(en) France, Coordination of Anarchist Groups - IAL #99 - Chronicle guide for relatives of prisoners (fr, pt)

In France, 500,000 people face every year to incarceratetion. Released in November 2013, 
the Handbook relatives of prisoners is a handy tool developed by and for relatives of 
prisoners. ---- In solidarity with the relatives ---- The arrival of a prison is a complex 
and often unexpected situation; source of legal, social and practical problems, as well as 
multiple anxieties. Few resources are available: some websites and forums around ... There 
are also documentation and receptions (in some prisons) for the relatives, who have the 
inconvenience of being repetitive, often infantilizing, the regulations and discourse of 
the prison institution. In all this, little or no room for struggles, exchange tips and 
solidarity. ---- Guide for relatives of prisoners was written by a group of relatives, 
specifically to share a point of view born of experience and break the isolation. It was 
made for the transmission of information, tips and tricks from relatives, all living in 
the better situation. Guide strives to provide different tracks, nor does placing an 
excessively legal perspective or an approach within the counseling.

's guide is organized in a chronological principle: it starts back to the early days of 
incarceration, detailing what happens to the person close to the inside, and explains the 
first steps to make emergency (application number nut, first sending money, permit 
application visit ... ). One of the guidelines at this stage and throughout the guide is 
to explain what is happening inside, especially in view of undoing some fears and 
performances due to a lack of concrete information, which are superimposed . often the 
first anguish caused by incarceration of a loved

Various topics are covered well over 200 pages: communication (mail, use of phones, wild 
parlors, radio ...), the sending machine, books and parcels, permits and visit parlors, 
civil and family rights (PACS, marriage ...), money matters (items of mandates, rights to 
the RSA, unemployment. ..), the ski survival for the confrontation to justice and the 
prison administration ...

We also found a series of questions jumble, a glossary, advice readings (testimonies of 
relatives and prisoners other additional readings), movies, contacts anticarc?raux 
collective and anti-repression, as well as many other useful contacts.

's Guide is part of a process of support and solidarity with the relatives. He recalls in 
particular do not forget to live life, not losing sight of its own needs. Prison can take 
a long time, affect the relationship with the person inside. It is also not too organize 
their lives according to the prison, to maintain autonomy, time for yourself. A challenge 
is to successfully "keep your head out."

Policy Perspectives

Organizations relatives exist, but they are rare and fragile. It is most often small 
group, mostly made up of wives and mothers prisoner ? e ? s. Collective "justice and 
truth" apart type the struggles of the family are few. It can be difficult to form a close 
association, for various reasons which may take into the questioning of family balance and 
friendly after incarceration. In addition, the individualization of sentences 
characteristic of prison policy worsens inside and out difficulties to organize and fight, 
as this will influence such guarantee remissions. A recent and fighting against-example is 
the re-launch of the ARPPI, the Association for the Respect of Relatives of People 
Incarcerated ( arppi@live.fr ).

Moreover, the link between collective relatives and political perspective abolitionist is 
not necessarily obvious: having a close prisoner does not prevent joining a legitimist 
vision without real difference with the rest of the population prison. Isolation built by 
prison can be seen as unfair to themselves, but legitimate for others. Be confronted ? e 
to prison does not automatically abolitionist.

If primarily offers practical resources, the Guide himself has been developed in a 
anticarc?rale political perspective. The importance of sharing experience, from this point 
of view, lies in the fact that it allows to reject the notion of shame in breaking the 
isolation imposed prison, creating link despite this isolation and giving meaning to what 
we saw in making a collective experience. Solidarity comes from being able to talk to 
relatives, exchange, but also to organize and access collectives, solidarity funds, the 
anticarceral emissions ...

Another perspective given by the Guide , the to end the invisibility relatives in 
anticarceral struggles, placing them at the center of these struggles. This is to 
highlight the fact that the confinement is only part of the problem, and there is also a 
form of punishment invisible done by family members, particularly women (who are, for 
example, far most likely to regularly visit the parlor), which is seldom mentioned in 
anticarceral struggles. They do not necessarily provide a lot of efforts to integrate 
family, who are mostly women (which are those that support both the vast majority of men 
incarcerated than other women.)

The refusal of invisibilization So close intersects a feminist concern: there is the 
notion of struggle against the division, distribution and promotion of gendered tasks. 
This gendered division there, as elsewhere, in anticarc?raux movements, where writing a 
tract (called male activity) will always be valued more than the machine (role of women) ...

Set near the center of anticarceral struggles, c ' therefore strive to ensure that the 
subjects of these struggles are not only detained men but also women who support them. It 
is in this sense that the Guide caters to women.

Where to find

The Handbook relatives of prisoners is available online on the blog 
http://permisdevisite.noblogs.org/ and "bonuses". The Guide printed, beautifully 
illustrated and compact size, is distributed free prizes in several militants and 
associative areas. It is possible to get free by sending an email to shipments 
soledadetassocies@riseup.net . The broadcast is free to all persons detained near ? e ? s, 
and distributions to the parlors are strongly encouraged.

This article is based on an interview with one of the people responsible for drafting the 
Guide , produced by group members Lille CGA. It can be heard at: 
http://cga.org/article/emission-sur-la-sortie-du-guide-lusage-des-proches-de-personnes-incarcerees 
.

Emma, group Lille