Noisemakers 2000: Down with the colonies!

The Anti-Colonial Working Group fights to undo 500 years of history

You see them around. A torn black and white sticker on a lamppost. A patch on a pair of army pants, serious-looking and hard to make out. Is it anti-government? Anti-police? Anarchist? What?

There's a good chance you've just crossed paths with Concordia's Anti-Colonial Working Group, a dozen fresh-faced gals and guys dedicated to Native rights and abolishing the prison system, among other things. Since the amount of press they get is minimal, these activists are forced to resort to patches, posters and photocopies to get their message out.

So could we just abolish prisons? "Not before we change society," says one member of the group with a clear and rehearsed voice. "We all recognize that Canada is a colonial system of genocide and repression towards indigenous peoples and continues to be.

"As settlers we want to use that position to work in solidarity with indigenous groups and others. It's a process of decolonization that we support."

According to the group, the majority of prisoners are serving time for poverty-related crimes. Meanwhile, labour continues to be gender-divided: male prisoners gain technological skills from performing prison labour for such companies as Microsoft and Starbucks, while women prisoners learn hairdressing and laundry.

According to Mark, prisons don't rehabilitate criminals. "Social rehabilitation is not possible at all. You're just being punished and punished over and over again. It's the social destruction of a human life."

The group has some big-ass parties and info nights planned to free Albert Nuh Washington, an American political prisoner and former Black Panther "wrongly convicted" of killing two New York cops 30 years ago, in a trial "wrought with irregularities including witness coercion by the police and the alteration of evidence." Call 848-7585 for details. l

-- CRAIG SEGAL

more news...