Archive for May, 2006

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29
May

letter writing sunday #6

By vegankid 0 Comments
Categories: class, gender & sex, latin america, letters, prisoners, race and war

I should have written this earlier, but for some reason i didn’t. That’s no reason for you to procrastinate, though! You may have heard of the recent attacks on the flower vendors in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico. But what many have failed to mention was that this is battle has been going on for years as the flower vendors were setting up in protest on the site of the proposed Wal-Mart. What has also received little attention is the systematic use of rape and torture by police officers against wimmin in San Salvador Atenco. Here is more info, which came from brownfemipower:

This is an important statement from the Women’s Sector of The Other Campaign in Mexico regarding the recent brutal aggression, sexual assault and rapes against the women and people of Atenco. It was sent by a member of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners who is now working with the Other Campaign in Mexico.

Please circulate and mail or fax letters of outrage about the brutal aggression perpetrated by the police in San Salvador Atenco to your state Mexican Consulate. (note from vegankid: you can find your state Consulate’s contact info at Mexonline)

PRONOUNCEMENT OF THE WOMEN OF THE SIXTH DECLARATION OF THE LACANDON JUNGLE AND THE OTHER CAMPAIGN

To the adherents and sympathizers of the Other Campaign, feminist groups, collectives, social organizations, the international community, workers of the world, those from below to the left in all corners of the planet.

We the compañeras of the women’s sector of the Other Campaign energetically denounce and condemn the brutal acts and crimes of lesser humanity perpetrated against those detained the 3rd and 4th of May, 2006 in the municipalities of Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco by elements of the federal, state and municipal police.

For this we manifest that on the 3rd of May, 101 people were detained, 22 of them women who suffered serious sexual aggressions, violations of their human rights, amongst which included torture, beatings, ill treatment of their bodies, as well as constant psychological violence.

The day following these events, the 4th of may, 2006, the occupation of the town of San Salvador Atenco took place through the implementation of the military operative “tapete” (known operative used by all of the fascist governments as a form of State-sponsored terrorism) by 4,500 police agents. The majority of the inhabitants of the town were in their homes and only a few of them maintained guard in a peaceful manner when the brutal attack was unleashed by the “forces of public order”, at which point the withdrawal of the community guards that were in the plaza of the town of Atenco began. It is here that the first arbitrary and indiscriminate detentions of any person that transited the site took place. Also, with the pretext of locating the supposed kidnapped agents, the forces illegally entered the different homes (that were pointed out by helicopters and neighboring homes) where they looted, beat, terrorized, threatened and detained the people they found.

The result was the detention of 106 more people, amongst them women and children; of these 106 people, 29 of them were women of different identities, sectors of the population and nationalities; also highlighted are the reports of rape and multiple aggressions against women inhabitants who were not detained.

The result of these police attacks was the incarceration of 52 women whom were treated in a brutal manner and subjected to sexual crimes. Many of them were housewives, mothers, indigenous women, students, workers, all those from the Other Campaign and flower vendors farming inhabitants of the municipalities of Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco.

Considering these events, we denounce:

1) The tumultuary (performed by more than one person, sometimes at the same time, on one person) rapes of different women during the takeover of San Salvador Atenco and during the transfer of the detainees
2) The brutal beating, torture, and psychological abuse that they received.
3) The lack of medical and psychological attention, which constitutes in yet another violation of their human rights as well as violates their sexual, reproductive and emotional health.
4) The lack of communication that they have been subjected to since their illegal detention up until this moment.
5) The sexual crimes committed against the women are not products of isolated acts, but are part of the systematic training of the police in order to repress, plant terror, and deactivate the autonomous political and social movements, especially the women’s struggle of the Other Campaign.
6) The acts, specifically those here mentioned, in which we as women are taken as loot of war, in this case a fascist war used to plant the terror of the State.
7) The repression in San Salvador Atenco, particularly against the women of the Other Campaign, put to manifest the fascist character of the Mexican government and refers to the methods used by the Pinochet in Chile, Videla in Argentina, and the rest of the authoritarian governments that have devastated our planet.
8) The violation and neglect by the Mexican State of the international agreements and conventions against the discrimination, abuse and practice of violence against women.
9) The null participation, indifference, and lack of credibility of the governmental institutions dedicated to the defense of human rights, to women, and to the attention of their denunciations, such as the commission of Gender Equality of the federal and state Houses of Representatives.
10) The crimes of lesser humanity committed against the compañeras who were incarcerated (as well as those who were not) who lived the most atrocious experiences and damages of their lives. Although these atrocities are impossible to repair, we CANNOT leave them unpunished.

For that which has been expressed, we emphatically demand:
1) Impeachment and political trial of the President of the Government of Mexico, Vicente Fox Quezada; Secretary of Federal Public Security, Manuel Medina Mora; Governor of the State of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto; Secretary of State Government, Humberto Benitez Treviño; Head of the Greater State of the PFP (federal preventative police), Ardelio Vargas Fosado; Commissioner of the Agency of State Security, Wilfrido Robledo; and Municipal President of Texcoco, Dr. Higinio Martinez Miranda.
2) The destitution, assigning of responsibilities and punishment of the police involved in the rape and aggression against the women.
3) The veto of the Commission of Human Rights of the Organization of United Nations of the recent naming of Mexico as one of it’s founding members, as well as sanctions derived from the violation and neglect of the agreements and conventions against the discrimination, abuse and practice of violence against women, signed by the Mexican government.
4) The appropriate medical and psychological attention on behalf of professional independent teams that respond to the necessities of the incarcerated compañeras and that guarantee their health and emotional and physical integrity.
5) The immediate end of the low-intensity war and terrorist tactics by the Mexican State against social fighters of the Other Campaign and other social movements.
6) The immediate stop of the violence that the State has practiced against women in Mexico and systematically covered up, that which is translated as tumultuary rapes, femicide throughout the height and length of the country, feminization of poverty, incarceration, disappearances, and murders of social fighters and human rights activists.
7) That given the severity of the rapes, they be considered a crime of lesser humanity by the corresponding petitions.

La Otra Campaña: VA!

Sincerely,
The women of the Other Campaign,
from below to the left, with all heart

28
May

Call For Submissions—5th Radical WoC Carnival

By vegankid 0 Comments
Categories: carnivals, gender & sex, praxis and race

The 5th Radical Women of Color Carnival is being hosted at the house of Fabulosa Mujer. Here is the call for submissions from fab:

June’s edition will feature grassroots activism; pertaining how our day to day resistance to the state of the world/nation/state/humanity manifests in our real world actions.

Questions to brainstorm for a blog entry are the following:

Share what is your ideal activism. For instance the values you organize around, in what communities, settings for decision making and coordinating (democratic process such as hierarchy, leadership, rotating, etc) you are currently in or desire to create and be part of.

How is activism incorporated into your life?

Does your blog benefit/complement your “real” world activism?

What are the obstacles you face in exercising grassroots activism in your community/ies?

Explain how survival is activism.

Do you feel your activism challenges the status quo?

How is gender/race/class/sexuality centered in your activism/learning/desire for activism?

On that note—do you feel that our current system of government whether Dem. or Rep. majority in office can change the oppression of many disenfranchised groups such as men and women in prison, women of color, teen mothers, GLBT communities and the current rampant policing of targeted communities, the gentrification that is sweeping our cities across the nation, realizing the interconnectedness of many struggles—and being innovative to dismantle “the way things are”?

Does non-profit work replace activism? Can they work together? Should full-time activists/organizers be paid for their work in their communities?

On that note you can answer any of these questions or come up with your own of course: flexibility is a quality I admire and promote. You identify and define activism so share! Any forms of self-expression are welcome and can be sent to me, but please submit them to me by June 2nd by 12 a.m. PST.

The radical women of color carnival highlights the voices and experiences of women of color. Remember though that submissions are not limited only to women of color.

E-Mail Submissions sent to fabmujer (at) yahoo (dot) com

Thank you in advance for your consideration!

fab

25
May

you never know

By vegankid 28 Comments
Categories: class, random thoughts and sobriety

Its four in the morning and i reek of burnt flesh and melted linoleum. A grease fire broke out in our kitchen as my housemate was trying to fry chicken. No one was in the kitchen when the fire started, but it didn’t take long before another housemate, gee, saw the hallway walls glowing red. When he rushed in to put out the flames, the pan tipped and poured down the left side of his body, tearing the flesh off his hand and foot. Numbed and full of adrenaline, he grabbed the pan and threw it outside. With it, he took the majority of the fire, saving the house and those of us in it. I heard the shouts, swearing, and what sounded like the walls falling down and i ran upstairs. I was greeted by charred walls, the sound of “fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck…” and a small fire just outside the door (which yet another housemate, dee, managed to put out with a broom). I turned the porch light on and found gee’s skin peeling away from the muscle. The fire was hot enough that it cauterized most of the blood vessels, so there was no bleeding yet. And the copious amounts of adrenaline pumping through his body meant that he was still unable to feel most of the pain and he remained very cognizant and alert. He asked if he should put water on it. I said no, but spared him the details that doing so could pull all the flesh off. “We need to get to the hospital,” i told him. “Don’t wrap it, don’t touch it and and don’t let it touch anything else.”

“i’ll call an ambulance,” said jay.

“no, no ambulance. we’ll fucking drive there. no ambulance.” I think it was partly gee not wanting to make a big deal out of it and partly him knowing that none of us could afford an ambulance. Hell, we couldn’t afford a trip to the emergency room, but it was better than having to amputate a limb.

Being the only sober one in the house, i took jay’s keys while he helped gee into the truck. The three of us went to the hospital together. Driving there, i thought about my EMT training and how much i had forgotten. In my head, i ran through the steps of taking vitals, but i couldn’t remember what was a normal blood pressure rate. The mind occupies itself with the strangest things.

It was shortly before our arrival that something had burst and blood started gushing out of gee’s foot. He was starting to tremble. I pulled up, grabbed a wheelchair and rolled him in while jay ran ahead and informed them we were coming. They rushed us immediately into a room and put gee on a table. He kept repeating “fuck fuck fuck.” And as the doctor and nurses asked the same questions over and over again, gee’s adrenaline began diminishing and he went beyond trembling and started shaking uncontrollably. They cleaned the wounds, put in an IV, pumped him full of a synthetic morphine, and then a doctor came in and removed the skin. The morphine calmed him down but it also caused him to start throwing up. They cleaned the wounds, gave a Tetanus shot, and then dressed the wounds. They tried to convince him to stay overnight, but, again, gee knew he couldn’t afford that. A nurse told him to come back in the morning to make sure they didn’t have to amputate. I couldn’t tell if she was serious or if it was a grossly improper attempt at humor. After a last attempt to get gee to stay, another nurse told us we had to come back in the morning. Gee threw up in front of her. Jay and i assured her we’d be back.

Sitting in the waiting room, jay turned to me and said “i can’t help but think of money.” I thought about when i got second degree burns on my legs. I fought going to the hospital because i knew i couldn’t afford it. But when i almost passed out, some good friends took it upon themselves to take me anyway. I never paid that bill and my credit suffered for it. Apparently Christain hospitals are able to forgive sins, but not debts. Then my hand found its way to my flesh. I thought about a conversation i had with a fellow teacher earlier in the day. I have four lumps (it started as one but they are multiplying and growing). They start out the size of a bb, but the oldest one is now about the size of a marble. I told her i was getting concerned but that i wasn’t going to worry about it (yeah, it doesn’t make sense). What i didn’t want to worry about was more medical bills. I can’t afford to go to a doctor and i can’t afford to take a day off work so i can sit at the health department waiting for them to schedule me for an appointment the day after i leave the state. Besides, the last time i went to the health department i passed out. I have a problem with people poking my genitals. She said i should worry about it and just take the day off to go to the health department. She’s probably right.

Gee is going to be alright, i think. The damage to the house is just aesthetic. And no one else was harmed. I feel a little better now. I just had to get some of this out.

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