Fight Back! - News and Views from the People's Struggle

Minneapolis vigil honors Carlos Ernesto Escobar-Mejia, first person to die of COVID-19 in ICE detention

Fight Back — Tue, 12 May 2020 19:18:11 +0000

Minneapolis, MN - After dark on Monday, May 11, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) held a candlelight vigil at the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse to remember Carlos Ernesto Escobar-Mejia. He is the first person reported to die of COVID-19 while in jail detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The speakers at the vigil called on people to remember Carlos and called on government officials to free all ICE detainees.

Because of COVID-19, all vigil participants wore a mask and maintained social distance.

During the vigil, Escobar-Mejia’s name was also projected on a large wall of the Federal Courthouse. Escobar-Mejia was a 57-year-old man from El Salvador held in ICE custody who died May 6 after testing positive for COVID-19 six weeks ago.

He was imprisoned at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, California, an immigration jail run by the private prison company CoreCivic, which is notorious for poor conditions as they profit off of incarcerating immigrants. Otay has the highest number of COVID-19 cases of any detention center in the country.

Escobar-Mejia was on a list of medically vulnerable detainees who had been mandated for review by a federal judge when he died, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.

Daniel Romero of MIRAC and the Interfaith Coalition on Immigration led vigil participants in repeating Carlos’s name so he would not be forgotten, saying “¡Carlos Ernesto Escobar-Mejia presente!” A woman who could not attend because she works in a nursing home and was working an extra shift sent her speech which was read at the vigil. Her brother was detained by ICE last year and she spoke of the terrible conditions faced by ICE detainees and the impossibility of practicing proper social distancing and hygiene in jail, making larger COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths practically inevitable if people are not released from detention.

Loretta Van Pelt of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar also spoke at the vigil, making connections to the plight of all prisoners, not just ICE detainees, and the fact that like the criminal justice system, COVID-19 is hitting Black and brown communities hardest.

Protesters called on county jails, state officials, and the ICE to release all ICE detainees immediately to avoid more preventable deaths from COVID-19 in jails. ICE detainees are civil detainees and ICE has broad authority to release them. Protesters repeated the demand that they #FreeThemAll.

Minnesota Nurses Association plans to march on the State Capitol to demand safety for nurses

Fight Back — Tue, 12 May 2020 19:14:21 +0000

St. Paul, MN - As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise across Minnesota, members of the Minnesota Nurses Association have announced that they will march on May 20 from Allina Health United Hospital to the Minnesota State Capitol to demand that management of United Hospital and other hospitals provide proper PPE, training, and safety, as well as transparency to keep nurses and other healthcare workers safe. They will also be delivering a petition with over 10,000 signatures to the Minnesota Department of Health demanding a Pandemic Bill of Rights to keep Minnesotans safe. Social distancing guidelines will be followed during the march.

The march is starting at Allina’s United Hospital for a good reason. Recently several RNs at United Hospital were given non-disciplinary counselings for wearing hospital-provided scrubs. Others have received disciplinary notices, and one has even been fired for the practice. Many nurses have been using the hospital scrubs instead of their own to keep their families safe and ensure they are not bringing COVID-19 home with them when they leave work. Several nurses have even had their pay illegally docked to make up for time that management decided to spend yelling inappropriately at nurses for asking for scrubs rather than using that time to provide healthcare and battle COVID-19. Charges have been filed against Allina Health System for this illegal and absurd behavior.

The nurse who was fired explained the situation on a recent social media post about the firing, saying, “Today I was fired from my job at United Hospital ER.” The termination as described was for wearing hospital issued scrubs and violating his duty to follow the directions of his leader. “I was wearing hospital scrubs, like many others are, so that I would not bring COVID 19 back home to my family. Although I am the first to be terminated for this, I’m not the only RN being punished for it. It’s part of six weeks’ worth of harassment we have all experienced as we attempt to make our workplace safer for staff and patients.”

The nurses recently opposed an executive order from Governor Tim Walz that allows for the resumption of elective procedures. They say they will oppose this practice until hospitals can show PPE resources have been obtained and healthcare workers' exposure is minimized.

Mary Turner is the Minnesota Nurses Association president and is an ICU RN at North Memorial Hospital in Minneapolis. Here is what she had to say about the situation. "Minnesota is falling short. We are not protecting the very people who are caring for Minnesotans. Nurses and hospital workers need to be there as this pandemic spikes, and it's going to be all hands on deck. The effect of these policies is not just numbers, it's lives."

MNA says they will file the appropriate “10 Day Notice” with Allina Health and United Hospital for an informational picket. This will not be a work stoppage, as no nurses will leave their jobs to participate in the march.

National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression opposes repression of unions in Philippines

Fight Back — Tue, 12 May 2020 19:10:00 +0000

In response to the wave of repression unleashed by the U.S.-backed regime of Philippines President Duterte against the militant trade union grouping the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)/May First Movement, progressive forces in the U.S. are speaking out.

“We, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, have already called the Philippine Ambassador to express our outrage about the attacks of the police and military on KMU labor leaders and organizers in Southern Tagalog,” states Frank Chapman, the executive director of the National Alliance.

“We demand, as citizens and residents of the United States, that our government cease and desist in its support of this repressive regime,” continued Chapman.

The Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez can be reached at 202-467-9366. Let him know you are against the attacks by the police and military on KMU labor leaders.

Court hears appeal of dismissed lawsuit by family of man killed by Salt Lake police

Fight Back — Tue, 12 May 2020 19:07:11 +0000

Salt Lake City, UT - On May 6, the U.S. 10th Circuit heard the name Dillon Taylor for the first time.

Taylor was unarmed and likely could not hear Salt Lake City cop Bron Cruz when he was murdered by Cruz on August 11, 2014 outside a convenience store in South Salt Lake. The killing was quickly ruled justified, but the family filed a lawsuit roughly a year later. That suit was dismissed in 2019, and the hearing on May 6 was an appeal of that dismissal.

Gina Thayne, Taylor’s aunt and legal guardian, recalls how difficult it was waiting to hear anything about their lawsuit before it was dismissed.

“The report sat on [U.S. District Court Judge David Nuffer’s] desk,” said Thayne, “and he let it sit there for three years, just to shut it down.”

The suit seeks settlement for the surviving members of Taylor’s family, including his siblings and cousins, two of whom-- Jerrail Taylor and Adam Thayne - were with Taylor when he was murdered. Cruz and two other officers were responding to a 911 call claiming someone flashed a gun. Cruz confronted and killed Taylor seconds after exiting his police vehicle. Thayne was not informed about Taylor’s death until hours later when she received a call from her son at the police station at 1 a.m.

After Taylor was shot, his brother and cousin were detained and questioned by investigators, ignoring the fact that they were not suspected of breaking any laws. They were held handcuffed, scared and confused, in a cold room for five hours. After repeatedly asking for answers, an investigator informed the young men that Taylor had died on site, and then left them sobbing for another 20 minutes before they were finally allowed to call home.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but when you lose someone to a tragedy like this, the pain just doesn’t go away,” Thayne said. “You live with it every day, and you learn to live with it, and you learn to go forward, but it never makes sense.”

Sadly, the financial burden of losing a loved one to police violence is a challenge that many families must face.

“We all had a lot of expenses, and it’s still been a lot of expense,” Thayne said. “People don’t understand this. If it hadn’t been for GoFundMe, I don’t know how we would have paid for Dillon.”

Thayne continued, “I think every family deserves a settlement, and unfortunately, that seems like the only way that we can get any accountability at this time. We can’t bring back our loved one. We’re never going to get [the police] to stand up and say, ‘We’re sorry.’” She added, “If enough of them pay, then they might revisit their policies, and things might change.”

Part of the waiting and Salt Lake City Police Department’s resistance to settling is explained by the fact that unlike many other police departments insured by outside sources, SLCPD insures themselves. Chief Mike Brown and then-Mayor Jackie Biskupski could have settled with the Taylor estate outside of court, but repeatedly chose not to do so. According to Thayne, this is because “they have the power and they know they have the power.” Yet she still feels that progress against police crimes, although slow, continues because of the persistent efforts of victims’ families and groups like Utah Against Police Brutality.

As for what might happen next, Thayne is tentatively optimistic.

“From a legal standpoint, under Utah law, the odds are against us, period. We are hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst,” Thayne said.

One thing remains certain, however: the fight for justice for Dillon Taylor will continue for as long as it takes. Thayne said that even after the case is settled one way or another, she will always continue to share Taylor’s story, fight for justice for victims of police brutality, and advocate for other families who have to face the future after losing a loved one to police violence.

Jacksonville demands justice for Ahmaud Arbery, justice for all victims of racist terror

Fight Back — Tue, 12 May 2020 18:51:37 +0000

Jacksonville, FL – A crowd of more than 200 people, practicing social distancing and mostly wearing face masks, gathered in front of the Duval County courthouse, May 8, in response to the brutal murder of Ahmaud Arbery in nearby Brunswick, Georgia. The Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC), Northside Coalition, and the New Florida Majority put the demonstration of solidarity together; UNF Students for A Democratic Society (SDS) was represented as well. Even community members from Brunswick, where Arbery was killed, drove down to attend the demonstration.

Several speakers shared their thoughts, reiterating the fact that there must be a complete overhaul of the system that protects white racist vigilante terrorists such as Gregory and Travis McMichael. Signs were held that read “Justice for Ahmaud,” “Stop killing us” and “Murdered for the crime of being Black.”

Throughout the streets of downtown Jacksonville, you could hear the crowd chanting, “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.” and “If we don’t get it, shut it down!” It would have been Arbery’s 26th birthday that day.

Throughout the rally, speakers connected Arbery’s case to those of so many other Black men who have lost their life due to racist vigilantism and police violence. Some signs included the names of Jamee Johnson, Kwamae Jones, Jalen Mays, Vernell Bing and other victims of local police killings. In 2020 alone, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has shot eight people so far. However, body cam footage has been released for any shooting.

“We will continue to call for justice for Ahmaud and the conviction of his murderers,” said Rachel Duff of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee. “We continue to call for release of the body cam footage for every victim of police brutality in Jacksonville, and we continue to fight for community control of the police.”

Leaders from sanctioned countries condemn U.S. sanctions amid COVID-19 pandemic

Fight Back — Tue, 12 May 2020 18:43:59 +0000

Minneapolis, MN - Over 1000 people attended an online panel hosted by the United National AntiWar Coalition, May 9. In a panel entitled, “U.S. Sanctions During the COVID-19 Pandemic, a Global Threat” leaders representing six countries facing harsh U.S. sanctions highlighted the leading role of the United States in undermining the healthcare infrastructure of sovereign states in order to foment regime change.

U.S. imposed economic sanctions currently impact 39 countries, representing one third of the global population. These sanctions result in chronic shortages of basic necessities and have inhibited the ability of affected countries to acquire the medical supplies and equipment necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19.

“I am 53 years old, and I have lived all my life under the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the government of the United States against Cuba,” explained Ana Silvia Rodriguez Abascal. Abascal is the Charges des Affaires of the Cuban Mission to the United States. She elaborated that since 1962 the U.S. has created an increasingly complex array of laws that intensified the sanctions against Cuba and require both U.S. executive and congressional power to be undone.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is underscoring the malice and the cruelty of the U.S. blockade against Cuba,” Abascal continued, “Despite the attempt by ranking officials of the U.S. government to deceive the world by saying that the sanctions are aimed to do harm to the government and not to the people of Cuba, it is clear that the economic, commercial and financial war against Cuba is aimed at killing the people, bringing about hunger, disease and desperation, in order to make people blame the [Cuban] system for their hardship.”

Due to technical difficulties during the pane,l Omowale Clay, a member of the secretariat of the December 12th Movement, spoke on behalf of the Secretary for Administration in the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, Dr. Frank Guni. Clay explained that U.S. sanctions create a day-to-day crisis in Zimbabwe that is used by the West to sow dissent and disrupt Zimbabwe's national independence.

“At a time when the international community is coming together to talk about harmony, interdependence and cooperation, here is the West, led by the United States, still on its mission to undermine and seek regime change in governments whose only crime to them is that they want a free and independent country for their people, determined by their people,” Clay continued.

Francisco Campbell, the Nicaraguan Ambassador to the United States, highlighted the fact that the U.S.'s frequent use of human rights rhetoric to justify economic sanctions ignores the economic and political reality of targeted countries. “With the fight against poverty [the Nicaraguan government's] main priority, this policy, which is sustained by a strong participatory democracy, has been successful in promoting economic growth with social inclusion,” said Campbell, “The various social programs being implemented have dramatically reduced poverty and malnutrition in Nicaragua. Free healthcare throughout the country is guaranteed. Free public education has been restored. Highways are being built.”

Campbell went on to say, “At a time when the world is being afflicted by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that these sanctions that are intended to cause suffering and destruction be eliminated, allowing our countries to deal with the myriad challenges to our healthcare systems as well as the effects of the coronavirus on our national economies.”

“This requires real synergy of the efforts of all governments without exception,” said Dr. Bashar Ja’afari. Dr. Ja'afari is the Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations. He lamented that the lack of cooperation from the U.S. and other Western powers, including vicious sanctions, diminished the ability of the Syrian government to acquire the medical supplies necessary to meet their goal of having the supplies necessary to empower the Syrian healthcare system to provide COVID-19 prevention, checks and treatment for all Syrians without exception.

Dr. Ja'afari also explained the U.S.'s hypocritical approach to providing aid, which often includes weapons and funds, leads to, “the delivery of this aid to areas that are controlled by terrorist armed groups, who in turn take over this aid […] with the aim of supporting the position of these terrorist groups.”

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela Carlos J. Ron Martinez, explained the extent to which U.S. unilateral coercive measures impact the day-to-day functions of the country, inhibiting their ability to import and export natural resources, freezing their national funds located in international banks, and declaring that any funds that come from the state of Venezuela may be considered funds that were involved in drug trafficking.

Martinez went on to illustrate that these measures are especially cruel given the global pandemic, such that U.S. lawmakers feel the need to act, stating, “There was a letter issued by 11 U.S. senators in which they say that, precisely because of COVID-19, that sanctions against Iran and Venezuela should be lifted.” Referring to how Venezuela seeks to combat the pandemic despite the challenges the country faces, Martinez concluded, “Against the virus of unilateralism, we have the vaccines of multilateralism and solidarity. We have worked with Cuba, China and Russia, who have shown extreme solidarity with Venezuela. We have also had the support of the World Health Organization!”

Continuing the thread of international solidarity, the permanent Iranian representative to the United Nations, Dr. Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said, “In our common fight against COVID-19 all of humanity is on the same front, and to succeed quickly and sustainably we must ensure that no community or nation is left behind. Therefore, any action which limits the ability of a nation to tackle this crisis will help the disease spread like wildfire.”

Dr. Takht-Ravanchi explained that the unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran are, according to U.S. officials, the most extensive sanctions imposed on any country, and that these sanctions have limited the ability of Iran to contain the spread of COVID-19. He said, “the immediate removal of all sanctions on banking, insurance, transportation, medical, industrial, energy, exports, imports, and the like is a must, as it would enable the targeted countries to use freely and fully their own resources to effectively suppress the pandemic and address its short- and long-term impacts.”

The panel is available on the Popular Resistance YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kW894e6zMg

Minnesota: Life of Jaffort Smith honored, demand justice for man murdered by St. Paul police

Fight Back — Mon, 11 May 2020 16:57:48 +0000

St. Paul, MN - Saturday, May 9, on the fourth anniversary of Jaffort Smith’s death at the hands of police, community members joined his family for a socially-distanced caravan protest and balloon release to honor Smith’s life. They met in Cayuga Park, where speakers Monique Cullars Doty and mother Matilda Smith addressed the crowd. Balloons were released, and Minister Toya Woodland led the group in prayer. They then set out in cars, passing the nearby site where police officers Michael Tschida and Mark Grundhauser murdered Smith with at least 49 shots. The group proceeded to the Saint Paul Police Department Eastern District station, where they lined the block, posted signs on the building and chanted.

Tampa Bay SDS demands justice for Ahmaud Arbery

Fight Back — Mon, 11 May 2020 16:49:33 +0000

“Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till. How many Black lives will you kill?” This was one of many chants heard across downtown Tampa on Saturday, May 9, as protesters gathered to demand justice for Ahmaud Arbery. The South Georgia resident was murdered by two white supremacist vigilantes, father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, while he out for a jog.

Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), along with members of the community, parked outside the Sam M. Gibbons Federal Courthouse to participate in the socially-distanced protest. After the protesters were forced to leave by the building’s security, the rally continued in the form of a car caravan which circled the building.

Though Arbery was murdered in February, the culprits were not apprehended for nearly two months, despite being caught on video. Just a day before the scheduled protest, Gregory and Travis McMichael were finally arrested and charged with murder, thanks to the work of Arbery’s family as well as activists nationwide.

However, Tampa Bay SDS continues to emphasize the necessity of a conviction in order for justice to be served. David Jones of Tampa Bay SDS states, “Being in Florida we’ve seen the results of an indictment without conviction in the murder of Trayvon Martin. We must hold these racist vigilantes accountable and continue to fight for and struggle alongside Black communities if we want to see progressive change.”

They steal pain just to make more - the monstrous among us

Fight Back — Mon, 11 May 2020 16:34:17 +0000

Appleton, WI - There’s a fear in polite American culture to engage in conflict. Strong words are discouraged, anger is derided, and extremism is posed as the singular problem; this unites all the various gasbags who turn our culture into such a toxic environment, where concepts like truth and justice have little hope to survive.

Yet you should fear anyone who tells you not to get mad, especially in age where monstrous ghouls have the power to carelessly take the lives of others with no fear of accountability. You should get mad when someone tells you that your anger is “part of the problem,” because it’s not. Your anger, your harsh words, your inability to refrain from conflict is not part of the problem.

Our problems exist because we live in a world where people who could truly be called monsters are running roughshod over the poor and every other group that can be marginalized out of public concern. This is the hellscape that Wisconsin has become.

If you wonder whether language like “monsters” is going too far, let’s remember how the Walker administration successfully demonized public school teachers in particular as the cause of our economic anxiety and poverty in our state. What kind of people find it appropriate, accurate, moral, or helpful in any way to blame our community’s educators in this way? Nobody. Human beings don’t do that. Monsters do.

This includes people like Representatives Fitzgerald and Vos, who have long led the legislative assault on the working class, working in concert with lobbying partners like the Independent Business Association of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, and the extremely wealthy and right-wing figures who top the donor lists of the worst politicians year after year, people like Diane Hendricks, Jere Fabick, and Fred Young - all capitalist owners who have reaped massive profits from the working class. Given their past disregard for the lives of working-class people, can we be surprised that the COVID crisis is further exposing the monstrous among us? We need look no further than the current actions of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) like Governor Evers “stay at home” orders are one of the only tools a state has to stop the spread of the virus. The WHO and the global epidemiological community are emphatic that such measures are critical in containing a pandemic. While there is no doubt that such orders in a state without any safety net is causing untold damage to the working class, using that fact to undermine the necessity of the order itself is shameful. And worse, it is most dangerous and even deadly for the most vulnerable among us.

At any moment, the Wisconsin Supreme Court is likely going to strip the governor of the power to implement NPIs. They might then say, "work out a compromise with the [Republican dominated] legislature." The Republicans will offer a horrible compromise which they know the state will have to reject and then power will devolve to counties and we'll have 72 different orders, i.e. the state order will be over.

While the working class is already exposed to a far deadlier degree, a rapid reopening of the state, especially without reference to epidemiological benchmarks, will only exacerbate that risk, forcing at-risk workers back to dangerous work sites while the more well-off will be work via teleconferencing, like the extremely hypocritical Court itself did as it argued this case.

While differences of opinion exist on what a “lockdown” looks like and how to deal with the inevitable contradictions such a massive policy implementation creates, the particular actions of the far right and the sickening argumentation used shows they have no concern for making informed improvements to the policy, rather, they are turning this into a vicious ideological attack, particularly with Justice Rebecca Bradley stealing the pain of Japanese-Americans and using their internment during World War II as a comparison to attack Evers' "tyranny" and Justice Patience Roggensack dismissal of meat packers as not "regular folk" whose risk to exposure is well within her level of acceptance.

If we’ve ever wondered to what lengths the right wing will go to in order to defend their profit, now we know. They’ll compare themselves to the victims of real racism and denigrate those at risk as somehow less human. When people in power show grave indifference to human life maybe our system isn't all it's cracked up to be? Maybe our culture, our morals are not what they're all cracked up to be? Maybe we've become so indulgent with ourselves as individuals that we don't know to control ourselves as a collective? I know each one of us can’t be blamed for the actions of these monsters, but when are we going to take responsibility for not being able to protect ourselves against them?

Monsters revel in not caring about one another, they aggressively spite those who do otherwise, proud to be blind to, or worse, content with, the sufferings of those who will never cross their paths.

Ignorance is not just blind, it's callous, and that's what a chunk of Wisconsin has become - these lobbyists, politicians, judges, business owners are content to let its "lesser people" fall prey to a cruel survival of the fittest.

Philippines: 5 peasants killed by police and military in Sorsogon Massacre

Fight Back — Mon, 11 May 2020 16:19:53 +0000

On May 10 the Communist Party of the Philippines condemned the murder of five peasants by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), in Sorsogon province.

According to the statement, “The Party denounces the AFP and PNP for the killing of Jeric Vuno, Jerry Palanca, Robert Villafuerte, Raymundo Tañada and Jaime Tañada, who were all relatives and residents of Barangay Dolos. The defenseless victims were forcibly taken from their homes at around 5 a.m. last May 8, brought to a nearby river and summarily executed.”

The military has attempted to justify the killings, claiming those killed were members of the communist-led New People’s Army.

The Communist Party of the Philippines responds, “This is a completely trumped-up story because, as a matter of fact, there was no New People’s Army unit in the village when the massacre was carried out.”