Moments of war and breaths of freedom: a text distributed in prisons in Greece

multi-lingual original

Moments of war and breaths of freedom

February 9th 2013: prisoners of the Detention Centre in Orestiada break out in revolt

February 20th: attempt of revolt in Koridallos prison

February 24th: escape attempt with helicopter by a prisoner in Trikala prison

March 5th: hunger strike in Rhodes jail

March 5th: revolt in Nafplio prison

March 6th: mutiny of prisoners in Patra prison

March 7th: mutiny in Grevena prison

March 11th: seven prisoners escape from the jail of Feres, Evros

March 17th: five prison guards held hostages in Malandrinos prison

March 19th: escape from Agrinio prison

March 22nd: escape from Trikala prison

All the above incidents happened during the last few months.

How does authority answers to all these?

You know it much better than we do, and there is nothing more to tell you. Everyday life in greek prisons nowadays includes special forces of the police (EKAM), unexpected inspections in cells, tortures, 16 new measures announced from Roupakiotis. However, despite the authority’s terrifying answer, reactions don’ t stop:

March 24th: mutiny in Larisa and Patra prisons

March 30th: mutiny of the prisoners of the first ward in Koridallos prison

April 3rd: mutiny in Koridallos female prisons

Letter of Anarchist Prisoners’ Initiative about the EKAM raids in cells

April 22nd: prisoners’ abstention from mess in Larisa prison

April 29th: 580 prisoners on hunger strike in Larisa prison

And while we are talking about yesterday, reactions go on today. And at this point the following question emerges:

Riots do start, the thing is why they ever stop

Because they try to make us lose sight of the real enemy .Because authority, either inside or out of the prison walls , always tries to find ways to divide us into categories and turn our rage away from its real cause. Authority achieves this exactly when some prisoners fight with each other for differences based on colour, race and religion while on the other hand they treat prison guards as if they were their friends.

The jailer is nothing but the worst pimp of the prison, simply because if he doesn ‘t do his job right – which is snitching you to his superiors, locking you up at night, searching you up and torturing you when he gets such orders –he’ ll probably lose it.

What is also common between inside and outside of the prison bars is that there are always some bigger bosses that tell us what to do and what orders to follow, so that we won’ t lose the “benefits” that they offer us. And most of the people , afraid not to lose such “benefits”, don’t stand for themselves but obey every bigger or smaller boss, enslave themselves and follow orders.

As for us, cops, snitches, jailers , leaders, judges, inquisitors, they are all our enemies and we won’t back down on them. We don’t beg , or snitch, or fear, we fight for breaths of freedom, for what is ours .We go on fighting until the ultimate destruction of prison .Because even the best jail system is still a prison so that

Nobody is free until the complete destruction of prison

No matter what weapons the enemy has in hand, either they are called police special forces or jailers, cameras in the city streets or in the prison wards, journalists or snitches, beating people up in demos or torturing anarchists, immigrants and prisoners, there are always moments when we can attack them, burn them or laugh at them. We are able to attack at the enemy even inside the prison, the only place which is built to control everybody, to punish and isolate. Because the way to break our chains and destroy the prison bars, no matter if it has to do with the prison system or society itself, is the passion for freedom and the struggle to gain it. As the imprisoned anarchist T. Theofilou writes, we should neverstop honoring those who escaped from prison or tried to, but our final goal is not to fly above those walls but todance on their ruins. Because the freedom of each one of us depends both on himself and on his peers, and after joining our forces, let the fire of the riots be able to burn down every prison.

Inside an imprisoned society is where we live

We are sending you this letter as anarchists that take part in an assembly for the connection between struggles inside the society-prison (Thessaloniki).Outside the bars we give our own fights to smash the state and authority. Anarchy is a way of life and holds no ground for bosses, leaders, snitches or slaves. We take action without following orders and we don’ t recognize superiors and inferiors. We fight for freedom and we hate not only cops, but also every minion, every snitch, everyone who turns into a slave on his own will.

We write this letter because we want to create a true connection with you that will last in time. A connection that will include a dialogue from both sides. A dialogue that will be honest and so will give us the chance to create common struggles against the enemy. A connection that will give true meaning to our actions so that when we, for example, gather outside the prisons and shout along with you, we can both feel like overcoming the prison walls that separate us.

Let’ s fight on the same side. On the side that cannot stand the state and authority but fights against them, until the destruction of every kind of repression that holds us down.

FIRE TO THE PRISON CELLS

REVOLT NOW AND FOREVER

SOLIDARITY WITH THOSE WHO FIGHT, RESIST, REVOLT