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Volume Two V2 Issue 1 Ten Years Later: Human Rights & the Drug War
Volume Two V2 Issue 1 Ten Years Later: Human Rights & the Drug War
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Oaksterdam News
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| Ten Years Later: Human Rights & the Drug War |
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| Written by Mikki Norris | |
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Co-authors: Virginia Resner and Chris Conrad It’s been 10 years since we unveiled the first Human Rights and the Drug War photo exhibit in San Francisco, CA, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations. Originally called Human Rights 95: Atrocities of the Drug War, we hoped that as soon as the public and the world saw the faces and heard the stories of how the US government violates so many articles of the Declaration of Human Rights in its Drug War against its own people, there would be a great public demand to end the policies that destroy so many lives and families and to end America’s longest war.  Hands cuffed to a wire cage greeted viewers at the 10th Anniversary showing of the Human Rights and the Drug War exhibit, as a reminder of all the prisoners who could not attend the DPA conference. Photo by Chris Conrad It’s time to end the Drug War’s vicious destruction of lives.  Ten years is a long time in someone’s life. For the
inmates and their families who have participated in our project, ten
years means changes or stagnation. The inmates who received mandatory minimum sentences of five or ten years have now been released and have picked up their lives and moved on. A few, persistent, lucky ones who gained media attention and support from the outside were able to receive parole or clemencies from President Bill Clinton before his term was over. All struggle with the label and stigma of “drug felon” hanging over them. Some have become successful business people. Most are quietly living their lives trying to re-establish their relationships and careers.  Above: California cannabis patient and former Drug War POW Marvin Chavez sat near his piece of the display. Those serving long prison sentences, mostly low-level offenders charged under conspiracy statutes, remain in prison trying to cope with the prospect of release dates well into the next decade or beyond. Many marriages are over. Many haven’t seen their children for years or have never held their grandchildren. They continue to miss the birthdays, holidays, graduations, weddings, and funerals in their loved ones’ lives, but try to maintain family ties via phone or mail. Many preserve their hopes and take advantage of courses and programs offered to develop skills or to become better human beings. Some feel it’s a waste of time considering their skills will be obsolete by the time they are released, or they don’t have the money to participate in them. A few have even died behind bars. But, they all manage the best they can. A new-found spirituality and faith in God sustain many through their darkest hours, as they try to cope with the dysfunctional environment of prison life, inadequate health care, and the prospect of more years of their lives on hold.  Amy Povah (formerly Pofahl) won presidential clemency in 2000 and attended the showing. Photo by Chris Conrad Children of inmates do the best they can to survive and grow up without the presence of their parents or the love, support and nurturing that only they can bring. Some have gotten into trouble with the law or become teen parents. Some have learned to get by without parents. All have missed the mothers and fathers they once had to tuck them in at night, to celebrate important occasions in their lives, or to or buy them their first…. It’s time to end the destruction, injustice, and hypocrisy that is the Drug War. We call upon you, the public and the international community, to look into and stop the human rights violations and abuses that continue in the name of trying to create a drug-free world. We pray it doesn’t take ten more years to realize that there are more humane, compassionate, cost-effective and pragmatic ways to deal with the so-called drug problems in society, as drugs are here to stay. But, human lives are irreplaceable and redeemable. It is imperative, for the sake of our democracy and the soul of this country that we find another way. * Norris, Resner and Conrad are Coordinators & Designers of Human Rights and the Drug War, PO Box 1716 El Cerrito CA 94530. email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it • www.hr95.org  Viewing the display at the DPA conference. Photo by Chris Conrad |
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