‘The ABCF documents all monies received
in support of the Warchest and prints them
in our public “Warchest Financial Report.”
‘This bimonthly report accounts for all
money received, and all money sent out.
‘The report is sent to all people making
contributions so that they can see thei
donation s accounted for. All PPPOW’s
receiving funds have their addresses
printed so that supporters may hold us ac-
countable to our claims.

Organizing visitation
programs with the PP/POW

When geographically possible, most
ABCF collectives contact PPPOW's near
us. If the PP/POW desires such, we visit
them. Most times, they are keptin prisons
far from their communities and support
bases. Having supporters visit them fairly
consistently breaks the isolation the prison
would like PPPOW'’s to experience. The
ABCF also helps to organize visiting trips
for supporters who live out of the area,
but will visit an area a PPPOW is held in.
For example, there are more PPPOW’s
held inthe north eastern US than anywhere
else in the country. ABCF collectives in
the north eastern US have often organized
visits with PPIPOW’s held in the north east
and their supporters from Canada, the mid-
westand the south. PPIPOW’s we visitin-
clude, Sundiata Acoli, Ricardo Jiménez,
Herman Bell, David Gilbert, Jalil Munta-
qim, Ojore Lutalo, Russel Maroon Shoats
and Carmen Valentin. In many cases, we
are among the only regular visitors these
PP/POW's have. In some cases, we are
their only regular visitors. There are some
PP/POW’s in the area that receive no regu-
larvisitors. Al this even though the move-

‘ments they come from have members and
representation nearby. Unfortunatley,
these members fail to organize any form
of subsistence programs for their prison-
ers. If you are interested in visiting PP/
POW’s, contact us for a flier listing the
PP/POW’s in the north east and their lo-
cations. If you would like to go with us
on visits, contact us.

Organizing food package
drives for the PP/POW*

ABCF collectives bring food packages to
PP/POW's in state prison when requested.
Athens ABC bring s a regular food p:
age to PP Herman Bell, and NJ ABC bring
food packages to POW Ojore Lutalo and

PP Jalil Muntagim whenever they request
one. However, we would like to increase

the number of prisoners and frequency of
packages. Contact us to help.

Organizing clothing package
programs for the PP/POW*
State prisoners are allowed to receive
clothing packages. As was indicated in the
Emergency Funding section, warm win-
ter clothing is often a concern for PP/
POW's. and we need to meet these and
other needs. ABCF collectives have only
provided minimun support in the area of
clothing to prisoners. Contact us if you are
willing to aid us in our efforts to provide
adequate clothing for PPPOW’.

Regularly obtaining news
subscriptions for PP/POW’s

ABCF collectives have often been asked
to help in paying for the subscriptions to
daily newspapers like the New York

Times. Subscriptions like these are ex-
tremely expensive, but an important part
of the life of a PPPOW. Keeping abreast
of the events of the outside is important
tothe PPIPOW’s and these news subscrip-
tions are the best way to meet that need.
We have been able fund raise to pay for
and help pay for subscriptions in the past.
Butitis a struggle each year when the sub-
scription is due. Contact us to offer your
support.

Obtaining requested reading
material for PP/POW’s

Political books are hard to come by in the
prisons. We regularly purchase books PP/
POW’s request from us. People who work
in bookstores, especially used bookstores
could be of great help in this area. Espe-
cially helpful toward this end would be
progressive bookstores who can commit
to sending specific titles to PPPOW’s
when they are requested from one of our
offices.

For the most part, PPIPOW'’s do not have
a reliable source they can depend on to
take care of the many things their impris-
onment forces them to be dependant on.
‘The above mentioned are just a few areas
of concern. The ABCF has worked to meet
these needs and build reliable subsistence

programs. Contact us with your questions
or comments

ABCF.NET

“ONLY STATE PRISONERS CAN RECEIVE,
FOOD OR CLOTHING PACKAGES

olitical Prisoners and Prisoners of War

(PP/POW’s) are members of our
movements. Many of us speak in support
of them and some of us even work in sup-
portof them. However while we speak in
defense of and print supportive articles
about PP/POW’s, most of them are left in
prison without the means to survive. In-
deed, as anti-authoritarian POW Bill
Dunne has expressed, “Political Prison-
ers are representatives of the larger out-
side struggle. They're being left 10 lan-
suish in the enemy's dark concrete cor-
ners without support does not go unno-
ticed and unremarked. People question
what kind of movement does not look out
for the people that fight for it and reap
injury and repression in is service and can
only conclude it must suck. A movement
whose advocates have plenty of lterature,
butnot a cup of coffee or a stamp 1o share
will be seen as an academic exercise in
futility rather than one that can fulfll the
needs of those it must attract. No one joins
anything 10 deteriorate his or her lot.”
‘The outside movements need not only to
work and build the movements that our
PP/POW’s were snatched off the front
lines of, but we need to, s the PPIPOW’s
saying goes: “remember we're sill here.
Building subsistence programs will ensure
that we do.

Subsistence

Program Fact Sheet:
Subsistence s defined as:

g, existence; the
condition of remaining in existence.

A subsistence program is the application
of organized activity to meet the daily
needs of the PP/POW, who as a prisoner,
is forced to be dependant on others.

‘Throughall the support PPIPOW’s receive
in our publications and literature, most
would believe that the PP/POW's from our
movements receive support in “remaining
in existence.” The fact s that for the most
part, this is not the case. This needs to
change. Indeed the fact that we print such
supportive literature, when we aren’t
building subsistence programs, or trying
to. misleads people into believing PP/
POW’s are receiving support, We need to
stop pretending, and paint a more realis-
tic picture. If we fail to acknowledge
where we are, we will never get to where
we need to be. Building subsistence pro-
‘erams will be a positive step forward. Dif-
ferent areas a subsistence program should
cover are;

2 Organizing regular financial support
for the PPPOW

2 Organizing visitation programs with
the PPIPOW

2 Organizing food package drives for
the PPIPOW*

2 Organizing clothing package drives
for the PPIPOW*

2 Regularly obtaining news subscrip-
tions for the PPIPOW.

3 Regularly obtaining reading material
the PPPOW requests

‘With a small membership, resources and
limited support outside of our support
base, the ABCF has had great success in
organizing such subsistence programs.
‘While larger groups enjoying larger mem-
berships, resources and support bases have
failed to organize any subsistence pro-
grams, or aid us in organizing ours. In
addition, the vast majority of prisoners we
support with these programs come from
outside of the anarchist community. This
clearly illustrates that the prisoners we
support do not receive subsistence support
from the groups who politically align
themselves with such prisoners and their
movements. And as anarchist POW Ojore
Lutalo has correctly stated: “Any move-
ment that fails 1o support its political in-
temnees is a sham movement!”

We realize that not every group can do
everything. And that in these times where
there are few stepping forward to work,
and when so much work needs to be done
in every field of our struggles, it is dif
cult to organize such programs. Subsis
tence programs indeed take much time,
energy and physical commitment from
outside activists. However to neglect these
programs is to neglect our responsibilities,
to neglect the PPPOW’s, and to neglect
our movements

Since 1995 the ABCF has worked hard to
develop such programs in the face of much
need. While our achievements in this area
are noteworthy, the need sill far outweighs
our capability. As the only group we know
attempting to organize such programs on
a non partisan basis for all revolutionary
PP/POW's. we suggest the following to
‘2roups who claim to support PPIPOW’s:

1. That groups who are ideologically af-
filiated with movements prisoners come
from develop their own subsistence pro-
‘grams for such prisoners. The ABCF will
gladly supply groups who do so with in-
formation and our experience in organiz-
ing subsistence programs.

2.1f your political group does not wish or
can not develop such subsistence pro-
‘2rams to benefit the prisoners that come
from your movements, that you aid us
maintaining and expanding our subsis
tence programs that offers non-partisan
support to all revolutionary PP/POW’s.

Subsistence programs the ABCF offer to
PP/POW's are:

Organizing regular financial

support for the PE/POW
‘The Warchest Program: Founded in 1994,
the Warchest Program is designed to meet

the very specific need of financial support
for PPIPOW's. It is constructed to meet

two separate support roles. Monthly

checks and emergency support
REGULAR SUPPORT: The Warchest

sends monthly checks of up to $60 to those
PP/POW’s who, to our knowledge, receive

the least financial support. By collecting
regular contributions from our own groups
internally, and external supportive groups

and individuals, we raise funds to provide
consistent financial support to PPPOW’s.
Current prisoners being supported regu-
larly by the Warchest are Sekou Odinga,
Ruchel Cingue Magee, Herman Bell,
Marilyn Buck, Ricardo Jiménez, Richard
‘Williams and Dylica Pégan.
EMERGENCY FUND: This secondary
‘Warchest fund exists to provide immedi-
ate financial support to the PPPOW who
may not need monthly support,or an emer-
gency supplement to the funding they re-
ceive, for a specific need. For example,
New Afrikan POW Sekou Odinga was
given additional funding to his monthly
check so that he could help his daughter
visit him across the country. On two sepa-
rate occasions, New Afrikan PP Jalil Mun-
tagim was given funds to purchase two
separate pairs of gloves and two winter
couts after the prison administration trans-
ferred him two separate times in the
middle of the winter. They conveniently
Tost his coat and gloves both times. Anti-
Imperialist PP Jaan Laaman was given
funds to assist him in paying for college
classes at Leavenworth Federal Prison.
Anti-Imperialist PP David Gilbert was
given funding to help pay for legal re-
search in his pending cases against double
bunking. Puerto Rican POW Carmen
Valentin was given funding on two sepa-
rate occasions. Once to purchase a por-
table radio after hers was broken, the other
to help pay for her grand daughters school
tition. Other prisoners to receive Emer-
gency Funds are New Afrikan Anarchist
POW Ojore Lutalo, New Afrikan POW
Sundiata Acoli, Black PP Hanif Shabazz.
Bey. Black PP Bashir Hameed and Anti-
Imperialist PP Tom Manning