[Pnews] Hunger Strikers Call for May 1st Rally at the Northwest Detention Center
Prisoner News
ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Wed Apr 23 19:39:50 EDT 2014
For immediate release:
April 23, 2014
Contact: Maru Mora Villalpando (206) 251-6658
Alex West (508) 246-8341
Hunger Strikers Call for May 1st Rally at the Detention Center; Chicken
Pox Outbreak Alarms Those in Women’s Unit
Tacoma, WA--Hunger strikers, continuing their strike now for more than
forty days, have called for a rally outside the Northwest Detention
Center (NWDC) on May 1st at noon, a historical day of action for
immigrant and worker rights. Ramon Mendoza Pascual and J. Cipriano Rios
Alegria remain under solitary confinement due to their participation in
the strike. Mr. Rios Alegria was taken to a legal visit on Easter Sunday
in leg shackles, which remained on throughout his visit. (see attached
picture) Nevertheless, he remains positive and hopes to hear the support
of people outside the detention center on May 1st. Mr. Mendoza Pascual
has now been on hunger strike 43 out of the last 48 days.
An outbreak of chicken pox has spread through the women’s area of the
NWDC, alarming the captive women. The women had seen Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) and GEO Group guards wearing protective masks
in the unit for four days, but were told that the guards were trying to
avoid the flu. Only upon preparing for legal visits on Sunday were
several women finally told that they were exposed to chicken pox and
that there was an outbreak in their unit, and instructed to wear masks
when visiting with outside legal representatives. They had not
previously been informed of this and were given no access to protective
measures or offers of vaccination.
Army veteran Hassall Moses was released from solitary confinement this
past week, following widespread outcry at this retaliatory measure. Mr.
Moses had been accused of calling for a work stoppage and spent nearly
one month in 24-hour lockdown as a result. He has called for people to
gather outside the NWDC on May 1st, a national day of immigrant
advocacy, and hopes that supporters will not only address issues of
detainee treatment like better food and access to medical care but also
appropriate compensation for work done by the detainees inside the NWDC,
who currently are paid $1 per day of work. He says that “as you rally
outside, we'll do our best to support you from in here.”
Momentum has been growing across the country to support the hunger
strikers in the NWDC, as well as to push for an end to deportations and
an end to abusive prison labor practices. In Alabama, prisoners have
launched a work strike to combat what has become a slave labor system,
as well as overcrowding and lack of access to healthcare. Yesterday,
three dozen Indian asylum seekers ended a 10-day hunger strike in El
Paso, Texas, to protest what has become their six month of detention
through ICE with no foreseeable end. The May 1st rally at the NWDC will
run from noon to 1pm on May 1st, at which time participants are
encouraged to head to Seattle for an annual May Day March and Rally.
Petition on behalf of Hunger Strikers and latest releases available at:
www.notonemoredeportation.com/2014/03/10/detention-hunger-strike/
<http://www.notonemoredeportation.com/2014/03/10/detention-hunger-strike/>
Fund to support the families of human rights hunger strikers:
http://www.gofundme.com/7orehg
--
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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