Echoes of Anarchism: A Personal Journey

This week we’re sharing an interview with Tomas Rothaus, author of the recently publish memoir, Another War Is Possible: Militant Anarchist Experiences in the Antiglobalization Era, out this year from PM Press. We speak about the anti-globalization movement and how it’s remembered, debates around mass mobilizations and Black Bloc street conflicts, mentorship and inter-generationality in anarchism and the importance of a sober audacity in political struggle. Tomas has three more, related books scheduled to come out in the next 2 years listed at PM Press’s website. We hope you enjoy.

You can follow Tomas on Bluesky via @BatallonBakunin.Bsky.Social or check out more of his works via his author page on PM Press’s website.

We’d like to share a quick announcement that anarchist prisoner, Casey Goonan, initiated on August 29th a hunger strike in solidarity with the hunger stirke of T. Hoxha, a prisoner held by the UK of the Filton24, and the demand for her movement to a hospital due to malnutrition and medical neglect at HMP Peterborough. You can find the text of a letter describing the conditions and who to email below.

The Filton24 are a group of 24 individuals being lumped by the British state for a direct action to dismantle weapons at an Elbit Systems facility in August of 2024. You can learn more about the case at https://freethefilton23.com/meet-the-filton24/ . For some context, you can check out a recent interview by 12 Rules For What podcast on the impacts of proscription by the British government against Palestine Action.

The support letter for T. Hoxha reads:

• RALPH.LUBKOWSKI@SODEXOGOV.CO.UK
• HMPPeterborough.admin@nhft.nhs.uk
• pbfamilymatters@sodexogov.co.uk
• tony.simpson@sodexogov.co.uk
• Ian.whiteside@sodexogov.co.uk
• PBgeneralenquiries@sodexogov.co.uk
• Ian.whiteside@sodexogov.co.uk
• karen.reid@sodexogov.co.uk

To whom it should concern, An immediate transfer of care for T Hoxha to a hospital in Northampton Healthcare Trust must be actioned. It is now day 18 of her hunger strike and medical neglect by your prison has since resulted in fever, persistent headache on the left side of her head, vomiting after taking vitamins, continued jaw pain, shedding hair and skin discoloration. Her condition is now considered in the “danger zone” by an advance nurse practitioner.

That an advanced nurse practitioner was not made aware of her case until Day 17 is incredibly improper practise for the treatment of prisoners on hunger strike, failing to begin a food refusal log until Day 5 of the hunger strike and failing to appropriately maintain this since as well as, the failure to provide consistent regular medical attention, providing electrolyte sachets and monitoring have proved HMP Peterborough to be incapable of fulfilling their duty of care to prisoners in their custody.

T has simply demanded her rights to fair treatment as an unconvicted prisoner of conscience. We are aware of the methods by which her rights are being removed by your prison as means of intimidation and isolation.

Another Sodexo prison, HMP Bronzefield, is currently in the media and public discourse due to two deaths, an assault and forced excessive lock up of prisoners last month. Given this, I am certain that HMP Peterborough will be soon also be investigated for direct medical neglect and abuse of authority in light of the seriousness of this matter.

The medical necessity of socialisation is a fact. Depriving T of the right to maintain correspondence with her community, or prevent her contribution to the improvement of your prison through work and classes indicates a concerted effort by the prison, you, to silence and allow physical harm to come to a prisoner in your care.

Your actions have placed T in immediate medical distress and ANY staff in your prison aware of her case who has maintained silence and hidden behind prison procedure will be considered responsible for the deterioration of T’s health and any health consequences both immediate and long term. I repeat, ANY HMP Peterborough staff that have allowed this life threatening situation to escalate to this point can be held liable.

Once again, I demand an immediate transfer of care for T Hoxha to a hospital in Northampton Healthcare Trust and the prison immediately reinstate, in both writing and action, the little socialisation T's managed to have perfectly safely for a while now.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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• Genova Libera by Brigada Flores Magon from Tout pour Tous
• Mentira by Manu Chao from Clandestino