SOAW–West News for June, 2003
1) June 17: News & Event, Legislation, Meeting, Letters from Rachel & Laura & Addresses.
School of the Americas Watch–West ~ SOAW–W
June 17, 2003San Jose Website - http://teachers.bcp.org/llauro
Los Angeles Website - www.soaw-la.org
National Website - www.soaw.orgPRISONER OF CONSCIENCE NEWSDerrlyn Tom surrendered on her report date of June 10. She has been held in the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin and not yet moved to the Federal Prison Camp as expected.
PLEASE WRITE NOW TO:Derrlyn Tom
#91362-020
Federal Correctional Institution
5701 S. 8th Street Camp Parks
Dublin, CA 94568
Letters from Rachel Montgomery and Laura Slattery are printed below. Their addresses are below at the bottom of their respective letters.EVENTFriday, July 11, 8:00 pmPost-screening discussion with filmmakers John Smihula and Viví Letsou and representatives of Global Exchange (Medea Benjamin and Michael Parenti), Amnesty International, SOA Watch.
New documentary, "Hidden in Plain Sight"
Castro Theatre, Castro Street at Market Street, San Francisco
Tickets: $12 advance (www.hiddeninplainsight.org), $15 at the door
The evening is a benefit for both the film and the Film Arts Foundation.More information is given below.
MEETINGThursday, July 3, 7:00 pmLEGISLATION
SOA Watch Meeting in San Francisco
Unitarian Universalist Church, Franklin at Geary
Contact Dolores.HR 1258, a bill in Congress, now has 80 cosponsors. The bill, "The Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2003," repeals authority for the SOA/WHISC and states that no successor school can be opened for at least 10 months. It also demands the establishment of a joint congressional task force to assess U.S. training of Latin American military.
Please contact those who have not yet co-sponsored HR 1258: Representatives Mike Thompson, Ellen Tauscher, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Lantos, Mike Honda, Anna Eshoo.
Phone and fax numbers are given below.June 2003 Letter from Rachel MontgomeryDear Friends and Family:
Greetings from "Camp Dublin!" I had hoped to write sooner, but surprisingly, prison life can be quite busy, and is a whole other world in itself.
I arrived on April 29th with my good friend and co-defendant, Laura Slattery, at the Camp Parks Army Reserve Base (also home of Dublin Federal Prison Camp) after our 31-mile, 2 1/2 day walking/horseback riding trek from my home at the Oakland Catholic Worker. We are also here with co-defendants Ann Huntwork, Sister Maureen Newman – and will be joined soon by Derrlyn Tom.
As far as the physical surroundings are concerned, we live in an old Army barrack which has an atmosphere strongly reminiscent of Girl Scout camp and public high school. I live in a "pod" with seven other women. A pod is a small three-walled room with four bunk beds in a space about 20' x 20'. I am lucky in that I have a top bunk next to an east-facing window, so I am able to see the sunrise every morning. Generally we are given quite a bit of freedom of movement around the camp when we aren't working. There is a track, basketball/tennis court, old weight lift equipment and a small park as well as a chapel, "meditation" room (it has a TV!) and a baseball field used for the weekly softball game. (Laura became coach less than two weeks after our arrival.) I've also been attending the weekly meditation time led by local Zen Buddhist priests, one of whom works with the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
There are about 275 women here for sentences ranging from a month to 20+ years. The majority are here on drug-related offenses, and others for white collar and other crimes – real estate fraud, tax evasion, bribery, embezzlement, kidnapping, bank robbery. Sadly, many of the women are here on ridiculously long sentences – the punishments really do not fit the crimes. From what I understand, many of the crimes committed by the women here would not necessarily have been committed had they had more self-respect, more education, more opportunities in their lives or had they made healthier choices for themselves and their families. Federal prison seems an awfully high price to pay for this.
Despite the warnings and exclamations from the women who thought I was either crazy or a glutton for punishment, I asked for and received a job on the landscaping crew. One of my bosses would pass as a drill sergeant, and some days it seems like a real stretch to call it "landscaping," but I am grateful for the chance to spend my days outside and away from the camp – even in the increasing heat out here in the valley. It is a daily reminder for me that with every cloud there is a silver lining. I often spend my days apologizing to all the "weeds" I pull or whack with the weed-whacker, and wishing the Bureau of Prisons would learn about organic gardening, but it also gives me a chance to open my eyes to the great wildlife that is here if you take the time to find it. One of my favorite escapes is watching the new baby ground squirrels, the resident heron, the flock of geese with their goslings, as well as all the lizards, spiders, etc.
The most difficult part of prison life for me is being forced to be in what feels like such an alternate reality in terms of how fellow human beings relate to each other – namely the attitudes of the staff toward the women, but also amongst the women themselves. I can name numerous examples in which it is obvious a lot of the staff see us as second-class citizens, or worse. An extremely disturbing example occurred nearly two weeks ago. One of the women suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed without a pulse, and only then was an ambulance called, despite the fact that she had reported severe chest pain to the officer in charge over an hour before her heart stopped. Luckily an officer and an inmate began CPR and were able to get her breathing again by the time an ambulance finally arrived. However, prison staff blatantly lied to paramedics as well as hospital staff, saying there had been no witnesses to her collapse. The prison physicians assistant even went so far as to say the woman was probably "faking it" and "you know how these inmates are." She was released from the hospital the next day – despite the fact that her nurse told her they wouldn't release her so soon if she were any other patient (i.e., if she were not a prisoner). As of today, she has still not received follow-up care from a cardiologist, and the medical staff here has not given her information about her condition – only Tylenol.
From this story, and many others I have been told about the women's experiences, it is obvious that the BOP medical staff have been consistently and blatantly negligent in their care of inmates. Many of you have called already – and they have taken notice.[Follow-up note from Rachel's mom: Your phone calls and e-mails HAVE made a difference. I spoke with Cile Beatty, a friend of Laura's and Rachel's, and she has told me that a top official called Lei aside recently and let her know that she's got lots of friends and family all across the country. He sent her directly to the hospital to see a cardiologist, where they found that she does not have a heart condition, but something amiss in her brain. She is on medication. Lei feels better and more at ease. Cile feels that more phone calls and faxes at this point may do more harm than good for future issues that may need to be addressed.]I want to send you all my love and gratitude for all of you who have supported me so far on this journey in one way or another. I enjoy receiving all your letters, and I look forward to hearing from more of you. Something about the lack of e-mail and regular phone access is extremely liberating!Peace and Love,
Rachel Montgomery #91367-020
Federal Prison Camp - Dublin
5675 8th Street - Camp Parks
Dublin, CA 94568Day 30, May 28, 2003
Letter from Laura SlatteryDear Friends and Family,
A couple of days ago, 25 May, marked the 15th anniversary of my graduation from West Point and my commission as a 2LT in the US Army. I can't help but muse – here I am 15 year later once again in uniform and once again dealing with the bureaucracy that comes with government jobs.
As for advocacy work and non-violence experimentation, I am sending a request up the chain of command here to evaluate my counselor's behavior in regard to a letter that I wrote him to which his written response was "If you had any integrity, you wouldn't be here." I fear he may believe this statement (that no one here has integrity) and have heard reports from the women that his behavior reflects that. I am also calling for an investigation into the seemingly widespread practice of asking the inmates to sign for training they have not received and to sign forms that have been pre-dated. In this way the officers cover themselves, and the women are left particularly vulnerable, especially in case of an accident. I find myself wondering how many of the women are in here for just such seemingly innocent practices – just signing a piece of paper that isn't quite accurate, pre-dating business agreements, etc.
I've still got quite a bit of free time, though I am now assigned to the kitchen (don't know what happened with the maintenance request). With that time I am continuing to read, do yoga, play softball and get to know the women. I had the opportunity to read Virginia Wolf's "Mrs Dalloway" (not the easiest of reads); "Nickled and Dimed" by Barbara Erenright (I'd recommend it); and Daniel Berrigan's "The Trial of the Cantonsville Nine," which relates his and eight other's trial for pouring homemade napalm on draft files in 1968 (a helpful reflection for me of another's attempt to stop some form of US militarization). I've also started Sheldon Kopp's "If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him: The Pilgrimage of the Psychotherapy Patient."
In the softball arena, I've been 'elevated' to the position of coach of my team, the Dublin Dawgs (to the tune of "Who Let the Dogs Out, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo".) Seems to be going okay and I think this may turn out, as it did in Tenancingo, El Salvador 10 years ago, to be a very good opportunity for service and connection with folks.
As for work, in the kitchen, I am on the PM shift which works from 11:30-5:30 (which frees me up to do yoga at 9:30), and I've currently get Saturday and Sunday off. I do mostly "veggie prep," serving the food, and caretaking the salad bar. The food service manager told me he was starting me off at $5.25/month (yes, a month!), but I believe he will move me up to the Grade 4 pay scale soon where I will earn a whopping 11 cents an hour.
Visits have been wonderful. My sister Cat and her two kids came down from Chico two weekends ago; Ken and Cindy Preston-Pile came out that Sunday as well; my mom and aunt came up from LA this past weekend; and Cile spent most of
Sunday and Monday here. What a blessing!
As far as getting to know the women – they are as different, interesting, colorful, and mundane as you'd find anywhere. You've got your hustlers, your victims, your businesswomen (accountants who got a little too creative), your troubled youth, your addicts, your innocent (and maybe a little too naïve) bystanders. Many were double-crossed, set up, sold out by their boyfriends, ex's, husbands. I'm amazed by many women who I've talked to who are really trying to deal constructively with their anger and bitterness – at those who sold them out, at the system, at themselves.
Some are just "doing their time" and will probably get back into what ever they were into (just street smarter for all they've learned here); other have "learned their lesson" and are going to "fly straight" when they get out (a lot of these confess to having learned their lesson after a year or two and see their extra 5-6 years as just plain harassment).
There are interesting stories – like the gal who tried to bribe a high ranking Senator (Speaker of the House?) for more labor contracts, or the gal who kidnapped her child to keep her abusive ex-husband from harming the child and "had to turn to crime after 9 years on the run." (more tragic, I suppose, than interesting). Then there's my bunkmate who was importing plane loads of marijuana and who owns 5 houses (my mother reminded me that on the outside one uses the term smuggling, not importing). She insists, when I told her that I used to work with the poor, that she too is an advocate for the poor. She was so moved by the poverty of the compesinos in the highlands of Mexico ("many of our growers didn't even have shoes") that she sent her planes down with bags of used clothes for the people. Hmph! How 'bout maybe sending new clothes: or better yet, selling one of your houses and giving them the money! Our conversations remind me that we are all a mix of contradictions and conflicting desires.
Rachel is working in landscaping and has been assigned the job of weed whacking. We continue to hang out and spend the majority of our free time together looking for quiet places to read, write, or just talk.
And that about wraps it up for this letter. Things to look forward to in the future installments:- The similarities between privates and prisoners (or the effect of a demanding punitive bureaucratic system on the human psyche and behavior).Pace e bene (peace & all good),
- Issues that may arise for a conscientious worker at a prison work camp.
- List of items I have misplaced (which is large enough to cause my bunkmate to query "who's job was it to watch Laura today?" after my latest loss). A prison is not a place to be absent minded about ones' meager possessions. Mindfulness, mindfulness, mindfulness.
Laura Slattery
# 91364-020
Federal Prison Camp
5675 8th Street
Camp Parks
Dublin, CA 94568
U.S. foreign policy is, not surprisingly, different than advertised. Find out just how different by coming to this special screening of John H. Smihula's powerful new documentary HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT, which looks at U.S. policy
in Latin America through the prism of the controversial School of the Americas, where over 60,000 Latino soldiers have been trained by the U.S. Army.Narrated by Martin Sheen, the documentary features interviews with political thinkers (Noam Chomsky, Christopher Hitchens, Eduardo Galeano), Congresspersons (Barbara Lee, D-Ca, Mac Collins, R-Ga), Army officers, victims and social activists who tackle the issues of U.S.economic and military policies in Latin America, the war on drugs, and terrorism.
A short history, a spirited debate, a personal story, and a call for accountability, HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT is a bold, unflinching look at the nature and consequences of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.
"An incredible documentary! required viewing" -- Amy Goodman, Democracy NOW
Representatives to contact requesting cosponsorship of HR 1258:Rep. NANCY PELOSIThese Representatives are among the 80 cosponsors of HR 1258 and can be thanked:
Phone: 415.556.4862
Fax: 415.861.1670Rep. TOM LANTOS
Phone: 650.342.0300
Fax: 650.375.8270Rep. ELLEN TAUSCHER
Phone: (925) 932-8899
Fax: (925) 932-8159Rep. MIKE HONDA
Phone: (408) 244-8085
Fax: (408) 244-8086Rep. MIKE THOMSPON
Phone: (707) 226.9898
Fax: (707) 251.9800Rep. ANNA ESHOO
Phone: (650) 323-2984
Fax: (650) 323-3498Barbara Lee
Zoe Lofgren
Robert Matsui
George Miller
Pete Stark
Lynn WoolseyFor our Fair Use of Copyrighted material Notice, please click on the ©.
[For archived news from previous posting,
click on: May.]
