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Title: 00161 Katajanokka Author: Antti Rautiainen Date: December 3, 2006 Language: en Topics: prison, Finland Source: Retrieved on 3rd November 2021 from https://anttirautiainen.livejournal.com/12058.html Notes: Extracts published in Muutoksen kevät #24 and Kapinatyöläinen #30.
This article is a collection of my thoughts from period of my 2 months
of imprisonment in Katajanokka prison of Helsinki, Finland 17^(th) of
July — 13^(th) of September 2001. This long version is not meant to be
published in any Finnish paper, since many of persons involved might be
easily found during the next few months at least.
From my 59 days prison sentence 27 consists of 4 consecutive draft
refusals 1997–1998, and 15 days for a court to which I was not able to
participate due to organization work of 1999 Inter-Continental Caravan
of Indian peasants and other people’s movements of the South organized
in Europe. Remaining 17 days were for 3 civil disobedience actions
organized 1998–1998, first of these was organized by
now defunct Finnish IWW-section, Solidaarisuus in January 1998 in the
Ministry of Labor, and second in February 1999 in the State Foundation
of Housing for social housing.
In January 1998, a delegation left a demonstration organized by
Solidaarisuus to give some appeals to ministry of labor. 4 of the
demonstrators decided to remain in the ministry to ensure that ministry
also realizes promises given to demonstrators by some sort of councilor.
Demonstrators failed to barricade themselves to a separate room, however
they managed to drop a red and black banner from the window of the
ministry. Police came and removed demonstrators, which made only
non-violent resistance waiting more revolutionary times to come.
Previous autumn had seen a radical actions of unemployed in France, and
Solidaarisuus decided to try importing these methods to Finland. Two
similar actions were organized during the same spring, but the campaign
failed to create a large French-style movement. It was fun as long as it
lasted, though.
The last civil disobedience action in history of Solidaarisuus was the
one organized in the State Housing Fund February 1999, this one was the
most successful as well. Background of the action was huge downsizing of
social housing in the budget of 1999, while problem of homelessness had
already exploded due to boom of late nineties and huge influx of people
from countryside where EU had made meaningful economic activity
impossible since 1995. This time we managed to make barricades strong
enough to halt police for one and half hours. Unfortunately they finally
made their way through a removable wall which we hadn’t spotted. This
time even some journos bothered to make it to the spot since action
lasted a longer time.
Third civil disobedience action was for animal rights at conference of
toxicologists in Vuosaari, spring 1998. This demo was organized with a
very short warning period, and now one can say that it was also last
demo of the “boom” period of the Finnish animal rights movement
1995–1998, and with its maybe 120 participators also clearly smaller
than previous mass demos, which managed to gather up to 300. Original
plan was to organize a demonstration against Fur Center auction (second
in size fur auction on the planet), but we learned that auctions were
about to begin one day later than we thought beforehand. But there were
many animal rights activists in the city anyway, so we decided to head
to Vuosaari, where scholars of toxicology were having their conference.
Main task of the toxicology is to define how poisonous various chemicals
used by human are. This is traditionally made with so called D50 test,
testing which dose kills 50% of the rats used in the experiment. From
point of view of animal rights, it would make much more sense to think
do we need those tens of thousands of chemicals at all, actually human
uses so many chemicals that only a fraction of them can be effectively
tested in any case.
On the spot we learnt that Riitta Salmi from Juliana von Wendt
association for science without animal testing had come around to reward
those toxicologists developing methods alternative to animal testing.
All respect to them, but because from point of view of animal rights the
whole question is twisted, I think that the demo was in a right place
anyway. And not necessarily compromising methods of more moderate
groups.
This demonstration was one of those few in Finland about which we may be
certain that the full KRP (police) arsenal to gather information was in
use. Leak of the target information may only be explained by phone
tapping, still illegal then. Some civil-clothed cops came to meeting
place with activist-look. From metro window we had a nice panorama of
cop cars speeding towards Vuosaari.
We were offered a chance to send few representatives to say our argument
to guests of the conference. We thought 2 to 100 would be uneven to us,
so we decided to go together. We started to go around riot fence from
the left side, where only few police were in the forest with dogs.
Police ordered dogs against demonstrators, and dog which police officer
Pekka Mäkelä made to attack me bite a hole to my thigh. 2001 the
Parliamentary vice-ombudsman of justice (definitely not the official,
correct translation of the authority) Jaakko Jonkka decided that police
had defended himself. This means, that demonstrators might be fed to
animals in Finland in the future as well, in case they refuse to follow
any police order. None of the demonstrators got any charges for violent
offences or offences against property.
However dog let me go, and with another demonstrator I managed to make
it to the area of Unitas-institute, where the conference was going on.
This questions commentary of police officer Pekka Mäkelä that rush of
demonstrators was successfully stopped with dogs. Suddenly we saw no
police around. We thought that we had got lost, and decided to get back
to the demo another way. Afterwards we learned that we had been hanging
in front of the main entrance of the conference!
Back in the demonstration, we decided to rush to the right side instead.
Dog had not bitten me to a nerve and I had no any pains, although blood
was spilling down my trouser leg. This time more people managed to make
it to the conference area, where we managed to build a nice huzzle.
30–40 persons were arrested, some right in front of the door (which
happened to be the wrong one this time). The rest managed to build a
tight “wall of flesh”, defending themselves against police arresting
attempts and to move together back behind the riot fence. Whole
demonstration was very non-violent, if one does not count few trashed
windows as violence.
As usual, we spent hours in a bus tied with very painful plastic ties
which rip your hands to a bloody mess if too tight. We were released one
by one from Itäkeskus police station in late evening. I had to kick jail
door some 5 hours until I was sent to polyclinic to get tetanus
vaccination and to clean up the wound. Parliamentary vice-ombudsman of
justice Jaakko Jonkka decided, that head of police of Itäkeskus area,
senior police officer Markku Suokkaa was breaking second paragraph of §
49 of police law, and punished him by sending 9 sheets of A4 size paper.
Demonstrators were sentenced for breaking of police laws (sentence you
get every time you are breaking police orders), I got 10 daily fine
units (in progressive Nordic countries poor people get smaller fines —
they are measured with your daily income, for people without income it
used to be $3/daily fine then and $6/daily fine now), which got
converted to 5 days in prison since I did not paid it. I also got a
lifelong scarf to my left thigh, which is a must thing to show every
time when in a Sauna with comrades.
My decision to refuse from a draft was made quite soon after I had
received the first packet of military propaganda by mail in 1997. From
this packet, and from information from older friends I got idea that
draft is a militaristic spectacle, characterized by boasting of army
officials, propaganda videos, mockery of alternative service and
military discipline. Afterwards I also learned that ones ability to
serve is also defined in the call-up, so it is there where people are
categorized and put to order in which they should become ham for the
fatherland.
A draft objector gets a fine, which is 15 daily fine units (a week in
prison) in the beginning, and grows when the crime is repeated. Usually
B-search (where police is formally searching me, but hardly has any
active effort to catch me) is on about one month after the draft where I
did not showed up. Then on if police picks me up from somewhere, they
contact HQ of local military district to ask what they should do with
me. Usually HQ gives a new draft date, once they have ordered me to
arrive to HQ immediately. I never followed these orders, after which the
cycle starts from the beginning. This has been repeated 13 times
already.
Basically cops could pass me to HQ directly in case they ask for it. In
this case I would refuse from any cooperation, such as doing the
standard psychiatric tests, so HQ would hardly have any other choice
than to randomly give me a service category and to give me an enrollment
date. This is probably the only way my current loop may be halted.
Because I would not show up in the barracks after enrollment date, I
would be charged with desertion and be sentenced to standard 197 day
sentence, which would finish the adventure. The fact that giving 13
times the same sentence for the same crime is against the spirit of
human rights agreements Finnish state has subscribed seems not to worry
judges very much.
However HQ has not ordered police to bring me there. Maybe because they
have not bothered to pay a lot of attention to my case, maybe because
they want to make it as hard to me as possible by a serial sentence.
While in court for failure to show up in a draft, military officials
have claimed that I have never refused from the military service, which
is crap — police has repeatedly contacted them during custody, and I
also made it clear to an officer while we visited draft in November
1997,
playing a horn, reading a manifesto and tearing up some draft documents.
After this police removed us brutally. For some reason officials think
this 15 minutes I spent in draft was not yet enough to fulfill my legal
duty. I was never sentenced for this action, since bailiffs and
prosecutor failed to pass summons to me in time.
I am an anarchist, that means I try to reach a society without any kind
of oppression or authority. The present model army is the most
hierarchical institution in Finland together with prison and some
hospitals, this is alone a reason why anarchists are in a conflict with
the army. Unlike many pragmatists, I believe that violence is bad in
essence, not depending which goals it tries to reach. However I am not a
pacifist — while I believe that violence is justified in certain very
special circumstances (an argument with which both Gandhi and Martin
Luther King jr. agreed), I also believe that there are good reasons to
expect to end up to these very special circumstances, and it is better
to get prepared for that (with which Gandhi and Martin Luther King jr.
disagreed).
My main motivation to oppose Finnish army is that it is meant to defend
something to which I do not believe at all. I do not believe that Finns
are better people than others, so that protect their interests against
interests of other people would be justified. Actually the whole concept
of nationality is a sole question of identity to me, that means some
sort of fantasy character like Santa Claus. Being part of the same
nation does not necessarily imply any common interests. In the contrary,
I see that my interests are very different from for example those of
Finnish ruling class. Plenty of those injustices to which I try to
influence with my daily activity profit ruling class, which tries to
preserve them. This ruling class also happens to be the very same people
who usually decides how Finnish army is used. First form of Finnish
army, the home guard, was first of all meant and used to protect
interests of the ruling class against working class, not any common
interest of Finns.
In case the army was completely voluntary and did not obliged to
anything, it would be an opportunity for me, to learn some skills
possibly useful in the very special circumstances. This although
subjugating oneself to hierarchical command would definitely be
difficult to me. Obliging army does not fit me because it would be
completely arbitrary if general mobilization was called for some issue
important enough to accept murdering. Actually the current internal and
foreign policy of Finnish state gives some idea that mobilization for
some issue completely contrary to my ideas is most probable, and even
being in another side of the front might be more better option for me.
There might be exceptions as well, such as the Winter war. I hope no-one
denies that occupation by Stalin would have been a horrible tragedy, no
least horrible than that of 1918 to everyone living in Finnish
peninsula. In another hand, human cost of the occupation might have been
smaller than that of the defense victory — at least 180 000 corpses
(according to some estimates twice more) from which at least 72% Russian
conscripts who neither were fighting voluntarily. It is also a question
would fighting in the ranks of the conventional army profit anarchists
in any situation — there are plenty of examples where political
activists drafted to armies of “democratic states” have just
disappeared, often before making it to the frontline. Fighting against
occupation would have most likely been in interest of anarchists (if
they were in Finland then, but they were not), but allying with Finnish
state for this purpose maybe not. This is of course pure speculation
since there were no any anarchist movement in Finland of 1939, in
another hand also important question to analyze since the history of
Winter war is by far the most used propaganda tool of the Finnish army,
and in general one of the main reasons why Finland is one of the most
militarized countries in the world together with Cyprus, North-Korea,
Turkey, Israel and Greece when measured by how big share of men goes to
army, and how respected institution army is.
Most of the total objectors apply to alternative service in draft, and
only afterwards announce refusal from the alternative service as well.
The existence of alternative service is much due to efforts of the
social democrat peace movement: according to Social-democrat ethics, it
is beautiful when people are serving their state even when forced to do
that. Alternative service was meant to become “new kind of army”, which
answers to security risks by non-violent methods of conflict resolution.
But social democrats were not able to figure out that really the risks
which state defines as a threat to its existence are those which threat
the position of the ruling class. Maintaining the state requires
continuous violence, and thus state has a big interest to secure that
there is a big enough stock of people disciplined to execute this
violence available. Thus state must ensure that alternative service is
an option as unattractive as possible.
Alternative service workers do underpaid non-specialized work in a
country, where almost 10% of the labor force is unemployed, most of the
unemployed un-educated. Each institution willing to give service places
must apply permission from the government, which may take years. Thus
while more and more people are going to alternative service, lack of
service places has reached catastrophic level. Most of the service
places also illegally demand workers to pay their living costs, which
they may not afford with their ridiculous income. I have nothing against
the theory of non-violent conflict resolution, but currently none of the
alternative service workers is working on this field. For incredible
naivete of social-democrat peace movement state has been given an
effective tool to discipline antimilitarists and legitimate existence of
the army in the form of the alternative service. In case a war breaks
out, alternative service workers will be put to a line with everyone
else. Thus if I went to a draft to lie that I wanted to alternative
service I would be a coward. Since refusal from any kind of service at
once is not even allowed in draft, going there makes absolutely no sense
at all.
It is not impossible to get to oneself a liberation from peace-time
service, for example by claiming problems with mental health. But this
is a bad strategy, we should create some pressure against army in the
peacetime already, when the war has been declared hysteria will spread
quickly and militarists will always be one step ahead. If number of
peacetime total objectors becomes very big, the whole army-institution
might face a crisis as we have seen in Spain recently.
I would not see professional army as any positive reform, quite a
contrary — countries with professional armies such as USA and UK seem to
have much smaller treshold to declare a war. Often anti-war mood is
spread among the people only when ones own kids come back in body bags.
Many acquaintances of mine have learned in the army what kind of shit
war really is, professional army would alienate masses from harsh
realities of the war. But although I would see moving to a professional
army as a backlash, going to army or alternative service is still not an
option for me since the choice between professional army and
conscription is a fake choice, neither of them are necessary.
Union of Conscientious Objectors is both open anti-militarist
organization and trade union of alternative service workers — thus their
interest is to use my case to defend interests of the alternative
service workers and to carve the legal basis of the army institution. I
have nothing against this, we should hit army to every possible weak
spot. Still it is somewhat funny to give statements in court that “I
think Jehovah’s witnesses liberation from the army service is unfair
privilege” or that “13 months of alternative service is too long”, since
I do not want any special rights or any rights at all from the state,
and I would not go to alternative service even if it lasted one week or
one day only. Only thing I want to ask from the state is that it
finished itself.
Transfer of fines to a term of imprisonment takes years, while documents
are bouncing between 3 different institutions — justice register center,
local court and bailiffs. From time to time it is impossible to get
information about the state of the process, especially police refuses to
comment whether you are wanted or not. Thus for two years already I have
always carried some stuff that could be necessary in prison with me
while passing Finnish border (I study and live in Moscow). Finally I was
not caught in the border, but I went voluntarily to a police station.
This because the sentence would have dropped in any case sooner or
later, and summer is the only time to do time without completely messing
up ones studies. First hint to people about to do time in Finland is
that in case you decide to surrender to officials, do it as lately as
possible in the evening. Every night you are caught (before midnight) is
counted to the period of imprisonment, thus 16^(th) of July was counted
although I only spent one hour inside!
So what one should carry if you might be caught and sent to a closed
prison in Finland? It is useful to carry things, since lists latter sent
to supporters might be laborious to fulfill and something essential
might be forgotten. Toothbrushes, -sticks and -pastes come from house,
such as all cutlery and a water bottle. In case you do not like Bics,
take your own shaving gear. You get envelopes and paper in the house, I
had my own pencils but it might be one may buy them as well. By biggest
deficit was a nail cutter, scissors are banned. In case you do not like
biting nails, take a cutter! In case you are going to be imprisoned for
fines, take earplugs since you might be put to “ruuma” (hold), big 6–10
person room where snoring is infernal. Most of my luggage was books,
which one consume quickly. One can have almost any electronics without
memory or telecommunications, but they go through check which is only
done when there are 10 items in a queue, which may take a long time.
Those imprisoned for unpaid fines, “hostages” in prison slang, are
humiliated by confiscation of their own clothes. This was not a problem
for me — it spared my own clothes for a while. In case you are not a
hostage, do not take too fine clothes — other prisoners take care about
washing and steal what they want or need. In my last week screws
accidentally gave me a coat and college shirt which visitors brought me,
I started using them since I wanted to check their reaction. It was
none, since screws cannot afford risking their authority by complaining
for such a little issues — in Finland only real means to discipline is
throwing inmates to hole and beating up there, which cannot be executed
for minor offences. Of course it is also possible that they did not
noted my “protest” at all.
From “Pikku-Roba” cop station I was transferred to Pasila jail, where an
incredible feeling of liberation took me over. Unbelievable quietness
and peace after all that stress! From now on at last things would
proceed with their own speed. Actually most of the difficulties in the
life is due to multitude of difficult alternatives and choices we have
to face each moment. From this moment to the end of my imprisonment I
had a feeling like sitting in a train proceeding 50 meters in one hour —
slow crawling is painful, but you can be sure that you make it there.
This is a good side in being repressed in a “justice state” compared
with being repressed in a despotism!
Inhabitants of Pasila jail live in a complete isolation, thus decorating
ones own environment is even more popular than in Katajanokka. Writings
of Finns kept laconic “first week, second week, third week ->to Nokka”
style, where Russians were much more emotional with calls to stay
strong, confessions of love and missing ones mum.
I spent a night in Pasila and had a lengthy philosophical discussion
with middle-aged police officer doing interrogation, after which I was
sent to Katajanokka. This investigationary prison of Helsinki is an
attraction itself, and most of it is seldom open to public. I often had
a romantic thought that prison was built by Czar of Russia and Grand
Duchy of Finland Alexander II, who was murdered by narodniks. This way
he would have got his punishment for the injustice facing me some 120
years before already. However it is much more likely that the prison was
build by his successor, Alexander III.
Although Katajanokka is a small prison in the world scale, in my time
there were at most 230 inmates which meant it was full packed. Figure of
the building is a cross, in westside there is a church and
administrative units, in eastside open units and female unit in a strict
isolation from the other parts of the building. North and southside form
an open three floor unit where most of the prisoners stay.
These three floors are painted with kitsch, cute and nauseating pastel
colors, which are maybe meant to encourage the soft side of the
prisoners to show up, but more likely they encourage to senseless
aggression. Prisons are probably the only institutions applying racial
segregation in Finland, inhabitants in joyfully yellow first floor are
mostly Estonians, Russians and blacks. From minority groups only Roma
and few Russians speaking perfect Finnish were staying with Finnish. I
guess there is some reason for the segregation, I heard nasty enough
racist remarks from other prisoners to confirm me that it would maybe be
the best for both sides in that situation. It was rather ironical that
the worst racist in our floor was a Roma himself. Although Roma were
maybe 100 times over-represented in the prison compared to their share
of the population, at least in Helsinki Estonians and Russians seem to
be much bigger group already. Together with ethnical minorities, some of
those afraid were staying in the first floor. Holes were located there
as well. Only afterwards I understood that first floor might have had
some detained refugees as well (there are not yet detention centers in
Finland), to whom I for sure should have tried to get a connection. This
would have been very difficult in any case, since getting to two floors
below without screws noting it would have been somewhat impossible.
Second floor painted with pink color raising murderous thoughts was home
for youth, transfer and sick prisons. Most populated was the green third
floor with hostages and prisoners on remand. All floors had also working
prisoners, such as cleaners and dishwashers.
Hostages are in the bottom of the hierarchy, in relation to both guards
and other prisoners. Usually hostages are put to “ruuma”, but I suppose
they were full when I came so I was put to northside of the third floor.
Most of the folks here were prisoners on remand, when “summer season” of
hostages (when drop-drunken homeless are collected to prison from
Hakaniemi beach on weekly basis) we had only about 4 hostages like me,
and about 15 prisoners on remand.
One must do something quite serious to be imprisoned during the court
process in Finland. The custody itself takes usually only few weeks,
which inmates spend in Pasila which is a real hell due to complete
isolation. Those sent to Katajanokka are not really interrogated
anymore, although they visit a new court which decides about
continuation of the imprisonment every two weeks It is a known fact,
that among violent offences at least in homicides Finland is the top
country when measured per capita in EU, while drug offences are less
common than in any other EU country. Although many of our “tutkari” were
probably for severe drug offences, share of people imprisoned for gross
assault, attempted manslaughter, homicide or murder was probably bigger
than abroad. There were all the possible other kinds of cases as well,
such as frauds.
However telling about your histories is not really a tradition, and
asking not at all. Many had done quite shaky things to their friends or
acquaintances, however in prison most were quite easily in any case. A
Finn does not kill another when not in drunk. In case you do not grass,
are not indebted for drugs, do not screw up and do not talk stupid
things, being beaten up in a Finnish prison is not a very big chance.
People indebted for drugs are also sold to slaves, I do not know if this
habit is domestic or learnt from Hollywood movies. However it does not
happen in a very large scale.
First people criticizing the prison institution from point of view of
the enlightenment believed that crime is an unavoidable consequence of
the pauperization. I believe that macho values and lifestyle quite
hegemonic among the Finnish underclass is a risk at least as big to its
followers as the poverty alone. People hit their friends to head with an
axe and throw them to a lake for a debt of 80 euros ($). Not because
that is some money, but because one must fight to keep his reputation as
a tough guy. One gets away from the financial dead-end by committing few
successful affairs, but it takes the rest of ones life (which maybe will
not be a long time) to solve who grassed and who tried to be clever. And
if women are hated in some house, it is this one!
I saw or hear about some violence maybe only 4 times altogether during
the whole eight weeks. First time I saw someone thrown to hole from
youth floor right on my first week, such a bunch of screws went after
that what followed must have been a real sadistic mass-baiting. I have
no idea what the guy had been doing. Second time some guys were fighting
about drug debt, after a usual rule the guy who was in alien room was
thrown to hole although he was the one who got knocked down. Third time
in our side a guy talked stupid things, got beaten up and asked to get
to a hole voluntarily to get away from the floor. Fourth time someone
brought grass to someone in a meeting, who got thrown to the hole. I
guess there was some bigger huzzle connected to this case since an
ambulance came to the yard, but I never heard the whole story.
So, the method of disciplinization in the prison is first of all
physical. The lowest level of disciplinization machinery are other
prisoners. One cleaner put it about this way:
“U know what, few times I wanted to beat someone so hard, so hard as u
may beat someone. Guy who has been messing around or fucked up
something. So I went to ask from a screw, will he turn back if I go and
smack this guy. And he said, he will. Then I went to guys cell and beat
him so hard, so hard. So hard as you may beat someone. U know what I
mean? U KNOW what I MEAN!”
The moral of the story was that in case you want to rebel, better not to
do it so that other prisoners have to clean up the mess. It is somewhat
typical that people for example jam toilets, we had two toilets in our
side to 20 persons. Closed toilet may make a real flood, and cleaner
cleans up the mess. If guilty one is found, his face will be a bloody
mess. Actually I also screwed up few times, since I do not always pay a
lot of attention on what is going around. But I was not caught, and I
still have all my teeth left!
So how you have to behave yourself in Finnish closed prison in order to
survive? It is an universal rule of survival to make friends tough
enough that no-one will fuck with you. I failed with this one, so in
many other countries I would have been in serious trouble. Average
prisoner, both on remand and “hostage”, comes from such a different
culture that even finding some common topic to chat was difficult. We
all were in the same boat, but the completely hegemonic
racist-sexist-homophobic set of values really disturbs me from feeling
collectivity — although for some reason no-one really felt my person as
being a threat to his macho values except my veganism, about which later
on. A little factor putting some limits to racism is that in order to
succeed in the drug business, one must have good relations with Russians
and Estonians.
What comes to collective identities generating resistance, Finnish
prison is after all not at all the worst place. Because prisoners do all
dirty job — washing the dishes, taking care about the year, small
fixing, cleaning up and cooking, they have actually quite effective
strike weapon on their hands. In times of strikes, costs of prison
administration skyrocket since they have to find labor force to do all
these tasks. Daily income of working prisoners is about 6.5 euros ($) ,
those not working get 1.5$. Workers get also some other benefits, such
as doors open more often. Common underworld values create a collective
identity, and race conflicts have not been as big factor diminishing
solidarity as abroad at least until very recently. Everyone knows what
scabs deserve. One of my cellmates, who had been doing time in 70’s
already, had participated to 5 strikes inside.
However, after progressive developments of 60’s, 70’s and 80’s
repression has quickly increased, which is justified by taking measures
against drugs.
Katajanokka prison is a rathole, cells are in decay and filthy, inmates
piss to a bucket. In our side one at least one cell was completely
without electricity, which in Finnish winter conditions is not very
pleasant. New prison in construction in Hakkila, city of Vantaa is
considered as a “model prison”, due to personal showers, toilets, videos
and other “attractions”. However its reality is a complete isolation
where one meets other inmates only one hour a day during walking out of
doors.
It is for sure pleasant to show Hakkila to different bureaucrats, but
even though Katajanokka is considered as most fucked up prison in
Finnish criminal circles, I am sure many would rather remain there. I
discussed a couple of times about this theme with other inmates, but at
least yet there was no interest to organize some huzzle around the
topic, Turkish or Spanish style. And I was quite not in a position to
organize this kind of thing. I am not a kind of agitator, and typical
way for me I withdrew from propaganda activities during my prison time.
But we will see how moods develop.
My political propaganda activity during my prison period was not full
zero anyway. In my last full day in prison, I learnt that prison library
worker had read my article in Voima-paper, and was really OK guy. I was
for sure the most active client of library in our side, and I had spent
at least one hour there during our library turn each week during my
eight weeks inside, but never before had we discussed about anything! He
promised to order few anarchist papers at prison’s expense. I hope
people post at least this address, distribution of Kapinatyöläinen has
been quite anarchist lately in the negative sense of the word. Although
very few inmates will read such a paper, that few might be very
valuable. It would be also good to have Voima distribution points in
prisons, since it is free.
There are many leftist prison library support groups abroad, but
according to selection of Nokka library, this has been mostly work of
religious groups since early 70’s in Finland. There were selection of
first “Exclamation marks” (leftist book series published in 60’s and
early 70’s in Finland), but hardly any more recent leftist literature.
For sure the most vain book in prison was Finnish translation of Kim Il
Song’s official biography, although maybe some inmate had once read it
after some crazy bet, who knows!
Few people read any non-fiction in prisons. I heard most asked book is
that of Tony Halme (racist wrestler-celeb), also all of the few comics
were borrowed all the time. But I guess the main thing is that people
maintain literacy.
Another funny thing is about the library is that I found there Bobby
Seale’s book Seize the Time, which had been translated to Finnish right
when it came up. I got one of my cellmates to read it, after I had
promised that “they shoot cops in it”. He read the whole book, and
really liked it! Propaganda was even too effective, since he adopted the
authoritarian Marxist arguments of the book as well. And as
controversial as it may sound, guy did not changed his racist prejudices
against Somali due to book, seems like some elementary logic is too much
asked.
Most hardest thing in prison for sure is narrowness of social relations.
At least in investigationary prison most communication between prisoners
is “crimetalk” — what is the phrase of investigation, what was told and
untold during interrogation, what police claims to know, who informed
what, which lawyer is ok and which is a police informer, and so on...
from day to day, week to week and from outdoor walking to outdoor
walking. One of my cellmates was even punishing informers while talking
when sleeping! Quite incredible how narrow circle thoughts go around.
Especially in morning of new imprisonment court (it is every two weeks)
people may be completely nervous, although result of the court would be
completely sure. Some things remain the same, I read Dostoyevski’s
“Memories from the dead house”, which tells about his experiences in
Siberia’s forced labor camps in the 1850’s in prison, and also 150 years
ago thoughts of a prisoner on remand were going around the same narrow
circle.
Another, a bit more uncommon topic was “drugtalk”. This I have to
explain to no-one, it is the same stuff everyone knows from Hollywood
movies, junkie books and junkie friends. It always seems that activists
are presented in every movie or TV serial as really fucked up and
strange people, having nothing to do with activists with whom I am
familiar with in the real life. However junkies in movies seem to be
completely similar types as junkies in the real life, although the drugs
in the real life maybe weren’t as deadly as in the movies.
Drugtalk is special sort of aesthetics of the suffering. I suppose most
of the junkies keep using the shit because it gives some meaning to
life, not because they are hopelessly hooked. So called “normal life” is
hopelessly boring. I suppose I would be in that scene as well in case I
did not found something more interesting as a teenager — something which
imprison you as certainly, but maybe not to as long periods.
Ultra-materialistic values connected to hard drugs also means that there
is always some reason to reach for a bigger deal. This is of course true
in so called legal business as well. Trader not hooked himself is of
course only a tabloid legend.
Older jailbirds of course were not tolerating a lot this swimming in
ones own misery, so this side of drugtalk popped usually up only if
there was a crew of younger guys somewhere. Then after half of a minute
it was all about how they were high somewhere sometime, then after half
of a minute again how they ate a week only weetabix and subutex, and
constipation was so hard that one had to dig shit out with fingers, or
how someone got blue and so on, and so on.
I do not think there were many prisoners on remand in my end without
amphetamine addiction. There were some real success stories as well,
many had managed to keep out from or cut heroin addiction, although
everything else in the life would have gone or was going to hell. I
became familiar the with whole prison drug chain, how shit was passed to
prison, how it was sold and used. Prices were some 4 times higher than
street prices, for example amphetamine was 800 marks (130 euros/$) a
gram. Shooting amphetamine looked brutal enough in the prison
conditions, I suppose I will not have interest to try any shit during
the next 10 years.
It was fun how big men could be crazy after shining things. People know
golden jewelry well, market is working and they change ownership often.
Also all the coats, clocks, cars and so on have to be exactly right
ones. It seems like underclass knows the value of money. As long as
value of the work, there was all the time long queues to places of
workers although hourly wages are something like 5–10 marks (0.8–1.6
euros/$). For most of the people lack of physical exercise is such a
huge problem. Since I was a smaller risk than prisoners on remand, but
in better condition than hostages in average, they especially asked me
to work. And seemed to be surprised when I refused — I had no any
trouble to get my time spent with a that huge pile of books which I was
actually unable to finish. I guess I could have been sent to Seutula
open prison for few last weeks, but I did not asked for, since I had not
booked up to any courses or exams in summertime they would have put me
to build new runaway to Helsinki international airport. So at least in
Nokka I was among most anti-work people, so no one should have guts to
blame me archaic pro-work anarchist from now on!
For some strange reason I was sent to a piss test, maybe prisoncrats
considered sending me to drug free department of some prison when my
case had got some small-scale publicity in the end of the August. I
refused from the test, so I never learnt what these plans where. Again
other prisoners did not get it — I was almost only person in our side
not doing any drugs! But one must resist whenever there is a smallest
chance to do it.
Most of these guys you never meet in the normal life. For example first
time in my life I met a Finn who had failed to pass first class of the
primary school, and thus was not able to read. In statistics, literacy
rate in Finland is rounded up to 100%. It is a good question if this guy
has any other chances than to go around from prison to another. Or that
young junkie who was raged that he cannot take anymore that one has to
use brains in the life, which is why he has fucked up everything.
Smallest, two person cells like mine are 2x4 meters. Another narrow end
has a door, another one window. There are two archaic spring-beds, a
stool, small desk, a bucket and a wardrobe. Our cell had maybe 8 inch
black and white TV as extra, about which I do not know whether it made
it better or worse — some cellmates watched it non-stop, wheel of
fortune and all the rest. But it had also good sides, CNN was a good
thing during Genoa.
We were walking in the yard one hour each morning and a hour and a half
Sunday evening, we had one hour gym each Monday and Thursday, library
Wednesdays, canteen Tuesdays and sauna in Friday morning. Visitors could
came both Saturdays and Sundays, for 45 minutes early in the morning or
half an hour later in the day. In weekdays we ate three times a day,
during week-ends only breakfast and dinner. Doors were open in mealtimes
and last time 5 PM, thus we had 1–2 hours of program every day and doors
open less than one hour in mealtimes — remaining 21–22 hours of the day
doors were closed.
Thus it depends a lot from the cellmate how tolerable the conditions
are, and afterwards I may say that I had incredible luck with them. I
had 5 cellmates altogether, from which three only shortly in the
beginning. First one was a prisoner on remand, really finished old
heroine junkie who soon wanted to join a friend in another cell with
more similar attitude. Next one was a typical hostage, an alcoholic
picked up from the Hakaniemi beach, he had first had his pension stolen,
and thus he had no money to pay the fines when cops came to take their
share. Homeless alcoholics get ticketed for example for stealing a
sausage and beer, or whatever cops count as “disorderly conduct”. And it
is the state which pays, with costs of these prison days state could buy
beer and sausages for the whole population.
This was for sure the most peaceful guy from all of them, but most
difficult to tolerate since he snored like a hippopotamus! After not
being able to sleep three nights in a row I got him moved to another
cell, which of course made him very angry. Soon he applied to Konnunsuo
prison to drive a tractor and to make some money, he was originally from
the countryside. For city-dwellers Konnunsuo of the rednecks is a
nightmare.
Applying to change a cellmate is definitely not to be recommended, it is
most stupid thing to do in prison to get enemies in vain. All of my
cellmates besides this snorer where smokers, last one 5 cigarettes an
hour at worst. I would had all of them moved by applying to the tobacco
law, but I counted that chances of getting a worse guy were very high
each time. So the next lesson to someone about to do time in closed
prison is to keep good cellmates.
My next cellmate was an old jailbird and a petty criminal, who was also
a hostage. One of the best guys I met in prison. He managed to talk
himself to Maria hospital, and since he was a hostage he was left there
without a guard — and he run away in a minute. Usually one gets an extra
month for a runaway. This guy counted that it is better to do three
months in winter than two months in summer. One month later he was
caught and I saw him in the floor again.
With the next guy I spent a longer time, this was 26 year homeless
amphetaminist who had managed to cut heroin. He had fines for petty
crimes done to finance addiction. Also a great fellow, to whom this
society obviously has nothing good to offer.
A HIV-positive homosexual amphetamine junkie had for sure the lowest
status of the floor. A repeat offender who had committed a number of
stabbings, altogether doing time more than three decades I guess. I was
really sorry for this guy, but for some reason I found his presence and
stories very repellent, and I was not able to deal with him at all. This
cellmate of mine was almost only person in the floor who communicated
with him, and got a lot of shit for that.
Last three weeks I also spent with very interesting guy — he was on
remand for an assault, homeless alcoholic who had lived 8 years in the
streets. Guy was only about thirty years old, but looked at least a
decade more older, and hurrying up towards his death. He had a
background in punk scene, and only now I realized why there are so few
old punks in Finland — not because they have grown up and got normal,.
but because they are dead! It is really awful that life expectancy of
brew punks seem to be something like 35 years, I guess half of those
squatting Lepakko 1979 are dead now. For example in Moscow maybe half of
the punks are doing heroin, but Finland is for sure the only country in
the world where scene kills itself solely with alcohol. It is easy to
understand that straightedge, profiled as kind of middle class thing, is
not very interesting alternative to most but there should be some limit.
This guy was a sort of type which maintained the homeless alcoholic
community in Helsinki. They had build a good base to part of Small
parliament park, right in front of the Parliament building, to a place
which was in dead angle from the main street of Helsinki due to bushes.
This guy had organized most of the furniture to the base, and also tried
to keep some order in the place, such as avoiding fights which were
always causing a trouble in the community. Soon it became evident for me
that guy was innocent, two other guys from the park were on remand for
the same case in same floor, but they were somewhat less innocent. But a
homeless in Finland may be imprisoned on remand just because “to get
them to court might be difficult otherwise”!
There were quite a lot of elder generation homeless in the street, types
who hang around in the Center-Hakaniemi-Sörkka axis and mostly drink
vodka, where youngsters are doing harder stuff and hang around in the
suburbs. So I got an idea to make sort of “customer survey” for Food Not
Bombs, since outside these people are usually intoxicated to the extent
that discussions are difficult. This because FNB tries to go beyond of
being a mere charity, its fundamental aid is to transfer “customers”
from “customers” to “organizers”. I saw prospects of such transfer as a
very interesting question.
However after some five minutes of discussion on the topic it became
clear to me that this is somewhat utopian approach. One must solve his
own problems before getting politically involved, there is no other way
around it. Most of the Finns have everything more or less fine, but
still they have not enough time and energy for volunteer work or
political activism. So how a person whose life is completely fucked up
could get active?
A society with enthusiastic approach to high-technology control methods
makes a homeless living in Finland very difficult. One lifeline of more
than five thousand homeless of Helsinki are the doorcodes, with which
one may get from cold streets to warm staircases during the long winter.
While housing companies and cooperatives move to buy services from
private security companies, which mercilessly and unlawfully use pepper
gas and baton, old doorcodes become useless and one has to get new ones.
So it would be a good way to help homeless to collect these codes and
give them to those homeless who are OK. One should however be prepared
that these get more widely distributed in the community, and may end up
to more uneasy types, but however I am sure security risks are minimal
and the issue is very important.
Private security business makes living of the homeless difficult even
more ugly way as well. Recently Danish security multinational, Falck
Securities won a bid for security services in Helsinki Metro. It
obviously cut the costs to win its main competitor Swedish Securitas by
hiring guards other companies had fired due to excesses, and paying them
a smaller pay. This could be one explanation why Helsinki metro has
become a banned zone for homeless, spending few minutes in the Railway
station tunnel may result a treatment where seven guards are beating and
spraying where two guards are holding the poor guys in the place. The
reason why homeless have deserted a support point maintained by deacons
in the eastern suburbs is that there is no way to get there except
Metro. Even police officers working in the Railway station have suggest
homeless to have at least one companion when moving in the area, to
testify in case of the tortures.
Homeless themselves are demoralized to such extent, that at least
without support they will never go to court. However I would guess that
for such a multinational as Falck maintenance of their own reputation
would be so important, that there would be a chance to change the course
by grassroots action. In the beginning one should document and publish
as much documentation about violations as possible. If one sees guards
pushing a homeless around, he should demand to get to the guarding room
with the homeless. I also think it would be good idea to remind guards
that they are scumbags, in any encounter at least if one is not alone.
Thus they would at least be aware that people are aware what they do,
and their self-licensed project “to maintain hygienic of the society” is
not appreciated. Some people in Helsinki organizing against zero
tolerance were interested to organize around these ideas, but as always
good ideas do not necessary result to activity, especially because
autumn has once again brought a series of new painful problems to be
dealt with.
Many phenomena with which I got familiar in prison (“model”-prison to be
built in Hakkila, privatization of the public space and exclusion of the
impoverished from it, mechanisms of the coercion inside the prison) have
a common nominator of new control- and disciplinization methods of the
society. I read “to Observe and to punish” of Michel Foucault in prison,
which touched these topics. A must reading for prison!
Despotism of private guards is connected to the society in the larger
sense also because work as a private guard is only start of the career
for many, as it is “working experience”. Quite soon since we had
discussed with my cellmate about the theme, one Falck asshole got
recruited to work in the first floor and came to fuck “to his
acquitance” immediately! Through this career tube sadists quickly find
jobs in which they may cause much more harm than when bouncing around in
metro with their jerky overalls.
One detail, also interesting from the Foucaultian point of view, is the
small hole in the cell door from which guard may stare prisoner while
remaining anonymous. Katajanokka has video cameras only in the hole. It
is a prison tradition that this hole is closed, usually with toothpaste.
This works for the same reason why I was able to wear my coat —
violation is so small that complaining about it would endanger authority
of the guard. One may remove stuff from this hole, but it appears again
immediately, as long as prisoner is not threaten with hole which is too
much for such a violation. Unfortunately I figured this out only when I
had spent three weeks inside, but afterwards the hole was not open a
single minute and not a single guard even mentioned about it.
Another new thing I learned besides security company despotism was that
nazis in Hakunila (one of the poorest suburbs in the capital region)
area are getting armed. Anti-fascists have been aware for years that
nazis have guns, but not that they are actively using them as well — I
heard that in Hakunila “niggers walk in the forest”, which means that
black people walking the main road are threaten with guns, and they have
to choose another way. But of course it is possible that few cases like
this have been enough to give a birth to an urban legend.
However my coexistence with other prisoners was not completely
unproblematic. Strange thing, I heard comments mostly for my veganism,
which put me to somewhat surprising situation since veganism is
definitely not that “big” thing for me, more like a habit to which I
have been accustomed along the years. However my veganism was about only
visible thing which made me different from other prisoners, and this got
some people annoyed.
So they promised both beat me up and rape me. Threats of beating up
finished in few weeks, but rapetalk continued irregularly to the very
end of my imprisonment. I was not really shocked in any time, because
guys who were talking seemed not to be very serious, besides they were
trusted prisoners. However this talk caused some atmosphere of
uncertainty, since you may never be completely sure about these guys.
Anyway, if it would have seemed that I should take talk more seriously,
I would had always quitted the gym and the sauna, in both of which
prisoners are only between themselves without guards. By quitting these
two, I would have reduced places available for carrying such operation
to almost none. However I recommend to Finns who consider whether to get
themselves involved in action which may result a term in closed prison,
to take into account also their own interests, and not only consider
what is “effective” or “noble”.
For sure one may get raped in Finnish prisons, few years ago one of the
figureheads of Finnish nazi scene (who has since moved to Sweden) was
raped in Sörkka prison. Most stupid thing one may do in prison is to
think you are tough guy and to show off, no matter how tough you are
there is always someone tougher than you.
However maintaining ones principles becomes especially important to ones
self-respect in prison, so I guess I was better vegan there than ever
outside. Food was mostly a positive surprise, only once I was left to
potato-salad meal which was a weekly experience in upper secondary.
However a hint to a vegan getting to Finnish closed prison is to study
usual frozen meals, otherwise you will be completely in the mercy of the
kitchen as I was since I had not been lived in Finland for two years.
Only in the last week I realized that I had all the time been feed with
some porridges made to milk in the morning, when my cellmate who had
lactose intolerance was given a separate porridge. I however did not
made noise, since it was only two days left.
Besides getting cheated is a good alibi for me. It was really hard to
trusted prisoners to figure out that point of my veganism is not to
“keep my body clean” but to make some small economical pressure. I
stayed cool when they hid small slice of liver beef among veggie beefs.
Trusted prisoners are those with longest sentences and there are few
ways to have fun in the prison, so if making fun out of me with such a
moderate way makes time to pass little shorter it is ok.
All in all, there was not enough food so I collected every day a big
pile of bread and I I ate 1–2 kilograms of canned peaches, which is the
only vegan food which won’t get spoiled in the cell and has a reasonable
price one may find in the canteen. When I got out I for sure had eaten
about enough of them for a while...
I suppose that reader who made it down here is already interested at
least what is the point in this kind of activity. Does it make results?
At least not in any measurable sense. Was it the best possible way to
use ones time for the sake of the world? I suppose that lack of
shitworkers is everywhere more urgent than lack of political prisoners,
I had a list of more than 50 with me in prison so I hardly managed to
write once to everyone of them....
My own motivations, in order of importance were something like the
following:
rational reasoning to any consideration, and the feeling of emancipation
which one gets through defiance.
taking an action which may result a much longer sentence in the future.
I see myself as an economical refugee, since one of my reasons to live
in Moscow is that one just cannot make decent living with Finnish
student welfare in Finland. But still my choose not to pay is more
principal than economical one. In contrary with hype of “Koijärvi”
generation (1979) and occupiers of Old Student House (1969) (latter of
which actually was not violent), open and non-violent civil disobedience
in these days is very weak method in bringing some problems of the
society to the spotlight. Most of the actions are handled in the
mainstream media with stamp-size STT (main Finnish news-agency) reports,
where only cops were interviewed. Those who are most eager to propagate
Gandhian methods, are usually those who end up to government to realize
their ideas by threat of cops and army — a total negation of non-violent
methods. Less hypocrite, still independent but institutionalized NGO’s
have ever growing threshold to get to the field, and activity is more
and more oriented to lobbying, where in the end of the day richest
sweeps the board and grassroots activist has no chance.
In European Union, only Finland and Portugal keep conversing fines to
imprisonment, and both of them consider dropping the practice. So I made
it in the last moment. Fine sentence as a whole has become a completely
pointless ritual, especially with the idea of submission to sentence,
often combined to non-violent ideas of action. Courts against civil
disobedients are nowadays interesting to no-one, it is already 22 years
from the Koijärvi action. Small political “crimes” are completely ok to
state, as long as those committing them pay a “tax” in form of a fine,
this kind of tax also successfully limits willingness of the people to
commit this kind of “crimes”. The system is sort of taxing ones
conscience, extreme kind of application of neo-classical economic
science! However paying a tax for my conscience is a completely
unacceptable idea to me.
Muurinmurtajat (Wall breakers)-group organized 23^(rd) of August a
civil-disobedience action where they dug a tunnel to freedom from the
other side of the prison wall. They had no time to make a very
impressive tunnel, but the rope another participator threw over the wall
with a stone might have become something. Unfortunately my walking time
was half past nine in the morning, when activists in general have not
even woke up yet. So I heard about the action only a week later. I heard
that guards had claimed that prisoners may not be let out to walk during
the action, which is obviously bullshit. Participators of the action did
not faced any legal sanctions. Pictures printed from Indymedia and sent
to me by post ended up to cover walls of my cell.
I discussed shortly about the action with one of the organizers
beforehand, I wished that they could make a kind of action where people
would have fun — I suppose they succeeded with this. This because
prisoner support in Finland, and in almost any other country, is not a
trendy issue which could mobilize masses. Only most active people
understand well its importance, but passive sympathizers of the movement
do not. Thus prisoner support demos very easily turn to painful
micro-pickets.
What frustrates me in the current total objector movement of Finland is
its character as a lifestyle movement. I do not believe a lot in making
any change with ones lifestyle, if some strong element of a community is
not involved. Most clearest example is veganism, which in first sight
seems to be a choice of an individual, but is usually always chosen
together with friends and is dropped if circle of friends changes for
some reason. There were only few dozen vegans in Finland for years, but
while the movement passed critical mass and media threshold, the
movement grew 1000 times bigger in few years.
The same thing with the total objecting, any alternative service worker
has some acquaintance who made the same choice, which is not necessary
the issue with total objectors. If the total objectors movement wants to
become to a genuine mass movement, it should pass a certain critical
mass. To reach this, total objecting should be propagated as an easy
alternative for every man to consider. Some 100 total objectors/year
might be the critical mass, after which at least partial total objecting
(where people serve some time in alternative service, and are imprisoned
to only 50% of the time they have refused to serve) would become trendy
due to barriers which state has raised against alternative service
workers, such as refusal to pay for housing costs. This would lead to
exponential growth of total objecting, and dead-end of the present
system of punishment.
From Finland, I mostly got mail from activists who had been imprisoned
themselves — either from total objectors, or during some attempt to
repress the animal rights movement. This is not surprising, only when
you are in prison yourself you may understand how big importance a small
postcard may have, especially when it is expected but does not come.
However, special thanks to Industrial Workers of the World (who reacted
to my imprisonment before no-one in Finland did!), Toimintakalenteri
(Action calendar-paper), Anarchist Black Cross groups all around the
world, A-Infos collective, comrades from Prague-district of Warsaw,
Alter-EE subscribers, Syndicalist Solidarity Network (Ireland), Thomas
from CNT-AIT-F and other AIT members who wrote me, War Resisters
International and especially to Union of Conscientious Objectors and my
relatives.
A thing which made me a little bit annoyed was that I kept receiving
mail where people asked more information about my case. In some sense
right logic to disturb political prisoners living in laziness instead of
over-loaded support campaigners, but in another hand it is frustrating
to copy same facts again and again with a pencil and pay 3 Finnish marks
(0.5 euros) each time for the stamp. If I get imprisoned for a longer
time, I will write a FAQ about my case, and ask supporters to copy it in
order to have it as an appendix when replying to mail.
Another feeling, which at least I could not foresee, was the feeling of
liberation. Incredible, as if one has born again! Few days I was
completely far out. Even now, almost two months later my thoughts are
back in the short prison times almost daily. Maybe that will be one of
the 15 events in my life, which I will remember when a complete
vegetable 65 years from now on.