that will be mixed in with this. Between bang-ups you can to classes, go to the
yard, have showers, have a visitor, make a phone call (after 4pm you can’t get a visit).
Once your routine has been established (a person will find themselves in a routine whether
they plan it or not) hours and days will pass you by fast.
How I passed the time
When I first arrived in Portloaise, for the first few weeks I spent my time between
watching telly, going to the gym, reading, and helping my comrades in construction of
bodhrans. Each prisoner on the landing played their part in making bodhrans. Like making
anything, there are steps to be taken, a process to be followed. Each prisoner had their
job in the bodhran construction process. When the bodhrans were finished, each prisoner
had to paint pictures on 2 bodhrans each. These pictures would be of republican martyrs,
the odd time I would paint Che Geuvara.
About 3 weeks into my incarceration, a comrade from the outside sent me in a book about
Fidel Castro when he was in jail. l read in the book that when Fidel was in jail he
dedicated a lot of his time to study. He studied revolutionary writings and philosophies
to help him understand the struggle more and learn about how to win.
I decided I was also going to do this with my time: study writings, books on revolutionary
philosophy and history of revolutions and struggles. What I read mostly for the next four
years and seven months was books on Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, Trotskyism.
Anything to do with Marxism I tried to get my hands on to read. I read many biographies on
people such as Ho Chi Minh, General Giap, Mao, Che, Fidel Castro, Lenin, Red Army Faction,
Communist Party of India (Maoist); I also read a bit into anarchism and its history, I
read articles and books from Bakunin, Wayne Price, Alfredo Bonanno, Proudon, Emma Goldman,
and Alexander Berkman; and I also read about the different Irish revolutionaries and many
other revolutionaries around the world. I read books about the different revolutions,
struggles and wars that happened around the globe. I read many books on the USSR and how
the communist party attempted to build a version of socialism. I read different books from
different writers that wrote different versions of the history of the USSR, each book had
a different reason for why the USSR’s experiment to create socialism failed. The authors
of the books took different sides in different disputes that happened in the USSR and
other so called socialist countries. Each side blaming the failures on the other (all
these arguments can be very confusing, especially since a lot of the time the authors
weren't exactly honest about events).
About 12 months into my sentence I read a book by a Red Army Faction member called Margrit
Schiller, it is called, "Remembering the Armed Struggle". As a result of her involvement
with the urban guerillas she spent a few years in jail in maximum security. She spent most
of the time in solitary confinement as did all RAF prisoners. In one part in the book she
described how she created an educational routine for herself each day. She broke each day
into section reading and studying different subjects.
I copied this and did the same. I would read revolutionary philosophies and theories in
the mornings, in the afternoons I would read histories of struggles and revolutions, and
in the evenings I would read a biography. By sticking to this routine I learned a good bit
in a short amount of time.
I tried to compare the Anarchist and Marxist ideas on revolution, class, the state,
capitalism, authoritarianism, etc, with the Irish national liberation struggle and
movements. I totally got what the anarchists were saying about authoritarianism in
movements. I could see it in the republican groups, living in Portlaoise prison it was a
lot easier to see because in Portloaise a different group occupied each landing, this gave
me a bit of an idea of what any of the republican groups that were there might be like in
power, if any of them actually ever got into power.
So to sum up, how I spent my time for the 4 years and 8 months was studying a lot of
revolutionary ideology, sociology and history, and trying to compare with modern day
circumstances. In all that I have read a lot about Marxism and the different splits and
arguments there are; books could be written about it all examining it, and there are many
many books on it all. But I think a lot of it just boils down to power and who holds it.
Can a party or movement, no matter how revolutionary or well intentioned, be trusted to
hold power and use the power to benefit everyone?
The prison block is a minute society in itself, with its own class system - a reflection
of authoritarian class society. All republican groups, in some form or another, will say
unity is needed within republicanism in order to defeat imperialist occupation in the
north of Ireland. But reality proves different on the subject of unity. The groups that
are around now will probably never join forces or unite. I think this is because of the
authoritarian nature that appears to be in modern day republicanism.
Each group wants their own power. Even if one was prepared to join with the other, it's
probable that the other would not join forces or unite because they would not be able to
put their differences aside or maybe they might see the group as being being beneath them,
not being as staunch republicans/believers as them.
Exercise:
5, sometimes 6, days a week I would use the gym for an hour a day. I did different
training programs, changing program every couple of months. I mostly did a mix of
weightlifting and cardio, for cardio I mainly did jogging on the treadmill, usually for
about 3 or 4 miles. Sometimes i wouldn't do any weights for a few months and would only do
jogging, the longest I jogged was 12 miles, but I know of 2 prisoners that ran marathons
on them. One INLA prisoner ran a marathon on a treadmill for charity. All the prisoners in
E-Block, and all the teachers, donated money to the prisoner and the money raised went
towards Autism Ireland.
Most prisoners in the block would go to the gym. Each landing had their own gym, the
equipment in each gym was basic, some free weights, benches, boxing bag, treadmill, cross
trainer, bike, and some old weight machines.
It's good to have a gym routine, a person will get enjoyment reaching their goals in the
gym. Whether that is to jog or cycle a certain amount of miles or whether it's to be able
to bench press a certain amount of weight. It gives people a sense of satisfaction.
When working out it unleashes endorphins from your brain which make you feel good and give
you a buzz. It's the same as when a person takes drugs, the drugs will activate endorphins
in the brain. If a person is having a bad day, it's good to go to the gym and work through
it, it will help a person get rid any aggression in their body from being in a bad mood.
Some people enjoy it so much they will go to the gym twice a day. Every few months I would
do training twice a day. For the first session I would do weights and for the second
session I would jog, sometimes I would do other types of cardio like skipping with a rope
or boxing the punching bag. For a few months I got mad into skipping, I was able to do it
for 30 mins non stop, but another prisoner, one of the guys that jogged marathons on the
treadmill was able to do it for 2 hours non-stop.
The same fella was a boxer. For the first year I was in jail a few of the prisoners in
E-block would do boxing in the hall that was attached to E1. These boxing sessions were
held twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. As prisoners got released, numbers
fell in the boxing sessions, eventually everyone that had been attending got released.
Another form of exercise is walking in the yard. It is good to go outside for a walk
regularly throughout the week. It can be very easy to get stuck in a routine where you
don't go outside. There were many times throughout my sentence when I didn't go outside
for weeks on end. It’s very easy to change from one routine to another without even
realizing it.
The idea of walking up and down the yard or walking in circles can seem monotonous. But it
can be a social experience also, when out in the yard there can be people from other
landings walking in the yard. You might only see some people when you are out in the yard.
This can give a you a chance to talk to someone you don't usually talk to.
Visits
Getting a visit is probably the highlight of the week for a prisoner (that's if they get a
visit). Visits break the monotony of prison day. They can make the day go by a lot faster.
Most prisoners would get a visit either once a week or every second week. Visits give a
prisoner something to look forward to. A visit gives the prisoner a chance to talk about
something different than you might normally talk about (in jail you tend to have similar
conversations a lot, speaking about the same subjects a lot). It gives the prisoner the
chance to hear about how life is going on outside.
I remember one time when I was in my teens, a person I knew that was in and out of jail
told me, "The only people that will visit you when you are in jail will be your family.
Your family will be the only ones to give a fuck." I learned my friend was right, for the
vast majority of people that get visits, they will be from either their family or a loved
one. Although occasionally prisoners do get visits from a friend or an acquaintance.
I suppose it's not that people don't give a fuck, it's more to do with the fact that
people are living their own lives and probably don't have the time to visit. My family
visited me regularly, coming down every weekend; after a year in jail I said to just come
down every second week, there was no point coming down every week. Besides my family
coming down I had two staunch Republican women comrades that visited me every month right
from the start of being in jail right up till I was released. The two comrades every month
would leave plenty of books, magazines, and other reading material and CDs and DVDs. Each
month they would travel from Dublin to Portlaoise, bringing me news of all the different
events that had happened in Dublin over the month. I really enjoyed hearing about the
different protests and struggles going on outside.
Visits in Portlaosie were nice for a prison. Since we were political prisoners we could
have tea and snacks on visits. The visiting area was made up of rows of rooms (they would
have been cells a few years previously), on the doors to the visiting rooms there were
large windows. These windows were for screws to look in, a screw would walk up and down
the visiting area looking in the windows throughout the whole visiting time.
When going on a visit each prisoner would have to walk through a metal detector and then
would get patted down by the screws, the process was repeated when returning from visits.
Visitors would go through a worse search. Women visitors weren't allowed to wear bras with
metal in them, when being searched the female visitor would have to pull their bra forward
off their chest to show nothing is hidden behind it. All visitors would have to take off
their shoes and then go through a metal detector. The screw would then give the visitors a
test to see if there were any explosives or drugs on them. How this is done is a sheet of
paper is moved around the body then the paper is tested for any traces of explosives or
drugs. If there is a baby going for a visit the baby’s nappy is searched. This process can
be particularly intimidating for people if they’ve never experienced anything like this
before.
For the prisoner that has a partner and children the visit is the one chance they will
have to spend an hour in their company. Some prisoners’ partners will have to travel from
the far off corners of Ireland. If a prisoner’s partner lives in let’s say Belfast and
they don't have a car, they will have to get a taxi from their house to the bus or train
station in the early hours of the morning, get a bus to Dublin (which takes between 2
hours and 30 minutes to 3 hours, then get a bus from Dublin to Portlaoise (which takes
about 1 and a half hours). Then repeat this journey later in the day on the way home. Then
you have to take into account the price of all this traveling, you’re talking the best
part of £100. This is done each week, week in week out, for years.
For prisoners that are aligned with a group they will receive £80 euro a month, if the
prisoner has a partner and child, the partner will be given £80 a month. It takes a lot of
work and effort for the prisoner support groups to raise the funding they need to give out
to the different prisoners and their families. But through no fault of their own this
isn't anywhere near enough to make up for money needed by families. For families that
don’t have much money they might not be able to afford to come regularly. There are also
prisoners that aren't aligned with any group, these prisoners don't get any help or
support from the different prisoner support groups.
Visits give the prisoner, the father, the chance to see their child grow. One visit a week
might be the only chance the prisoner gets to spend time with their child. It must be a
terrible experience only being able to see your child or children for an hour a week (if
lucky enough) and then having to watch them leave every time, and then having to return
back to your cell for another week before seeing them again. (There are some prisoners
that don't get to see their children at all, the family might refuse to bring them to
visit as they might not agree with the reasons why they are in jail. Instead these
prisoners might have to make do with a photo to see their child).
Boredom
For the first 12 months of being in jail I would count time I was there. At first it was
the days, then it was the weeks, then the months. After a while I just stopped counting.
Prison is the closest to being dead while at the same time being alive. While in jail,
life outside passes you by, visits, letters and phone calls are when you hear about
different events or problems that are happening outside. If something negative is
happening outside that involves your loved ones there's not a single thing you can do
about it.
A person in jail can experience being like some type of spirit looking over their loved
ones from the afterlife. You hear about the good times and the bad times, but you can
never take part in them, you just sit on the side watching and listening.
The main thing that changes in prison, besides people leaving the jail and new people
arriving, is the changes in the season. In the summer it is roasting hot within the block,
in the winter it’s freezing cold. In the summer you walk in the sunshine and heat in the
yard. In winter you walk in the yard in dark evenings and grey, gloomy days. During the
summer you look out your cell window (if you are up high enough in the block to be able to
see out over the wall of the prison) you can see the countryside of the midlands of
Ireland off in the distance, you can see the green of the country, plants, hills, and
smell the scent of the countryside and nature. In the winter (likewise if you are up high
enough in the block) on the other side of the block you can see Portloaise town in the
dark, you can see the Christmas lights on people's houses and, far off in the distance,
you can see the bright lights of a star shape on the steeple of a church.
Prison can be like a soap opera, at other times it can be like a comedy. Everyone knows
each other's business, some people try to go out of their way to find out all of your
business, some of these people are just nosey and are just looking for a bit of gossip.
Others are trying to find out information about you that they may want to use against you
at some point. The information they might find out they may use to create drama for you.
Or a person may create drama and blame it on you. Drama can be created just out of badness
or it might be because of power plays between people or groups.
Some people like seeing drama so they might shit stir to start a bit of drama. This all to
break the monotony of prison life. Some people study, some people read, others go to the
gym, but some stir shit to try help pass the time.
Some people take part in wind ups. These wind ups aren't usually out of badness, it’s
mainly just for fun. I remember one wind up, one fella got out on TR (temporary release)
for the weekend. While he was out, we went into his cell and glued his cutlery, piss pot
and other items to the ceiling of his cell.
Another time, one guy had a favorite cup he’d had for years. He loved the cup, he drank
tea from it every day. The cup had a picture of his favorite team on it, Manchester
United. One day he left his cup on the long dinner table that was on the landing on E4.
Someone got his cup and super glued it to the table. When the fella that owned the cup
came back up to get it, he walked casually up to the table to get it, he obviously didn't
expect it to be stuck to the table. When he first went to grab it he was in shock not
realizing what was going on that he couldn't pick his cup up for a split second before it
dawned on him what was going on.
There were loads of wind ups always going on. One of the best ones I saw was one guy got
sentenced to 9 months (extremely short sentence for a person in Portlaoise).He could never
get his head around getting the 9 month sentence, he done the time hard. A few weeks
before he was due to be released someone managed to get a legal document from his cell
that was from the state about his case. The person who took the letter went into the
computer room, scanned the letter and doctored it and wrote in it that the state was
taking an appeal against the leniency of the sentence against him that they wanted to put
more time on his sentence.
The lad that doctored the letter gave it to a screw to give to him as a wind up. When the
screw gave him the letter the fella nearly broke down, you could see his world was
shattering. The OC of the landing had to calm him down and tell him it was just a wind up.
This same wind up was repeated about 2 or 3 years later on another prisoner. But the
prisoner that got the letter went further in his panic, thinking he was getting extra time
he rang up his solicitor's office demanding to talk to his solicitor, the secretary told
him the solicitor was going away on holidays. Shouts and roars could be heard echoing
around the block screaming, "Do not get on the plane, do not get on that plane". With
eruption of laughter following.
Summer in jail
Summer is a particular boring season in jail, I found it very boring mainly because the
school was closed for the summer. Instead of going to classes most people would sit
outside in the sun, or lie on yoga mats in the yard taking in the sun. This time of year
the yard is in use all day by most of the prisoners.
Depending on what time it was the sun would be shining in one yard but blocked out in the
other. During the morning the sun would be in the big yard east of the block. Then in the
afternoon it would be in the small yard west of the block.
The different landings would also play different sports games together in the yard. The
game mainly played was volleyball, the odd time soccer would be played. The volleyball
games in the yard were comical, while walking or sitting in the yard as a game was going
on, all of a sudden you could hear bursts of laughter and slaggings, usually if a teammate
missed a shot or hit the ball too hard out of the box giving the other team an extra point
as a result. One or two people took these games very seriously and would lose the plot the
odd time giving out to people. When someone lost the plot sometimes what would happen is
everyone playing laughs and taunts the person. But it was all always in good humor
In the summer, inside the block would be roasting, people would wear shirts going around.
In the evening when we got locked in for the night the cells would be roasting. I can
remember one particularly hot summer I had removed glass from the window in my cell and I
also had an electric fan. Both made no difference to my comfort. No wind came in the
window, the fan just blew hot air around.
Another bad thing in the summer is early in the morning you could be woken by birds
chirping and singing. On the outside wall of every cell there is an air vent just above
the windows. They are tiny air vents and on some of them the covers are missing. When this
is the case birds tend to go into them and make nests. This can be particularly annoying
being woken up by birds every morning.
Organize
In Portloaise prison the Republican prisoners had a lot more privilege and way better
conditions to do their time compared with the social and gangland prisoners. In E-Block
the Republican prisoners had a lot more freedom in the block than the other prisoners
elsewhere in the jail or any other jail in Ireland.
When prisoners were not banged up in their cell they could go to the gym, go to the rec
area, go to the yard, all whenever they wanted, work/art and crafts area. In the other
blocks and other jails you can only go to these places at certain times. If a Republican
prisoner wants to stay in their cell all day, they can if they want. Whereas in other
blocks and jails at certain times you can't just stay in your cell, you will either have
to go to the yard, work if you have a job, go to a class, go to the library, all this at
certain times of course.
Republican prisoners have longer visits, a visit can be up to 1 hour 30 minutes, in other
jails it can be for just 20 minutes. Republican prisoners also had more access to using
the phone and longer phone calls. In other jails a prisoner will only have one phone call
a day for 7 minutes.
But why are Republican prisoners allowed these extra privileges? The jail administration
didn't give the Republican prisoners these extra privileges out of their hearts. The
conditions republican prisoners have is because of struggle against the prison system over
decades. The privileges were won from hard struggle.
It proves strength is in numbers and strength is in being organized to fight and struggle
against an enemy. All prisoners could have these privileges in all jails if they got
organized and struggled for them. Its an easy thing to say this, it’s a lot harder to put
this into action. It’s a harder task for the social prisoners to organize themselves.
Prisoners come from all sorts of backgrounds and this can make it harder to organize.
It’s a lot easier for the Republican prisoners to organize because most of them were
groups or movements before going to jail. So when in jail the prisoners can be organized a
lot easier, they are in jail because they are trying to bring the struggle to a head.
Whereas for a lot of social prisoners their struggle is a personal struggle, a struggle to
live, a struggle of life. A lot of the social prisoners are in jail because of the social
conditions created by capitalism.
The way each group, each landing, works in Portloaise is if the jail try to undermine one
prisoner or undermine the landing, every prisoner on that landing will go on protest. The
Republican prisoners have a network of support and groups outside the jail, so if a group
or landing inside the jail go on protest, there will be people protesting outside the
jail. There is one thing that the prison governors hate and that is protests. If there is
a protest outside the gate, the governor will get onto the prisoners trying to sort it.
One time when I was on E1, I and my comrades went on a 48 hour fast in solidarity with
Republican prisoners in the north that started a protest in Maghaberry. The first day we
were on it we refused our dinner. After the bang-up a high up screw came to speak to our
OC to see what the matter was, the jail administration was worried we were on protest
because of something in Portlaoise.
Another beneficial aspect to having prisoners and landings organized was that it gave
structure to prisoners and landings. Each landing on E-Block had its own structure. The
structures gave people the jobs that needed doing, such as cleaning different areas of the
landing. The cleaning jobs were divided up amongst the prisoners, and, as a result the
cleaning jobs are more or less given out evenly, every few months the different jobs
rotate. The structure can also help with disputes between different prisoners if a dispute
arises. There is a rule that the first person to throw a punch or hit another prisoner is
exiled off the landing; I think this rule stopped a lot of arguments from getting violent.
While I was in Portlaoise in E-Block there was pretty much no violence carried out by
prisoners to each other.
INLA prisoners protest
In 2009, INLA prisoners went on protest against the prison administration, because of bad
treatment they were getting. A plan was put in place for their protest action. One morning
when the governor came onto the landing as they regularly do, one INLA prisoner had the
task of throwing the contents of a piss pot over the governor. The prisoners for the
previous week had saved their piss pots and filled them with human waste and stored them
in an empty cell.
As the governor went into the screws’ office on the cell the prisoner threw in the
contents of the bucket, emptying it over the governor, as this happened the other
prisoners threw piss pots of waist all over the place. Human waste was flowing down the
stairs like a river. The governor and screws left the landing.
The riot squad was then sent in. The prisoners pulled up planks that were on a bridge that
went from one side of the landing to the other. They made their escape from the riot squad
by jumping down onto E3. The governor didn't want to extend the matter, bringing the E3
prisoners into the problem.
Negotiations were made between the INLA prisoners and the governor. The INLA prisoners
would return to their landing if the jail stopped harassing their prisoners, the governor
agreed. Also, during the protest 2 INLA prisoners were dragged off to the seg
(segregation, it,s basically solitary confinement), so part of the deal was to bring the 2
prisoners back from the seg, and the INLA prisoners agreed they would do their punishment
in their own cells instead of in the seg.
When you are in the seg you are kept away from the rest of the prison population, you are
segregated. The only people you see are screws. Occasionally you might catch a glimpse of
another prisoner. You are locked in a cell 23 hours a day, you get 1 hour of exercise in a
yard on your own. A prisoner can be kept in the seg for 53 days at a time.
The INLA prisoners won 3 victories here.
1) They stopped the harassment to themselves by the prison administration
2) they forced the prison administration to bring back 2 prisoners from the seg, this had
never happened before, and
3) the jail stopped using the seg when putting republican prisoners on punishment.
After the protest all of the INLA prisoners still had to do punishment but they had to do
it in their own cells, where they had tv, their books and own property; they would not
have had this in the seg, they still got to mix with their comrades when they weren't
locked into their cells.
The INLA prisoner protest against the prison administration proves that collective
organized action against the administration can work and extra privileges can be won.
Releases
In Portlaoise when you are coming to the end of your sentence you will be eligible for
temporary release (TR). This is where the prison grants a prisoner a few days out, it’s
usually a weekend. A prisoner gets 1 TR for every year they do in jail, and a prisoner
usually gets granted a TR for their final Christmas in prison. For me, since I was
sentenced to six years and four months, I had to do four years and eight months. Every
prisoner gets remission, whatever sentence a person gets straight away they can take 1/3
off their sentence.
So I was entitled to four TRs. On my final Christmas I was granted TR, it was a long TR,
every prisoner getting TR that Christmas was given five overnights. This means you have to
come back on the 6th day.
It was a surreal feeling getting to walk outside the gate, then being picked up by my
father, sitting in a car for the first time in years, walking into a house after not being
in one for a good while feels really strange, everything feels shrunken and tiny. I sat in
the house feeling fidgety not able to sit easy. I felt like I should be doing something
and not just sitting there, I had a feeling of guilt not doing anything, but I didn't know
what I should be actually doing. My comrade was back in prison, I felt I should have been
doing something to enjoy myself, but I didn't know what that was.
There was only one thing I really wanted to do and that was to walk down the beach looking
at the ocean. Before jail I wasn't much of a lover of nature, I didn't really care too
much for it. But, at the same time I did enjoy walks in nature. Before jail I didn't
realize I liked it so much. For the years in jail I would daydream about being in nature,
being in the mountains, being by the seaside.
Dollymount beach is a short walk from my parents’ house, to get there I'd have to walk
through St. Anne’s park. As I walked through the park, even though it was winter there was
still a lot of colour. A lot of the big tall trees in the park are evergreen trees so they
still had their colour. As I walked through the park my head and eyes were darting around
around taking in the landscape, walking under the tall trees, their canopy blocking out
the sky. It was an amazing feeling being hit in the face with so many different colours,
different shades of green.
When I reached the beach I walked just for a little bit and then sat on a sand dune for
about 2 hours looking out into the vast ocean of green, reflecting in my thoughts.
On my final night on TR, my sister and her friend brought me on a drive. We drove up to
the view point in the Dublin mountains. It was pitch black when we got there. We sat in
the car looking out over Dublin. It was a fantastic sight, seeing all the lights of Dublin
lit up.
When I got back to jail I had six months left to do, for the final four months I was
granted a TR out for a weekend each month.
After about a year into my prison experience I could not imagine ever getting out. I could
not imagine not being in jail, I couldn't imagine being outside doing normal things. I
felt like this right on up till I was released. But, at the same time I would daydream
about stuff I could be doing.
When I was out it didn't take long for me to realize that there was only so much I could
actually do. This dawned on me as I was in the welfare office queuing to sign on the dole.
After queuing for a time I finally reached the hatch. I said to the man behind the hatch
and told him I wanted to sign on the dole, straight away his snotty attitude came out. He
gives me the paper. It takes me a while to fill out some of the questions that I can
understand, some of the questions didn't make sense in my head as my mind was racing.
I handed back the paperwork. The man said to me that I didn't fill in parts of the form. I
tell him I didn't know what to write in them. He started asking me the questions.
Eventually he came to, "If you haven't been on the dole for five years and haven't been
working, what have you been doing?" I told him I was in prison. He asked me "What was your
prison number?" "I was never given one" I said, "Well if you were in prison you would have
been given a prison number", I told him again I didn't get one. "You could not have been
in jail for that amount of time and never given a prison number" he says smartly and
matter of factly in his voice. I told him "Political prisoners aren't given a prison
number." He looked at me in amazement like I had two heads. "What jail were you in?" he
said with an attitude. I told him. He reached over and pulled the office phone across the
table closer to him. He called Portloise jail and they filled him in. He put the phone
down and looked at me. "Look, this is not up for debate, you would have been given a
prisoner number at some point." he said very slyly. He then got the paperwork I filled in,
opened it and stamped the boxes. "You can collect your payment tomorrow" he said without
making eye contact.
After a few days of being out I had a deep feeling of anticlimax. It took me about a year
to get used to being outside again. When out in public, especially in shopping markets,
being in places that had a lot of people, my mind would race, my body would fill with
anxiety. I found it hard to stand in a queue in a shop, I hated the feeling when people
were standing or walking too close to me.
When in prison I could see people when they were coming down the landing or walking near
me. When outside in packed places people will come from every direction going about their
business. One of the first days I was out I went into town to have a look in the shops, I
was walking up Henry street, it was jammed with people. After a few minutes of walking
before I could even go into a shop I had to turn back and go home.
When I got out of jail I had to get used to being outside, I was still waking up at the
same time every morning. When I'd get up and after having breakfast I wouldn't know what
to do with myself. A lot of the time I would go for a jog, the length of the coast road. I
liked this route, when I was in jail jogging on the treadmill I would imagine I was
jogging down the coast road on Sunday.
What I needed was a new routine. After two months of being out I applied for a course and
got accepted onto it. The course was to last till May. Doing this course helped me a lot
to adjust back into life. It gave me a routine to do each day, I got to meet new people,
have normal conversations. When in jail the main conversations I had with people were
mostly highly political. I got massive enjoyment from having normal conversations just
about every day life. It was a breath of fresh air.
When I got out of jail it was like when I went in, I had to transition from one way living
to another.
What I noticed most when I got out of jail was that there was no support groups or
information on how to go about things. There was nowhere to find out about rent allowance,
or how to get grants for college or any other information on what an ex prisoner's rights
are, or what they are entitled to (such as a clothing grant for example). I didn't know
much about any of these things.
I gradually found out all these things by investigating them myself or if an ex-prisoner
happened to tell me. This process of trying to find out this information can be stressful.
Some people spending years in prison can develop mental health problems, because of this
they may turn to drink or drugs as a way of self medicating. People have different
experiences in prison some people do longer sentences, some people have a harder time. All
these things can prey on a person's mental health. A person may do 10, 20, 30 years in
jail, whatever the time it will have an effect on a person whether big or small. After a
person does 20 years they may not be able to cope with the outside world, they might
become homeless, they might become alcoholics.
Prisons were set up to (supposedly) reform offenders. But the reality is that prisons are
for the punishment and revenge by bourgeois society. If you fuck with private property
they will have their vengeance. An armed robber robs a bank or a bookies and gets 10 years
if caught, if they get away they will have a few thousand euros; a banker swindles and
robs millions, helps to destroy a country's economy, forcing many to live in poverty, the
banker gets a promotion if caught. What bourgeois society shows is that what matters when
robbing property is what class you are in when doing the robbing.
The person that robs with a pen and fancy office will rob and wreak a lot more people than
the person that robs by using a gun.
When a prisoner is finished their sentence they are just fucked out on the street,
discarded. In a lot of cases the prisoner will have family or friends that will help them
get back on their feet when they are released. But there are many prisoners who, when they
are released, have no support from family or friends. These prisoners will find it way
harder to get back on their feet, some of them may not ever get back on their feet at all.
From Republicanism to Anarchism
While in Portlaoise I didn't read half as many books on Anarchism as I did on Marxism, but
the few I did read helped to shape my mind towards bringing me closer to anarchism. Before
reading anything by anarchists I thought Anarchism was an individualist philosophy where
no one would be accountable to anyone. My understanding of what I thought what Anarchism
is was from Lenin, Trotsky, Marx, Engels and other Marxists
So when I first read writing by an anarchist I was surprised to read that there is a lot
more to Anarchism than I’d previously thought. I first read an introduction to Anarchism
(I think it was by Wayne Price). Contrary to what I had thought, anarchists do believe in
organizing and having organizations and movements. Anarchists emphasise organizing in a
non-hierarchical, non-authoritarian and democratic way.
This stuck out at me as I’d seen how other groups organize, which was a hierarchical way,
tasks being fed down from above, people being given positions from above.
Republicans are like Leninists in how they organize. By this I mean they organize in the
Leninist "vanguardist" way. Vanguardist Leninists set out wanting to lead people; they
think the people aren't "class conscious" enough or don't understand economics, social
structures, etc, enough. Leninists see themselves as being educated in all the different
revolutionary theory and as being "class conscious" enough to wage struggle, and wage the
struggle in the correct way, they believe they have the right answers on how to approach
the struggle and what tactics to use (it's generally never up for discussion. And any talk
to counter their view is shouted down.) The "vanguardist" movement or party sees itself as
being the saviour of the people, they are the movement truly fit to lead the people to
liberation.
Since they see themselves as having the right answers they also see themselves as the one
true force to bring the people to liberation. The movement wants to be the people's voice
and speak for them (because of this they actually take the people's voice from them).
Because of the structures of the groups and parties, there is a leadership, a top table.
The people that sit on the leadership table are seen as being the most educated,
experienced, and class conscious of the whole membership of the group or party. To be on
this table you will have to be a part of the elite, this generally means having spent many
years in the movement and/or having prestige. As a result, other members of the group or
party assume these older members have far better knowledge on the struggle and how to
approach it. In essence it is the leaders of the movement who become the voice of the
movement. All this can lead to the leaders making decisions (whether big or small) for the
movement without the input of the membership. This is the nature of elitist, authoritarian
and vanguardist methods of organizing.
Although Communists and Republicans can differ greatly on ideology, their ways of
organizing can be similar. For example, Gerry Adams’ rise to power within the Republican
Movement can be described as being stalinist. He understood the structure and the ways to
organize within the movement. Through political maneuvers within the movement he climbed
his way up the ladder. On his way up the ladder he brought his allies with him.
Eventually, from years of power struggles within the movement with the other different
power factions, Gerry Adams and his clique gained dominance of the leadership positions in
the movement. And, because of this (whether one agrees or not), his power clique could
bring the movement down the road they saw as what best suited the struggle for national
liberation.
Later I read about Bakunin and his critique of Marxism and how Marx's theories on
socialism and how to create it, if it ever came into fruition would be a bureaucratic
nightmare and how the marxists would become the rulers. This sounded familiar to me from
reading Trotsky's writings on the Soviet Union and Stalinism. Also Mao had similar
arguments in writings about the Soviet Union under Khrushchev.
When I read Trotsky's and Mao’s critiques I felt there was a connection between what they
were saying. Trotsky wrote about the party bureaucracy that hijacked the revolution.
Trotsky's solution on how to get rid of this would be by creating actual soviets that were
organised by the workers and by having a multi-party system instead of the one party
dictatorship. What Mao wrote about was how the communist party in the USSR had turned into
the ruling class exploiting the Russian workers and how the Chinese Communist Party was
starting to do this too.
From reading Trotsky's and Mao’s critiques I still felt there were parts missing. When i
read of Bakunin and what his critiques were of Marxism which he wrote decades before the
creation of the USSR it got me thinking more about organizing and tactics used in
struggles, and how these can determine what the outcome of the struggle might be.
The Marxists/Leninists want to take state power and transform the state into a workers’
state. What happened in reality was that Marxist/Leninists took state power in Russia and
instead of giving power over to the people they placed themselves in charge of the state
(the party saw itself as the vanguard of the workers’ revolution, because of this the
party thought it would be better for the revolution if they took the power of the state
and organized and ran it for the workers because the party saw itself as being way more
conscious of the tasks needed to be carried out in order to create socialism in Russia
than the workers) and would make decisions for the people on how best to reorganize
society, the people didn't really have a say. The Marxists/Leninists being in charge of
the state said what was ok and wasn't ok to say or do. Anyone who objected ran the risk of
being jailed, put in a labor camp, or executed.
This reflects on how Marxists/Leninists organise in groups and parties for struggle, the
people in leadership positions make decisions for the group or party. The groups and
parties that organize in this way go into other organizations such as trade unions or
community groups and try to take them over (in lots of cases they do). They use these
tactics because they think the struggle needs to be centralized with them being the
leaders of the struggle. Positions that are gained in trade unions or community groups by
these groups are manipulated to try to push these groups in a direction they see as being
best. And likewise they try to get their party members into as many positions as possible
in these other organizations and groups in order that they can better influence the
decision making with these groups and organizations.
From my reading and studying, what I got at this point was Republicanism was pointless
without socialism. There would be no point at all in having a Republic as there would
still be capitalism, exploitation and oppression. In order to get rid of this and have a
truly free Ireland it would need to be a socialist society. And likewise Socialism without
freedom is pointless, there is no point trying to build a socialist future if it's not the
people building it themselves and the faith of society left in the hands of some
“revolutionary party” or “revolutionary movement”.
Also what I got was that there needs to be a deeper look into tactics, ways of organizing
and strategies; and that armed struggle was not the main tactic, there are many other
forms of struggle.
I thought a lot about what Ireland would look like if one of the republican groups ever
got into power. What I could imagine I didn't like. A question I asked myself a few times
was how can you make a government accountable (no matter how revolutionary or well
intentioned the government)?
When I was released, the water charges struggle was just beginning. I attended
demonstrations and protests in Edenmore and Coolock. These were held in housing estates
and outside Garda stations (after people got arrested). What I noticed at these events was
that it was always the politically aligned members of groups that were doing the talking.
They would stand in front of the crowds speaking, preaching to the people.
This brought me back to what I was reading about the Marxists wanting to lead the people
and how the Anarchists wrote about how the people don't need party leaders they can lead
themselves.
The people speaking were from different groups and parties, there were Socialists and
there were Republicans. What made these groups think they had the right answers? Why were
they doing the speaking and why wasn't it the people at the demonstrations and protests
doing the speaking instead? After all, the reason they are out on the streets affects them
the most.
This got me thinking more about how groups and parties organize, and how the ones I was
involved with in the past organised. I knew shady deals and decisions get made for "The
better good of the party" without the consent of the membership. It made me distrust
leaderships, no one person or group of people can have the right answers all the time.
It properly clicked in my head that it's the people that have to organise themselves for
their own struggles. How can a person, group or party look after your interests any better
than you can yourself? From this point I am an Anarchist, and what brought me to this
point influenced me to be an Anarchist.
Joe C
This is one of a series of biographical accounts from members, supporters and contact
about what brought them to anarchism. If you want to tell your story contact us Via the
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