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Join us to help compensate imprisoned firefighters in Oregon for their unpaid and highly exploited laborDonate: http://bit.ly/firefunds
#ImprisonedFirefighterFundsOR
In resistance to Oregon Department of Correction's (ODOC) dehumanization, and to show our appreciation to imprisoned firefighters, we are hosting a fundraiser to raise money for their commissaries.
Our goal is to raise at least $200 for each of the 285 firefighters who fought Oregon's deadliest fire season on record. That's over $55,000 dollars.
As wildfires have led to mass devastation for many throughout the West Coast this past fall, we have been following their effects on those inside prisons and jails, institutions that were already failing to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Oregon, we have seen how fires have disrupted communication between loved ones and those imprisoned, exposed people inside to toxic smoke, and forced the evacuation of many to crowded prisons...
... where prisoners experienced mass delays in receiving information, food, medication, hygiene, and other necessities. These catastrophic evacuations have also led to increased outbreaks of COVID-19.
Not only were imprisoned people deeply effected by these fires, Oregon (like many states) relies on imprisoned people to fight them. Imprisoned people who are fighting wildfires, receive very little compensation ($6 a day, only $3 of which is available for commissary)...
... and little to no public acknowledgment. While in other states, imprisoned firefighters receive time off their sentences, in Oregon there are no measures allowing this.
Abolitionist organizers across the state have hosted letter writing nights these past few weeks, reaching out to these imprisoned firefighters for their consent to send this money to them, as well as offer to publicize information they want people on the outside to know.
In response we have received fire reports, firefighting certificates, photographs of fire crews, and courageous accounts of loss and resilience.
Our work to fight the prison industrial complex involves upholding the dignity of the people who are targeted and harmed by its violence.
These are people who have been criminalized, torn away from their families and communities, and locked away in a cage - yet are still very literally putting their lives on the line for the rest of us. Like all human beings, they deserve freedom, and our appreciation.
As a mutual aid project, we know that by resourcing people inside we are not only creating meaningful connections that resist the isolation of imprisonment, but we're also supporting the mutual aid work led by imprisoned people that happens inside prisons.
Correspondence is another crucial component of this work; if you are interested in helping with processing and responding to letters from the firefighters, please DM us!
Stay tuned for letters from firefighters inside, exciting raffle prizes including copies of @allrisemag and All Rise T-shirts, @deanspade’s latest book Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (And The Next), Art, Zines, and more ways to donate!
Be sure to follow our project on Instagram @ imprisonedfirefighterfundsor
Thank you for your support!
@CR_PDX
Lane County Mutual Aid
@ProjectSiskiyou
@blackandpinkpdx
@carenotcops
@CR_PDX
Lane County Mutual Aid
@ProjectSiskiyou
@blackandpinkpdx
@carenotcops
