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Ferre
Cannabis Sacrament Minister.
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
Posts: 7295
Location: Amsterdam
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 Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:05 am Post subject: Zero Tolerance: The Global Apartheid |
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From my mailbox...
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*« Wellcome to the USSA »*
By Farid Ghehioueche - ENCOD's delegate to Long Beach Conference
www.encod.org
Thanks Prya for help and support.
NB : A la mémoire de toutes les victimes de la guerre aux drogues (In memory of all the victims of the war on drugs).
When I learnt that I would be part of European Ngo Coalition for just
and effective Drugs policies (ENCOD) delegation to attend the Drug
Policy Alliance (DPA) conference in Long Beach on International drug
policy reform, I was totally enthousiastic. I was expecting to do so for
five years. After campaigning for New York United Nations General
Assembly Special Session on drugs (UNGASS) strategy « /Drug free world
we can do it!/ » mid-term review in Vienna 2003, the opportunity to go
to the DPA conference remained one source of motivation to continue the
struggle for drug policy reform.
I am writing these words with great disappointment at being denied entry
into america. I will explain my « adventure » which I can only describe
as « bad trip ». I write with the profound hope that we can counter this
« global apartheid »,
I left Paris to London on Friday, november 4^th to participate to the
Hemp Fair at Wembley Park.
On sunday morning I left London for San Francisco for two days to visit
a french friend before Long Beach conference. I remember that before I
landed at San Francisco International Airport some of my friends in
France sarcastically told me « we hope you'll come back alive », my
friend in SF told me « Don't panic ! No matter what. Just tell them to
phone me ». I couldn't have imagined what was about to happen.
*Welcome to ameriKKKa !*
The plane landed sunday afternoon. After first, and secondary
checkpoints, I stopped at the third check desk. Here two customer agents
started to deeply look into my luggages. Many questions raised, and
scrutinized my belongings and interrogated about my reasons for
enterring US soil. I was sure it was a mere formality as I was answering
all their questions.
On my main bag, they found the gifts for my friend's child, with all my
clothes.
On my backpack bag, there was my computer, a lot of documentations
around DPA conference and some others picked at Hemp fair in London
(even rolling papers, you can imagine the crime !), and even some CD Rom
of UNODC « /practical guide for competent national authorities under
article 17 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit trafic in
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1998 in French, and
Arabic, Chinese, and Russian/". DVDs /about Ibogaïne - The rite of
passage/, ENCOD campaigns and the DVD called /Green avalanche/ about
Hemp and « marijuana » which I got in London.
On this pocket, folded since long time a poster of the Global March for
Cannabis Liberation (GMLC) of may 2004, range here as another tool to
explain what is the global opponent movement of the current drug
policies, then what happened ?
<>
After they scratched the GMCL flier and the plastic of the UNODC Cds
They found 0.0001 gram of cannabis. They said it was cannabis and asked
me to come with them in a little cell, for a complete overview and full
body search and to test for pieces of marijuana. I didn't know there
were any evidence of marijuana. I realized that I should have used a
vacuum-cleaner.
I started to feel bad, as if something would happen to me in a
Kafkaesque style, reminding me of the film « /Midnight Express/ », but
here I was totally safe as I knew that I brought nothing with me « all
in head, nothing on my body ». Many different agents came to see me as a
beast of curiosity in the zoo, asking me questions without explaining my
rights. I didn't made « scandal », and just kept breathing deeply and
remained calm.
After 45 minutes, one of the agents interrogating me confess me he was «
a libertarian » adding, « I can confess to you that even some of us
would test positive». Finally they determined that they found 0.0001
GRAM OF MARIJUANA on my belongings. They brought me back to the
secondary check office, where I was detained for six hours. I remained
in purgatory uncertain of my fate for 40 minutes. The agent then phoned
my friend whom I talked to on the phone : « Yes, I should be released in
few minutes ». But then, after 20 minutes, one supervisor Mister Lau
asked the agent to phone back and not allow my entry. I realised that I
was fucked and I didn't know what to do... Or how to react. Should I
start being more « hard » or should I be « Should I remain silent ». Or
just like in Hollywood films should I ask for a lawyer and a translator
(though I did not know if it was necessary at this point) Should I just
say « I'm invited to the DPA conference, call Laura Kesselman or Ethan
Nadelmann » ? So, for 0.0001 gram of Marijuana, I would not be allowed
to enter AmeriKKKa.
*"Zero Tolerance, the global apartheid" *
They also seized my little red tiny box gifted by the Hemp Museum in
Berlin during last ENCOD general Assembly, and also my hemp rolling
papers (many of those I found in UK and France). In fact, the question
form all foreigners must answer when trying to enter U.S are « Yes » or
« No » questions. The different laws of states are always difficult to
answer, but generally people answer "No" when they know they've nothing
to hide.
They say I break statute " INA 212 (a) (2) (A) (i) (II)" for 0,0001 gram
of cannabis under the controlled substances act. They decided that, no
way would I get onto U.S soil. But who were they ? I didn't know. Do I
could or should check a lawyer ?
During my long deposit with Inspector Sim Sam, I heard one of her Chief
Officer that I didn't know who he was, saying « Yes, now we got him ».
It was because, I admitted to answer the questions about my first
arrests in France in 1988, or 1989, or 1990... I can't remember well. At
that time, I was homeless and dealing as a user who is doing his « self
management opportunity » to get some social relations/supports/peers and
money if possible ! But french law is different from the U.S and so I
didn't want them to recognize me as a criminal or delinquent, as now I'm
not regarded as a criminal in France.
<>
Around midnight, again I was subject to a cavity search where I was
examined with all my shoe laces and necklaces off, even my earring. I
was handled with a chain around the hips for 40 minutes in a van
cruising from San Francisco Airport to Santa Clara jail. The vans were
white, with no clear signs on it. Through the armoured lattice window, I
was enjoying for the first time to see what US was looked like. A big
desert with big roads and big cars. I became totally depressed in chains
and sobbed. Agent Guererro told me that he would had prefered to not
arrest me or put me in chains, but it was his orders. He drove with a
big sound system with Eminem « Music for the masses ». My first music in
america. I liked it. I preferred it to WASP music.
Again, I was body checked before entering the Police headquater of Santa
Clara. I felt like a worm or a rat enduring laboratory experiment,
certainly less than human as I followed the green line, then stopped at
second desk. I stood up with my hands along my body for the
« pre-booking information sheet ». I sat on seat 39, followed green line
to blue chair where I sat for being pictured, again finger prints, and
sent in jail N°3. I tried to ask for a single cell, but it was too late
to protest.
*« A salaam aleikum »*
When I enterred 2 guys were sleeping and a man was back on the wall on
my left, three others were talking on my right, with one sleeping with
the head and legs on his T shirt to resist the cold. I was cold. I sat
on a little space on the left, next to one maroccese with whom I could
spoke french. He was quickly taken out. The other 3 guys were taken off
after one hour. Then, little by little it was filled with youth guys,
who looked very panicked gripping their yellow papers. The older
« Raggazzo Giuliani», the one who was shivering in his T shirt tried to
relax them, telling us of his experience.
At that time, I told them about my 0.0001 gram of cannabis as pretexte
for being denied entry into the US. They laughed a lot about my poor
case. They had laces on their shoes, I had mine taken away. Was I such a
threat ? And do you know what ? Ironically, in that cell I found a
little plastic tube with one gram of crack-cocaine in it. If only the
americans legalized pot, they would cut down hard drug epidemic.
« Raggazzo Giuliani » made a rustic straw with one yellow page on ground
to sniff a line and keep the rest in his shoes.
At seven o'clock, we there were 13 people crammed inside the cell, and I
started to ask to be transferred into another one. They said « follow
the green line, to the green box » with four others. Then, we continued
on the green line while receiving 2 bread and cheese slices with a
plastic glass and two packet doses of orange juice to enjoy in the
« felony cell », where a television was on Catholic TV for a Bible training.
After this little sleepy session of the cathodic priest, some others
companeros joined us in the cell and changed TV program to « 24hours »
which I learned was the premier american counter drama in the States. I
made phone calls (but I couldn't as I didn't have my phone book. I tried
to call France and Belgium but it was impossible), and at 8:30, I was
told to follow the green line, to the green box. Here I was again cavity
searched, and joined two other guys in a line of five detainees. We were
all sent back to our various countries, and one (like me from France)
was an EU citizen, coming from UK, but with his name and parent's
origins, US departement of Justice found an excuse to implement a zero
tolerance policy toward him. We travelled again in this white van, and
passed by Elmwood jail to get a Ghanean who was send back after three
weeks in jail, he was crying because he didn't knew where his papers were.
When we arrived around 11:00 at SF international airport, two of us were
asked to get out of the van, and I and my fellow prisoners from India or
Pakistan were finally brought in from two different directions. I
finally returned into the secondary check office, where I waited until 7
to get a plane back to France. One detail that really shocked me, was
the fact that among all supervisors at secondary check three of them
were wearing a big gold ring with a jade gem on it. I suspected
international trafic because the gems seemed to be from Burma.
I asked to make two phone calls, and then to know if it was possible to
counter the decision, and then I tried to clearly asked the supervisor
if he could try to help me... but unfortunately nobody answered his
phone calls and he came back with my boarding pass.
It appeared I faced "zero tolerance" I have to apply for a visa to enter
USA now. Homeland Security has my file, a number, all my finger prints.
What amazed me during this trip among those custom agents is: they're
all recruited among what could be seen in France as « invisible
minorities » and in US a « positive discriminated peoples ». The
repressed employed to repress others.
*A drug against war*
When I was chatting with the little man, « supervisor » interested by my
knowledges about french culture and with whom I felt in confidence, and
explained him it was very bizarre to be sent back for 0,0001 gram of
cannabis in California, as that the main purpose of my trip was to go to
Long Beach, and that my tickets should be cancelled or reimbursed as I
was empeached by US authorities... But nothing came, just a bowl of
noodles and soja milk passed away. He informed me about what happened in
France, with riots not only in Paris suburbs and asked me many « dumpy
dumb » questions about France, french people, and told me that as a way
to gain credits « polluted air and water, poverty and nuclear peace
threats are a major source of worries for next generations, and I know
that we as USA are not well doing for the best of the planet ». I was a
little happy to meet some of those who were my guardians, were also
sensible about the US foreign policy.
I try to explain that it was also the case of the global trend taken by
UN policy on drugs under the US leadership. I tried to explain him that
some of the so called narcotic drugs were not as bad as it was supposed
to be, that may be with cannabis (Hemp) we'll be able to challenge the
huge environmental crisis by producing oil, textile, new fibers. And
most important, that we may find soon that cannabis has real medecine
proporties to fight against multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, alzeihmer,
Parkinson... and what could be said on cannabis, could be also
demonstrated with the coca leaf where andean cocaleros could use it for
other purpose than get money from narco-traficking. I told him that the
basis of the current drug policies of states are not good because there
wasn't scientific evidences to maintain what I'm describing as an
« organised crime ».
I told him sincerely, how can we succeed to make a drug free world, if
even in jails you find drugs and criminality, if even within police and
customs ranks some are smugglers, if even within parliamentarian class
who make the laws or the justice domain which use the law, you find some
people who are offending the law by a personnal behaviour. We must fight
the criminalisation of social norms. No victim, no crime.
Last but not least, I tried to explain him that the « zero tolerance »
policy is producing a new kind of delinquant, and that younger and
younger, the average of the first offense shouldn't be only adressed
with only a repressive stand, but with education as a kid or teenager
should be taught (learn to understand). This is beyond preventing
criminality and could be considered as building education relationships
instead of law enforcement. This is only the attention paid to teenagers
and by helping youth to be part of a society system, where they can be
looked with respect and pride, that we gain fruitful results. Youth are
generally looking for adult recognition, but now with « zero tolerance »
family values are threatened because police and justice administration
taken control of their children. I tried to convince him that large part
of the gangsters culture was mostly build on the core roots of the
current political and economical system : « the law of the stronger
against the weaker ».
If you look clearly at what teenagers and youths are looking for when
you let them talked, it is totally opposed to this : they finally are
deeply stressed and desappointed when from the child age they're
discovering that the rules of the society are inhumane and not lead by
social justice... that why illicit drugs consumption is so widely use by
teenagers, as a way to get pleasures while they know they'll put
endanger their life.
I tried to explain him also the concrete effects of the legal medecine,
which are now leading to scary results. Some searchers show that many
teenagers that committed suicide or those who became serial killers were
children previously treated for intensive activity that drove their
parents crazy.
Here is the point, should we considered that the current legal drugs are
endangering the youth, and that some of the narcotic drugs prohibited
could enhanced society treatments for many purposes : environmental
care, human care, economical and political stability, legal source of
income for undeveloped economy.
What I tried to explain him was the fact, that even if I felt a great
injustice and a decision that is totally disproportionnate. For sure it
could be recorded in the Guinness book by the ridiculous charge against
my enter on US soil. I told him that concretly I counted around 20
agents that were in charge of my case since the beginning of my
troubles. How many real smugglers and terrorists could have take profit
of the lack of scrutinity due to my affair ? I told him, I'm working for
drug policy reform because I'd like them to be more efficient and for
them to achieve a genuine control on borders of the risks, and not about
creating the risk by misundertsanding and empowering injustice.
*There is a way to refuse and resist*
Well, it is obvious that the real motive of the prohibition system is to
offer a tool for police and justice control over some populations « at
risk ». It is obvious now for all, that narcotic drugs prohibition has
been a total failure, but there is still a « zero tolerance » trend to
try to save the roots of the prohibitionnist system. It is widely shared
that a genuine policy on drugs should be scientifically determined, and
for a real preventing we need to find a legal regulation manner to
tackle the phenomenon.
This way is not just a way to take on legalisation. It is first a major
challenge to educate peoples and first of them users about what drugs
are and do, and for that we need them to get the truthful informations.
It is also a major challenge to eradicate money ressources for all
illegal group of activities such as terrorism and to clear the global
accountability rules in order to eradicate money laundering circuits,
that are real threats for civil liberties as a corruption hammer.
Before 2008, we need to see a coalition of country gouvernments to raise
the issue of a global review of the current and past drug strategies
which failed, to enter in a new strategy, more pragmatic and less based
on moral taboos.
In december 2004, the European Parliament voted a report of
recommendations that were totally ignored by the EU commission for the
implementation of the new action plan until 2009. This vote is
important, because in seven pages it gives the global lines of a just
and effective drug policy designed in the interest of the peoples
directly affected and concerned.
With Encod, we launched our campaign « Freedom to farm » last september
: after « spreading seeds » since 2003 for an inclusive debate of civil
society representative organisations within EU institutions, we are now
close to gain this real debate to prepare 2008, UNGASS in Vienna.
Towards Vienna, there is a way to refuse and resist to the US model, if
europeans are able to unite with countries such as Brasil, Canada,
Australia, Switzerland and even China, India and Russia.
*Open the window*
As I'm now arrived back in France, I'm learning about what happened
since last week. Now our home affair minister is seriously explaining in
mass media that the riots are due to smugglers and dealers that are
fighting police presence on some parts of suburbs traficking areas.
In the mouth of our political leaders, it is like if thousands of Tony
Montana were ruling the streets of the country, and that all were
teenagers already experimented in thugs life, as they are only expecting
and expressing a real respect and social justice. Those teenagers are
all the same, from Clichy sous bois to Santa Clara California. All are
asking for a better life, they want to be recognized and for sure,
they'd prefered to not be confined onto illegal way of survival.
It is clear that soon the crisis will extend as those revendications are
not only shared by teenage riotters, but by a large part of the
population who are now fed up by broken promises and political
management since the last thirty years.
Some say it might be for the worst, let's hope that protesters will win
and help us to take a new aspiration again. Let's not talk about
revolution, but just opening the window to hear what is behind their
language of riots.
------- Sorry for being so long, thanks for your reading and I hope to
get some of your comments. No copyrights - spread it worldwide thanks...
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