HUNGER STRIKE and after (anonymous)

10/19/11

This unit is icy cold, air conditioning on full
blast. This hunger strike a lot has changed for
me where I feel a loving calm envelope me, a
sense of a great amount of energy just appeared.
I feel more free this strike than the July one. A
powerful experience of conscious self-compassion,
and my understanding of its importance has
deepened. And the benefit of this is relief and a
sense of spaciousness and acceptance. Today I
feel more expansive, no longer burdened, no fear
whatsoever what others think of me. My healing
has enabled me to be myself and finally live my life
as I should in freedom.

I want to thank all of you for the support and
prayers during the strike. Please let Carol and
Marilyn know this especially and Julie too. I had
my mind set what I was going to do, the distance
I'd go striking 4-5 weeks at most if my body was
able to hack it, if I felt I couldn't continue
I'd stop. Coming over to this unit some of our
property was tossed bad and taken. Few days after
I got to this unit my cell was trashed again,
looked as a hurricane came through. The pod I was
in had the most cells striking. The day we were
threatened to be moved if we don't end striking
two cells stopped, didn't want to be moved, were
situated, knowing our property would be tossed
and some things taken. The six of us that came
from the same pod, housed in one unit to make it
easier for staff to monitor them and for medical
staff too, easier for them to locate the inmates
still striking. The CDC learned from the July
hunger strike, were better prepared this time,
had a game plan, my observation. No outside
medical staff brought in to help nor any
makeshift clinics made as they had done in July.

Since the strike ended, medical staff come by
just once, passed out packets of vitamins and
powdered lemonade/Gatorade. That was it. Some
inmates in this unit have been called to medical
but not all since strike ended. I'm waiting to go
see doc. I feel healthy, just trying to gain back
my strength and put weight back on. I haven't yet
gotten fully situated here, I can do this now
since my cell was tossed again recently, staff
are done harassing me for now. During the move
here my envelopes with legal paperwork were all
ripped open as they searched through my property.
Then they just dumped everything inside the cell
before I was placed in the cell later.

I've been having serious hunger pangs day and
night. One guy in the pod had some canteen that
staff had taken from him. When the strike ended
he was given his canteen, all beans and rice, so
he hooked up everyone in our pod with beans and
rice. I ate it all in two days, made sandwiches,
didn't waste time, I took it down. Two guys were
shocked seeing how much weight I had lost during
the strike. I haven't yet started exercising
again, maybe first week of November, should be
ready to go, normal routine. My health great,
it's just my weight dropped big time from the
strike in July to the recent strike. I never
really was able to put much weight back on after
July strike (lost about 40 pounds total from
normal). No complaints here! I'm honored to have
partaken in both strikes, doing my part.
There's always a struggle in finding meaning in
our suffering. I believe that this last strike,
lots of inmates achieved enlightenment without
realizing it. What I mean is, prisoners have
been awakened in here in solitary and united to
the point where they're saying now, how come we
never protested this way in unity years ago, to
let our voices be heard against the ongoing CDC
abuse? You hear this talk a lot now, which is a
good thing. In reality we add to our suffering in
solitary when inmates don't stand up for our
rights, banding together as one, protesting
peacefully. We hurt ourselves when inmates resort
to violence against one another; that doesn't solve
anything.

Human progress is measured in prison and outside
when every person is treated with dignity and
respect naturally, no less. I thought a lot about
this during the strike.

http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/