This is the 15th Bad News: Angry Voices from Around the world espisode, for September 2018, produced by Radiozones of Subversive Expression. On this episode we will hear from:
-A-Radio Berlin with an audio about the international week of solidarity with anarchist prisoners.
-Radio Kurruf from Chile with news from environmental struggles at their region.
-R.o.s.e. with updates from the international Thessaloniki Expo, news from environmental struggles and the acquital of Tasos Theofilou.
-Final Straw Radio from the USA with a conversation about the recent nationwide prison strike.
-info Lora from Switzerland with a radio broadcast calling out for solidarity with the Heimbach forest in Germany.
Transcript:
A-Radio Berlin
TFSR introduction: The following is a prisoner going by the initial J
who is in segregation in a South Carolina prison. He does not give his
full name or the prison he’s inside for reasons of personal safety.
You’ll hear him share a bit about his experience of the prison strike
from the inside, the repression of prisoners at his facilities, prisoner
unity in the strike,the high costs of living in prison and poor quality
of food and other goods available and the red herring of administration
that cell phones are the cause of violence. He shares condolences for
families of those who were killed at Lee Correctional, the
guard-instigated violence in April that sparked the call for the
Nationwide Prison Strike. J also shares his thanks of outside supporters
who have demonstrated outside of his facility, IWOC in particular and
those who’ve helped to carry prisoners words around the world.

J: Hi, this is J and I’m calling from the South Carolina Department of
Corrections. I’m currently behind a wall with the rest of the strikers
here and across the nation. Really, though, I’m just calling in because
I wanted to say thank you and that’s on behalf of the strikers here in
South Carolina for all of the outside support that we have been
receiving as well as support from other strikers across the nation. As
many of you may already know, we are experiencing oppression at it’s
worst at this moment as an attempt to suppress our voices and to quash
our unity. To further elaborate, those who decide to take a stand and
participate in the strike are being placed in cells here, are being
placed in confinement. At this time there are 30 individuals, just to my
knowledge, who have been placed in solitary confinement. I’m sure there
are more but I’m not aware of that at this time. A lot of those were
cafeteria workers. Cafeteria workers who, you know, work in the kitchen
who just decided that they weren’t going to go to work. And due to them
saying that they weren’t going to work, they were placed in solitary
confinement, in lockup status. Yah, those individuals were placed in
solitary confinement due to the work stoppage.

And of course, there’s not enough room to place everyone in solitary
confinement, so what they have done is swap comrades out for individuals
who have been in solitary confinement for long stints of time. And when
you have someone who’s been confined for years on end, they’re more than
happy to take up a working position. In the wake of what took place in
the county in April of this year, we have been on 24 hour lockdown. That
means no movement whatsoever. At this moment, we’re only receiving one
shower a week. We’re being denied any form of cell cleaning. We’ve had
several boil-water advisories while still being denied clean drinking
water. We are recieviing our food at all kinds of hours where the meat
has gone bad or is seriously undercooked. This is not word of mouth,
this is factual. You know, I’m back here and I’m experiencing this with
all of my comrades as well. And we do receive food in packages labeled
“Not For Human Consumption.” Again, this is factual.

One of the issues I feel the public is most informed about is that we’re
just back here being taken care of by the tax payer dollar, which
couldn’t be further from the truth. We are charged for everything from
medical care to underwear. So, to further elaborate, if I needed to see
the nurse due to a headache or feeling sick, that’s just $5 just for
signing up. And if you were to receive Tylenol or Ibuprofen, you are
charged $5 for every prescription that you receive. I find this hard to
grasp when if you work at or for a prison industrial job (referred to as
P.I.), you are only paid $0.16 an hour and if you happen to get sick,
half of your paycheck goes towards medical.

So, this strike awareness is much needed. Since the strike there have
been a number of suicides and attempts. I would like to send condolences
to the families that were effected in the worst ways. I want to be sure
that everyone knows that even though our efforts to be physically
involved are being suppressed, we are with you all mentally and
emotionally. We really want to send our appreciation out for the support
and especially thanks to the IWOC representatives. So, we really
appreciate that.

TFSR: And have you heard of prisoners or yourself, witnesses or
experiencing the demonstrations that have… There have been a couple of
demonstrations outside of some of the facilities in South Carolina, not
to name the one that you’re in but, have you been able to witness that
and can you talk about how people reacted to that, if so?

J: I would say that the inside was very shaken up. Moreso by the
appearance and the presence of individuals out there, you know. We had
yet to see support on this level that we have been receiving it. When
they saw the presence of individuals on the outside, they attempted to
keep us locked down. They didn’t know what was going to take place or
what could possibly take place. But I can say that you know that the
eyes are all opening. And they know that the eyes are on this entire
movement and individual facilities as well. So, here’s not much they can
do. The more they beat us up and the more they try to suppress us.

Which, this goes to the cell phone issue as well. They try to say that
the cell phones are the reason tying all of the violence and things that
take place which couldn’t be further from the truth. Again, because as
you can recall, whenever they attempt to associate a violence with a
cell phones, they always go back and reflect on one issue in particular
that happened in Reid County back some years ago, maybe 2006. And they
always refer back to that. But that’s the only issue referred to. The
cell phoones aren’t the problem. The problem is that with the cell
phones you’re able to see and you’re able to capture what goes on back
here and now the public is able to be aware of what’s taking place here.
And that’s what they don’t want to take place.

You guys and the support that we’ve been having outside the prisons has
really done a lot and it is doing a lot. And the thing is is that when
it dies down, will it die down, or will they decide to change it?

TFSR: Are there any statements you want to make right now to, maybe
family members of folks that are inside of prisons in South Carolina,
about your experience as someone behind walls during the strike?

J: Yeah, well really the last thing that I would like to say is that I’m
very grateful and appreciative and thankful for all of the individuals
who have been standing together for this strike and who have pulled
together despite what has happened taken place earlier this year, the
last time. You know, sometimes you need to put behind you what has taken
place for the bigger calls and the bigger purpose. And that’s one thing
that I want to… I just really want to show my appreciate and gratitude
to individuals who have put those things aside and have pulled together
in that effort to address the issues that are taking place at this moment.

R.O.S.E.

The international Thessaloniki's expo was held between the 7th and the 9th of September in Thessaloniki, following every year after 1929. This commercial expo has been turned turned into a political fiesta, presenting a chance for annual promises of parties to their voting-customers, since quite early in history. This year's expo though has something unique. Since the mid '90s, the far right, the conservative right, the church and football team owner's mafia, have been continuously cultivating a climate of intolerance, as means to creating and maintaining private armies of fans, henchmen, believers and in the end, voters. This is a fact that not only does provide them with immunity for their political activities but also acquires them with political power. The last days in Thessaloniki, we saw a real parade of ridiculous, though, extremely dangerous fascists, ultra orthodox Christians and instructed fans, which, under their boss's directives (priests, fascist politicians and mafia) tried to create an unbearable situation for everyone, through a climate resembling the orange revolutions of Ukrainian Nazis. Their small volume, as of course, their characteristic ridiculousness that distinguishes them, did not let them enact this type of political opposition. As a result, they, and those who cater for them, are still being considered as negative picturesque sightseeing.

On the other hand, comrades by several collectives of Thessaloniki, as well as quite many comrades from all over Greece, constructed an anti authoritarian block that departed from Kamara headed to the expo area, meeting a great number of cops that tried to separate the two opposing rallies. On their way, they had the luck of bumping into a small group of fascists with Greek flags, heading to the nationalist rally. The people of the block pushed them away accordingly. Due to the incident of burning Libertatia squat during the last nationalist rally in Thessaloniki, all the squats had organised strong defense that was furthrtly fortified by comrades after the end of the rally. By the end of the nationalist rally, fascists attacked from the rally attacked the free social space Scholio, with the aid of cops, but where successfully repelled by the comrades inside the squat. Since their efforts amounted to nothing, the two groups of fascists moved towards the neighbourhood of Rotonda, where they tried to attack two cooperative cafes of the area. People in the area repelled them and ran after them until Navarinou Square, μέχρι την πλατεία Ναυαρίνου, where the cops showed up and attacked the cooperative cafes and the people running after the fascists. The cops even broke one of the cafe's window, in order to march in and arrest a comrade inside the shop. Once more, none of the far right or fascists were harmed. Instead, comrades were arrested, showing that the state and fascists cooperate seamlessly.

After 6 years of illogical prosecutin and fabricated charges, in the 14th of August, anarchist Tasos Theofilou was declared innocent for good. His last incident was about an effort to cancel his innocense declaration from the 2nd degree court, that was denied in the end. The parody of a leftist government, carries on with a direct attack to the environment, the local communities and the life of us all. Specifically, for Lefkimi village in the island of Corfu, the state and it's allies are trying to turn the village in a landfill. The resident's protest's are facing prosecution, tear gas and plenty of violence. This of course will not put down the residents, that, as they say, will not stop fighting for their lives and the lives of others. Meanwhile, residents of the banks of Acheloos river are facing an illogical decision for 30 years now, regarding the construction of a 150 meter river dam. The dam, while having no reason of existence there, will completely destroy the natural environment and drown the area in water.

Final Straw
TFSR introduction: The following is a prisoner going by the initial J who is in segregation in a South Carolina prison. He does not give his full name or the prison he’s inside for reasons of personal safety. You’ll hear him share a bit about his experience of the prison strike from the inside, the repression of prisoners at his facilities, prisoner unity in the strike,the high costs of living in prison and poor quality of food and other goods available and the red herring of administration that cell phones are the cause of violence. He shares condolences for families of those who were killed at Lee Correctional, the guard-instigated violence in April that sparked the call for the Nationwide Prison Strike. J also shares his thanks of outside supporters who have demonstrated outside of his facility, IWOC in particular and those who’ve helped to carry prisoners words around the world.

J: Hi, this is J and I’m calling from the South Carolina Department of Corrections. I’m currently behind a wall with the rest of the strikers here and across the nation. Really, though, I’m just calling in because I wanted to say thank you and that’s on behalf of the strikers here in South Carolina for all of the outside support that we have been receiving as well as support from other strikers across the nation. As many of you may already know, we are experiencing oppression at it’s worst at this moment as an attempt to suppress our voices and to quash our unity. To further elaborate, those who decide to take a stand and participate in the strike are being placed in cells here, are being placed in confinement. At this time there are 30 individuals, just to my knowledge, who have been placed in solitary confinement. I’m sure there are more but I’m not aware of that at this time. A lot of those were cafeteria workers. Cafeteria workers who, you know, work in the kitchen who just decided that they weren’t going to go to work. And due to them saying that they weren’t going to work, they were placed in solitary confinement, in lockup status. Yah, those individuals were placed in solitary confinement due to the work stoppage.
And of course, there’s not enough room to place everyone in solitary confinement, so what they have done is swap comrades out for individuals who have been in solitary confinement for long stints of time. And when you have someone who’s been confined for years on end, they’re more than happy to take up a working position. In the wake of what took place in the county in April of this year, we have been on 24 hour lockdown. That means no movement whatsoever. At this moment, we’re only receiving one shower a week. We’re being denied any form of cell cleaning. We’ve had several boil-water advisories while still being denied clean drinking water. We are recieviing our food at all kinds of hours where the meat has gone bad or is seriously undercooked. This is not word of mouth, this is factual. You know, I’m back here and I’m experiencing this with all of my comrades as well. And we do receive food in packages labeled “Not For Human Consumption.” Again, this is factual.
One of the issues I feel the public is most informed about is that we’re just back here being taken care of by the tax payer dollar, which couldn’t be further from the truth. We are charged for everything from medical care to underwear. So, to further elaborate, if I needed to see the nurse due to a headache or feeling sick, that’s just $5 just for signing up. And if you were to receive Tylenol or Ibuprofen, you are charged $5 for every prescription that you receive. I find this hard to grasp when if you work at or for a prison industrial job (referred to as P.I.), you are only paid $0.16 an hour and if you happen to get sick, half of your paycheck goes towards medical.
So, this strike awareness is much needed. Since the strike there have been a number of suicides and attempts. I would like to send condolences to the families that were effected in the worst ways. I want to be sure that everyone knows that even though our efforts to be physically involved are being suppressed, we are with you all mentally and emotionally. We really want to send our appreciation out for the support and especially thanks to the IWOC representatives. So, we really appreciate that.

TFSR: And have you heard of prisoners or yourself, witnesses or experiencing the demonstrations that have… There have been a couple of demonstrations outside of some of the facilities in South Carolina, not to name the one that you’re in but, have you been able to witness that and can you talk about how people reacted to that, if so?

J: I would say that the inside was very shaken up. Moreso by the appearance and the presence of individuals out there, you know. We had yet to see support on this level that we have been receiving it. When they saw the presence of individuals on the outside, they attempted to keep us locked down. They didn’t know what was going to take place or what could possibly take place. But I can say that you know that the eyes are all opening. And they know that the eyes are on this entire movement and individual facilities as well. So, here’s not much they can do. The more they beat us up and the more they try to suppress us.
Which, this goes to the cell phone issue as well. They try to say that the cell phones are the reason tying all of the violence and things that take place which couldn’t be further from the truth. Again, because as you can recall, whenever they attempt to associate a violence with a cell phones, they always go back and reflect on one issue in particular that happened in Reid County back some years ago, maybe 2006. And they always refer back to that. But that’s the only issue referred to. The cell phoones aren’t the problem. The problem is that with the cell phones you’re able to see and you’re able to capture what goes on back here and now the public is able to be aware of what’s taking place here. And that’s what they don’t want to take place.
You guys and the support that we’ve been having outside the prisons has really done a lot and it is doing a lot. And the thing is is that when it dies down, will it die down, or will they decide to change it?

TFSR: Are there any statements you want to make right now to, maybe family members of folks that are inside of prisons in South Carolina, about your experience as someone behind walls during the strike?

J: Yeah, well really the last thing that I would like to say is that I’m very grateful and appreciative and thankful for all of the individuals who have been standing together for this strike and who have pulled together despite what has happened taken place earlier this year, the last time. You know, sometimes you need to put behind you what has taken place for the bigger calls and the bigger purpose. And that’s one thing that I want to… I just really want to show my appreciate and gratitude to individuals who have put those things aside and have pulled together in that effort to address the issues that are taking place at this moment.