On April 14th, 2005, the government agents took me into custody, I was 16. I was charged with malicious wounding, shooting, into an occupied vehicle, shooting into an occupied dwelling, use of a fire arm in commission of a felony, and possession of a fire arm while a convicted felon. Though there is not a single piece of evidence, and the testimony of the alleged victim revealed that there was no medical medical attention received, or no proof that he was even shot, other then a picture of a scratch on his hand. I was convicted on September 23rd, 2005, and sentenced to 22 years to be served in adult prison, even though I was still a juvenile at the time.

Since then, the victim has come forward and admitted that I didn’t shoot him, that he lied because he was scared and coerced by the detective and the D.A. Even though it’s clear that I’m innocent on these charges, I remain held captive serving out the sentence. Injustice is nothing new on imperialist soil, and since I wasn’t amongst the rich class, I’ve been in here since I was 16. Though the ruling class and it’s agents is the cause of my oppression, their injustices have liberated me mentally.

Even being locked in a solitary confinment cell 24 hours a day. I’ve become very consciense of our sittuation and my duty to act against this beast. Though prison guards isn’t the “ultimate oppressor”, their responsibility is to keep me and fellow prisoners in line for the rulers. By keeping me in line, it’s ok for them to mentally and physically abuse me, and the ones I must seek releif from, is the ones that reward them with a check for their abuse and inhuman conditions. known as “maintaining order”. Prison can humble you, or it can create a beast in you. Prison can break you, and make you mentally and physically submissive to the captors, or it can make you a freedom fighter and motivate resistance.

I choose not to be submissive, and as a result, I’ve been sent from my state to across the country. After doing years of solitary confinement known as Administration Segregation, I was released, and have now been placed back into confinement for my continuing practices of wanting me and fellow prisoners to be treated like a human, defined by the captors as a “serious security threat”. It is the guards duty to dehumanize me, oppress me, suppress my resistance, and crush my idea of the chains of oppression being broken by the hands of the people. It’s my duty to maintain sanity, keep my spirit for freedom alive, and never, stop fighting to forward the struggle for the oppressed people.

I resist because I’m oppressed. I resist because others are oppressed. I resist because all has been taken from me except my will to resist.

In Love, Rage, and Solidarity,

Faheem Abdur-Rahim