Anti-War Prison Solidairty Workshop Report/s

by Workshopper Tue Jul 18, 2006 23:02

Taken from Trident Ploughshares
7.8.1
Prison & How to Cope Link
http://www.tridentploughshares.org/article1078#p772

by Workshopper Tue Jul 18, 2006 23:09

One of the most updated prison address lists primariy for U.S. antiwar prisoners can be found ion the Prison Addresses section of
www.jonahhouse.org

Peter DeMott isthe sole remaining member of the St. Patricks Four detained. His address can be found at
www.stpatricksfour.org

The School of the Americas prisoners can be found on
www.soaw.org

by Dave Tue Jul 18, 2006 23:40

Photos from the Four Courts today.

Supporters are briefed on day's proceedings in court.

Kathy Kelly who gave crucial evidence in trial today.

Eamonn Crudden, director of 'Berusconi's Mousetrap'

Deirdre Clancy

Damien Moran with his parents from Banagher, Co.Offaly

by Ciaron Wed Jul 19, 2006 00:18

I'm hoping other folks from the workshop will write up their reflections they shared. (forgot to announce that outside the court today!)

Some of us shared our scariest times. The last time I saw Nathan "The Colosus of Boggo Rd." Jones, he was getting his throat slashed by Brad Pitt in the opening scenes of"Troy". The first time I saw him I was in my 20's and in Boggo Rd. (max security) Jail Brisbane , for refusal to pay a fine for nonviolent civil disobedience. The screws tried to intimidate me by leaving me solo in a yard with Nathan for the day.

In the meantime Nathan finished his 8 years for a series of armed robberies in Tasmania (go figure? Tassie population 400,000, Nathan is 6' 10"....not sure how he was planning to blend into the crowd?), got himself an agent and ended up in WWF and now he's in the movies.There's a photo of Nathan here on this link....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Jones_(wrestler)

Part of the spin off of Brisbane actvists refusing to pay fines and doing jail time was prisoner solidarity work which climaxed with us (prisoners & advocates) closing Boggo Rd Jail down. As prisoners took action on the inside we were able to speak on the outside about conditions, start a Prisoners radio Show that is still going & do solidarity demonstrations outside the jail and street speak downtown when there were hunger strikes and guys on the roof. One of the best prisoner activist on the inside I met was Gary Gray. He died to young. here's an obituary I wrote at the time....

obithttp://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2000/414/414p12.htm

The longest stint I've done so far has been 13 months in New York & Texas County Jails & Oklahoma & Louissiana Federal Pens. I was in the ANZUS Plowshares community with Bill, Sue & Moana we had disarmed a B-52 Bomber ('91 Rome AFB, upstate New York) on the eve of the Gulf War. I ended up being flown on Con Air to the Texas border & shipped into the outback.

I was the only white guy in the jail & was in a cage with 23 other men for 9 months. I found the first month very difficult. the amount of support mail I recieved made the guards back off from harrassing me and made me popular with the stamp collectors. The next 8 months were manageable. I was pretty disciplined about spiritual & physical exercise, serious & light reading & writing and trying to be helpful to other prisoners. Out of my correspondence came a journal that produced a book "Bomber Grounded, Runway Closed" that was published in the U.S. here's a chapter from the early period of the sentence....

http://vof.cat.org.au/visions/cairon.htmDNA

The 5 months jail time following the Jabiluka Poughshares was also interesting for a white australian as Darwin's Berrimah Prison was approx 95% aborigine inmates/ 95% white staff. This is an article about a small resistance action I pulled off in jail against DNA testing......

http://www.serve.com/nukeresister/nr119/nr119ciaron.html

The last stint was in Limerick Prison remanded after the Pit Stop Ploughshares. The old Dan Berrigan maxim "Don't Just Do Something, Stand There!" makes a lot of sense following a serious action. The five of us entered jail and fasted for 5 days, staying put soaks up the seriousness of the nonviolent resistance to the war and fasting tells your body your in a different place. here's aletter I wrote at the time...

http://www.themanifesto.co.uk/witness/articles/letterCi....html

I lived with Phil Berrigan at Jonah House (Baltimore, Maryland, USA) for the best part of a year. Phil would say "friends in jail for peace speak to our conscience, which is the way God speaks to us". here's some articles by & about PhiL who spent 11 of his last 30 years in prison for nonviolent resistance to the war machine
http://www.jonahhouse.org/phil.htm

by Ciaron Wed Jul 19, 2006 00:21

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Jones_%28wrestler%29

by Ciaron Wed Jul 19, 2006 00:29

http://vof.cat.org.au/visions/cairon.htm

by Jack Cohen-Joppa - the Nuclear Resister Sat Jul 22, 2006 16:53 POB 43383, Tucson, AZ 85733 USA 520-323-8697

The Nuclear Resister newsletter, published since 1980, chronicles anti-nuclear and anti-war resistance arrests in the USA and encourages support for the women and men jailed as a result of these actions.

While our website is not always up-to-date wih current addresses, if you send an e-mail to nukeresister(at)igc.org, we are happy to send you a current list, as plain text or .pdf attachment for reproducing at events.

The next issue, #142, goes to the printer 24 July, the day the Pitstop Ploughshares are to be sentenced.

We will be happy to send a free sample copy and invitation to subscribe to anyone who sends their postal address to us at nukeresister(at)igc.org.

What others say about the Nuclear Resister:

“Thanks so-o-o much for your faithful reporting.”
Kathy Kelly, founder, Voices in the Wilderness

“Thanks to you for helping
us keep hoping
coping
hopping!”
Fr. Dan Berrigan, activist and poet

“...when you check out the stories in
The Nuclear Resister ... when you keep your eyes open for unorthodox sources of information, you can begin to realize how many people in this country and all over the world do not accept the political and economic system that now dominates.
So, yes, I am encouraged."
Howard Zinn, radical historian

by Jack C-J Sat Jul 22, 2006 17:03

I meant to write:

The next issue, #142, goes to the printer 24 July, the day the Pitstop Ploughshares verdict is expected!

[and of course, there should be no sentencing as they deserve acquitttal!]

Jack