Daily Archives: July 27, 2017

by Kojuan Miles

I am a reformed gang member from South Central Lanes. I am now practicing Islam, which translates to mean submission, obedience and peace. Being incarcerated right now, I am in a state of submission and in order to retain peace I must be obedient.

Kojuan Miles at age 20 seven years ago was playing football in Tacoma, Washington.

I grew up in Los Angeles, where there is a certain intensity applied to gangbanging that stems from tribal warfare, and through this unruly violence there is still solidarity that unites the worst of adversaries in the closest of compounds to fight for equality for our known or unknown brothers. As was once said to me by a fellow Muslim brother when I embraced Islam, If you can take that same intensity that was applied to gangbanging and apply it to Islam, you will become a great Muslim.

Well, its the same for this fight we have on our hands induced by this modern day slavery in Texas. NOW, people, is the time to break these chains.

As spoken by my brother Keith Malik Washington in the March 2016 Bay View: We cannot do what others have done because we have not reached the level of solidarity and political development prisoners in other states such as California have reached. But like Sam Cooke once sang, A Change Gon Come, and the time for change is now.

To create this mentality of solidarity, we have to all come together and become one like the bricks in the wall. And in order to come together, we as a people who are aware must spread the word to the unaware and awaken society on whats taking place in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Let not the fight begin only in Texas, but let it extend as far as this message of truth can reach. Because loved ones afar are still affected as well. Take me, for example. I am currently incarcerated in the state of Texas, but I have no family in Texas; everyone is back in California. Being trapped here causes stress on my family because Texas keeps denying my parole for reasons unrelated to what I was charged for.

At the same time, they keep telling me Im getting paid for work time and good time, but yet I keep getting set-off after set-off. It seems almost impossible to get out of Texas and back home to my mother, who is very ill from diabetes. Im pretty sure that Im not the only one who has come from another state and been bound by this modern day slavery.

So let this be the beginning of a battle that extends as far and wide as possible so this fight wont be just for us in Texas but in other states if any are affected by these same circumstances. So lets spread the word and awaken awareness because a closed mouth doesnt get heard.

Amerika must know that slavery has not yet been abolished. One can still maintain peace, submit and be obedient as a Muslim, but if given a righteous cause, one can still fight. So we the people must recognize this cause and fight for whats right.

To my Texas brothers, to my Texas sisters, to my Caucasian brothers, to my Latino brothers, to my brothers of affiliation, we as a whole are being affected by this centuries old plague of bondage. So lets not look at it as something only the Muslim or the Blackman is going through but something we as a people are going through one love!

These are the photos Kojuan is referring to, this one taken in 1975 at the Cummins Prison Farm in Texas. Photo courtesy The Marshall Project

Tell a family member; tell a friend. Lets start aiming at the media to shed light into the darkness. Lets start blogging about it. Lets create discussions about this in political environments through the internet. Lets email people of great importance who will hear this condition that we prisoners in Texas prisons live in and will make a change to end slavery in Texas once and for all.

In the Bay View March 2016 issue, there were pictures from 1975 and 1978 of inmates in Texas being shouted orders to work by a gunman on a horse work that no one can actually prove we are being compensated for. How different is that from when my ancestors used to pick cotton over 200 years ago? Not much. Aint no difference between those 1970s pictures and what goes on today.

Generally speaking, we just dont have pictures of today. Same cowboy boots, same spurs, same Confederate gray uniforms, same cowboy hats, same pistol and shotgun, same Bossman shouting orders on a horse to this day.

Were not asking for a lot just to be recognized for our hard work through compensation. Every man should be paid for his hard work and effort and not be told he is getting paid so TDCJ (Texas Department of Criminal Justice) can just sound and look good to the public.

Both parties us prisoners in Texas and TDCJ know that no one is getting paid and no one is doing any paying. If a legitimate and professional analyst were to look into this so called system of payment for our work time and good time, he or she would find this system to be fraudulent. This is what is keeping us from going home to our loved ones.

This photo was taken in 1978 at the Ellis Unit in Texas. Photo courtesy The Marshall Project

Its a franchise for modern day slavery. If they can keep us bound in chains, then they can continue to make money off of us; if they let us go, then they lose profits and proceeds. This is systemic bondage built on slavery and Confederate principles.

Through these words, I hope that same intensity that came from my days of rampant gangbanging can radiate an energy in you that signifies a calling for solidarity. Thats a word often used by my brother Keith Malik Washington in his article on the abolition of prison slavery in Texas in the March 2016 issue.

Taking a stand starts with us and we can build a mass movement if we can stand together. So, people, hear me out because this is far, far more than just an outcry. Let this instead be the beginning of a struggle that does not begin with me but it begins with us. Power to the people.

Send our brother some love and light: Kojuan Miles, 1912338, Coffield Unit, 2661 FM 2054, Tennessee Colony TX 75884.

More here:

Message from the youth: Abolish slavery - San Francisco Bay View

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte might just replace at his pleasure the work force running the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Malacaang said on Thursday.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the President merely wants to vent his frustrations over the CHRs apparent biases, since abolishing the commission cannot be done.

The President is simply expressing his frustration regarding the apparent biases of the commission Hes actually expressing his frustrations regarding the CHR. However, it is a Constitutional commission and it cannot be abolished by mere legislation, Abella told reporters.

The chairperson and his members however serve at the pleasure of the President. Technically, they may be replaced at his pleasure, he added.

Abellas statement came after Duterte warned on the sidelines of his second State of the Nation Address on Monday that he might abolish the CHR for being one-sided in its investigations.

The President said he would not allow the commission to probe the police and military in its operations launched in war-torn Marawi City, stressing that they were merely doing their job in good faith.

When the time comes, the CHR, its office here, you are better abolished. I will not allow my men to go there to be investigated. Remember this Human Rights commission, you address your request through me because the armed forces is under me and the police is under me. So if you question them for investigation, you have to go first to me, Duterte said.

Do not make it a one-sided affair. I will not allow it. As President, I will not allow it. We are equal. Justice for all, he added.

Responding to Dutertes threat, the CHR said the 1987 Constitution has to be amended first before the Chief Executive can abolish the commission.

CHR chairperson Chito Gascon also maintained that the commission, serving as watchdog of the government, is just fulfilling its mandate to investigate all forms of human rights involving civil and political rights in the country. (SunStar Philippines)

Continued here:

Palace: No CHR abolition, just possible replacement of personnel | SunStar - Sun.Star

A 24-year-old woman named Claudia smoked a cigarette while defiantly staring into the camera. She was not wearing a bra or a top, but she did not shy away from the lens. Instead, she shared her story.

Claudia was raped by her stepfather starting at the age of 6 and continuing until she became a teenager. Her mother kicked her out of the house when she found out about the abuse. Claudia turned to heroin for relief and sex for money.

You can see the intensity in her eyes. I had never seen something like that, said artist Ada Luisa Trillo, whose exhibit "How Did I Get Here?" is currently on display at the Twenty-Two gallery in Center City now through Aug. 6.

Claudia was just one of several dozen sex workers photographed in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, by Philadelphia-based Trillo over the course of several years.

The mother of two didnt set out to document the plight of sex workers in Mexico when this project first started. Initially, Trillo hoped to focus on immigration after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump began calling for a border wall and referring to undocumented immigrants as "rapists" and criminals, she said.

Trillo wanted to humanize the people of Mexico, but realized photographing border crossers would be difficult in the dark. A local social worker had another idea: Visit the brothels.

At first, she resisted.

"I was expecting cute little girls with glittering skirts," Trillo said. "I was not expecting this pain."

That anguish is the real subject of her work, Trillo said.

"Its a peaceful way of protesting," she explained. "My power is my art."

'How Did I Get Here' Exhibit Tells the Story of Trafficking

Trillo was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Juarez, a degraded border city riddled with crime, poverty and narcotrafficking. It is also home to countless brothels. Many of the women photographed by Trillo exist at the intersection of drugs and prostitution they have addictions to heroin, crack and other drugs, and some were sold or otherwise forced into sex work by parents or lovers.

Many died before Trillos exhibit debuted.

"Only one of the girls was from Juarez," Trillo said. "Theyre trying to cross the U.S. border and they end up there. They might get trafficked. They might get hungry, but they end up at the brothels at a very young age."

Trillo spent approximately 15 minutes with each subject, roughly the same amount of time allotted to a paying customer. She also gave them cash in exchange for a little bit of candor.

Alexis was 20 years old and suffering from a heroin and crack cocaine addiction. She had three children who lived with her in various brothels. Despite Alexis tale, Trillo said she didnt pity her in the same way she pitied the others. Unlike her colleagues, Alexis stole from drunken clients.

Have you ever gotten caught? Trillo asked her.

Yes. I just hit them over the head with a cellular phone, Alexis replied.

I find that kind of amusing, Trillo said. Shes this tiny little thing.

And there was Bonita, who smoked crack cocaine during her conversation with Trillo. Nervous with a lighter skin tone than the other women, Bonita was frequently the subject of gossip. Everyone assumed she had been kidnapped or trafficked into sex work. Her skin color was too fair for that part of Mexico, Trillo said.

Bonita cried most of the time they talked.

She had a young son, and an expensive addiction habit that led to her selling drugs in addition to her body. Eventually, she consumed her entire supply and was killed for it. Bonitas body was found in the outskirts of the city.

It made me furious, Trillo said. I could see how scared she was. I could see how much she was suffering. Hers was more than what I had seen at the brothels.

With her exhibit now open to the public, Trillo has vowed to donate all proceeds from sales of her work to two charitable organizations: Coalition Against Trafficking Women and the Mother Antonia Center of the Oblate Sisters of the Most Holy Redeemer in Mexico City, which helps sex workers throughout Mexico.

Trillos relationship with these organizations sparked outrage among local sex worker advocates who are calling for the decriminalization of prostitution. They advocate for unionization, legal protection and decriminalization of both buyers and sellers of sex. Their idea is to normalize sex work in order to protect those conducting it.

Calling for the abolition of prostitution "is problematic because its still criminalizing people in the industry," said Derek Demeri of the Red Umbrella Alliance.

"It may not be directed at the workers themselves, but its criminalizing all the safety nets they create if they cant pay rent through sex work. Their children can still be taken away from them."

But Taina Bien-Aime, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking Women (CATW), said the problem then becomes tolerating demand for an industry that is inherently exploitative. Instead, CATW advocates for the so-called Swedish model, which decriminalized prostitution for sex workers but penalized people seeking their services. This model allows current and former workers to seek resources and find help without fear of being arrested.

"Opponents [of this model] think everything should be decriminalized, including brothels, pimps, massage parlours," she said.

"The question then becomes 'How can you decriminalize exploiters when you want to protect the exploited?'"

Demeri, who was among a small group of demonstrators outside the Twenty-Two gallery, said sex workers would be better served if they could make their own decisions without fear of legal repercussions.

When we decriminalize and advocate for the rights of everyone in the industry, were helping everyone and were destigmatizing.

Local sex worker Casey, who asked that her last name not be used, also called for the decriminalization of prostitution. She would feel safer knowing she can contact police if a client got violent.

"I enjoy doing what I do," she said. "No one made the decision for me."

Casey turned to sex work after an abusive relationship and losing her job, she said. She is also a member of Project Safe, which advocates for sex workers in Philadelphia and beyond. The loss of agency for those in the industry creates a volatile environment in which sex workers are scared to come forward when they are victims of crimes, she said.

"Ultimately women need to stick together," she said. "Its a scary world out there."

Published at 6:01 PM EDT on Jul 26, 2017 | Updated at 9:48 PM EDT on Jul 26, 2017

The rest is here:

'How Did I Get Here?': Philadelphia Artist Chronicles Secret Lives of Sex Workers - NBC 10 Philadelphia