After this year’s London Anarchist Bookfair South Wales Anarchist’s bus went to HMP Send on Saturday night for a Noise Demonstration outside this women’s prison. People chanted calling for prison abolition and shouted cheers of solidarity. Prisoners waved back, it was great to communicate through the prison bars.

On leaving the demonstration local screws not in uniform (one claiming to be the Governor) assaulted two women that attended the Demo. The three of them were spoiling for a fight. They blocked the road in an attempt to prevent the bus from leaving but it seems that after they discovered that the Police had no intention of coming, after around half an hour they had to let us leave.
During the course of their interaction with us, they said to us “”Haven’t you heard them all kicking off on J wing?”” and scolded us with ““Don’t you know how hard it is to control them in there?””. Needless to say hearing them say that almost made their irritating attempt at a citizen’s arrest worth it.

In addition as being a demonstration in solidarity with Anarchist Comrades behind bars it was a also for class struggle prisoners. As prison abolitionists this quote by Angela Davis illustrates why we think it is so important for us all to show solidarity in this way;
“”Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages”.”

Demonstration for Anarchist and Class Struggle Prisoners at HMP Send