In the
spring of 1981 (1359-60), I was a senior in high school. The restaurant I was
working at was about to close down, but with graduation near I was relieved
that my last few months of school were going to have one less to obligation.
On 1 March
1981 (10 Esfand 1358), I heard on the news that Bobby Sands, an Irish
Republican Army (IRA) volunteer from Belfast, had begun a hunger strike. He was
going to be the first of many republican (IRA) and republican socialist (Irish
National Liberation Army, INLA) prisoners in the H-Blocks at Long Kesh in
Northern Ireland. They were going to strike until their demands were met, or
die.
Background
From 14 August 1969 (23 Mordad 1348) through 10 April 1998 (21 Farvardin 1377), the Six Counties of Northern Ireland were ripped apart by a civil conflict known as The Troubles.
On one
side were the republican and republican socialist paramilitary groups and on
the other side the British Army, Royal Ulster Constabulary, Special Branch, and
loyalist (anti-republican) paramilitary groups (Ulster Volunteer Force and
Ulster Defense Association).
After the
Irish War for Independence, from 21 January 1919-11 July 1921 (1 Bahman 1297-20
Tir 1300), and the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 6 December 1921 (15 Azar 1300), the island
of Ireland was split into two political entities. In the south there was the
Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland), and in the northeast there was
the semi-autonomous province of the United Kingdom named Northern Ireland.
Republicans,
in the Irish context, were those waging an armed conflict to reunite the south
with what they called Northeast Ulster or the Six Counties. Republican
socialists also emphasized social justice, economic democracy, and equal
rights. For simplicity’s sake, after this I’ll use republican to include both.
Prior to 1
March 1976 (10 Esfand 1354), both republicans and loyalists were interned under
Special Category Status in the Cages, groups of Quonset huts surrounded by
chain-link fence topped with razor wire, at Long Kesh. Within each of the
cages, prisoners wore their own clothes, were allowed liberal visitation with
family and friends, held classes, had large libraries, and had their own
officers to govern both their separate huts and over the entire cage. They even
carried out military drills.
Early in
1981 (late 1358), the British secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Merlyn
Rees, decreed that those arrested for paramilitary-related activities,
republicans and loyalists, would after that date be treated as an ordinary
criminals.
They would
have to wear prison clothes, follow a prison-mandated regimen, and served their
time in the newly built H-Blocks. The eight H-Blocks at Long Kesh were each
four wings of twenty-five cells, steel and concrete with a central control
facility, and were run like a maximum security prison.
They were
to be treated as ODC’s (ordinary decent criminals) under the new policy of
“criminalization”.
“Ordinary
criminals” convicted in special courts set up to try them under special rules designed
to rob them of their rights and ensure not a fair trial but their imprisonment.
They had one judge and no jury, sometimes no attorney, and could be convicted
on mere hearsay of one person and shoddy evidence.
Resistance
The first
republican to be sent to Long Kesh under the new rules, Kieran Nugent, refused
to wear a prison uniform, saying those were for criminals and he was a
political prisoner. The guards beat him, threw him into his cell naked, and
gave him a blanket to wear the next day.
Thus the blanket protest began.
Soon some
forty republican and republican socialist prisoners were “on the blanket”. Even
some loyalists in the H-Blocks joined the blanket protest for themselves. In
time more than 300 republicans and over 50 loyalists were on the blanket.
Men on the
blanket at Long Kesh, and women on the blanket in Armagh Prison, were refused
exercise, reading and writing materials, and access to news. They were kept in
their cells twenty-four hours a day, cells meant for one person which now most
often housed two. In addition, they were frequently treated to beatings,
maltreatment, harassment, and other abuse by the “screws”, the prison guards,
in the corridors from their cells to the toilets and showers or when taken to
the offices between the wings.
To keep
their minds active and their spirits up, they learned Irish shouted through the
doors, sang, held political discussions, and told stories, either from their
own lives or from well known authors. Bobby Sands was famous for reciting all
of Leon Uris’ novel Trinity.
In March
1978 (Esfand 1356), men on the blanket in the H-Blocks, and some of the women
at Armagh, began to refuse to go to the showers or the toilets to escape the
abuse to which they were subjected on their way to and from those places. They
were given chambers pots to urinate and defecate in and bowls to wash up with.
They demanded showers in their cells so they could clean themselves adequately
and without fear of being attacked. The screws stopped giving them water for
their bowls.
Thus began
the no wash protest.
A couple
of months later, the screws began refusing to let prisoners on the blanket
“slop out”, or empty their chamber pots. The blanket men (and women) smashed
the glass in the windows of their cells and threw their urine and excrement out
of the windows. The screws boarded those up.
With no
other recourse, other than to surrender and accept the designation of them by
the state as criminals, they got rid of their bodily waste the only way they
could. They poured their piss out on the floor of their cells and smeared their
shit on the prison walls.
Thus began
the dirty protest.
At the
time, imperial Iran was in the midst of the beginning of labor strikes and the
recurring cycles of protestors killed, followed forty days later by their
commemoration, at which the imperial regime’s troops invariably killed more
demonstrators.
Periodically
the guards would enter the cells and clean the prisoners and the cells—with
fire hoses and disinfectant. In between those loving sessions of tenderness and
care, they lived with piss, shit, maggots, and flies, with only a single
blanket to clothe themselves with and a thin mattress on which to lie or sit.
In the
midst of the indignity in which they lived, these prisoners clung to the
dignity of their right to be recognized as the political prisoners they were
and treated accordingly.
In the
meantime, the Shah’s government fell, the Islamic Republic was established, the
Iranian Cultural Revolution was launched, and the Iran-Iraq War began.
After
nearly three years of going to great lengths to resist and enduring tremendous
deprivation, forty-five republican prisoners declared a hunger strike on 27
October 1980 (5 Aban 1359). Three women at Armagh joined them on 1 December (10
Azar), with dozens more men in the H-Blocks soon on 15 December (24 Azar).
They had
five demands:
(1) the
right not to wear a prison uniform;
(2) the
right not to do prison work;
(3) the
right of free association with other prisoners, and to organize educational and
recreational pursuits;
(4) the
right to one visit, one letter, and one parcel per week;
(5) full
restoration of remission of sentence lost through the protest.
Six prisoners from the loyalist group Ulster Defence Association (UDA) began a hunger strike on 12 December calling for their segregation from republicans and return of political status, but called it off five days later on 17 December (26 Azar) after appeals from the (Anglican) Church of Ireland.
As one prisoner, Sean McKenna, neared death, the British government told the republican prisoners they were prepared to grant their demands on a phased basis. The prisoners voted to end their hunger strike on 18 December (27 Azar), after 53 days.
And the British government reneged on its deal.
During this hunger strike, President Banisadr publicly denounced torture in Iran’s prisons, Chief Prosecutor Moussavi Ardebili closed the newspaper of the Mojahedin-e Khalq, and supporters of Banisadr staged rallies against the government of Prime Minister Rajai in Mashhdad, Isfahan, Tehran, and Gilan.
The Hunger Strike of 1981 (1359-60)
The prisoners made the decision to conduct another hunger strike. Only this time instead of a mass protest, one prisoner would be going on hunger strike at a time, followed by another a couple of weeks later, staggering out the number and enabling them to carry out a prolonged campaign.
On this round, only those who had not been involved in notorious incidents were allowed, they had to be in good health, and they had to discuss their decision with their families or loved ones.
As I mentioned before, Bobby Sands of the IRA began his hunger strike on 1 March 1981 (10 Esfand 1358), the anniversary of the beginning of criminalization.
On 5 March (15 Esfand), Hezbollahis attacked a rally of over one hundred thousand in Tehran commemorating former Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.
Francie
Hughes of the IRA followed him on 15 March (25 Esfand).
Patsy
O’Hara of the INLA and Raymond McCreesh of the IRA joined them on 22 March (2
Farvardin 1360).
On 9 April
(20 Farvardin), Bobby Sands, IRA prisoner on hunger strike, was elected to the
House of Commons for the seat of Fermanagh-South Tyrone. I remember being
overwhelmed with relief, thinking, “Now she’ll have to give in, at least part
way,” she being Maggie Thatcher, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
But Maggie
the Hen did not have the shred of humanity I assumed she had, and Bobby Sands
MP died at the age of 26 on 5 May (15 Ordibehesht) after 66 days on hunger
strike.
The
government of the Islamic Republic renamed Winston Churchill Boulevard, where
the British Embassy still sits, as Bobby Sands Street.
I heard
the news on the car radio while driving on the interstate. I had to pull over,
and couldn’t stop crying for ten minutes. I had to circle my car and smoke a
cigarette before I could concentrate on driving again.
Each time
the rest of the summer, no matter where I was, I had to stop and take a few
minutes whenever I heard the news about one of them.
Joe
McDonnell of the IRA joined his comrades on 8 May (18 Ordibehesht).
Francie
Hughes died at the age of 25 on 12 May (22 Ordibehesht) after 59 days on hunger
strike.
Brendan
McLaughlin joined his comrades on 14 May (24 Ordibehesht).
Patsy
O’Hara died at the age of 23 and Raymond McCreesh at the age of 24 on 21 May
(31 Ordibehesht) after 61 days on hunger strike.
Kieran
Doherty of the IRA joined McDonnell on 22 May (1 Khordad).
Kevin
Lynch of the INLA joined his comrades on 23 May (2 Khordad).
Brendan
McLaughlin was taken off hunger strike after 12 days when he suffered a
perforated ulcer and internal bleeding on 26 May (5 Khordad).
Martin
Hurson of the IRA joined his comrades on 28 May (7 Khordad).
Tom
McElwee of the IRA joined his comrades on 8 June (18 Khordad).
On 11
June, hunger striker Kieran Doherty of the IRA and blanketman Paddy Agnew of
the IRA are elected TD's in the Republic of Ireland.
Paddy
Quinn of the IRA joined his comrades on 15 June (25 Khordad).
On 20 June
(30 Khordad), the Reign of Terror began in Iran, lasting until December 1982
(Azar 1361).
Mickey
Devine of the INLA joined his comrades on 22 June (1 Tir).
Laurence
McKweon of the IRA joined his comrades on 29 June (8 Tir).
On 5 July,
through intermediary Brendan Duddy (codenamed "Mountain Climber"),
Thatcher's government offered the prisoners the right to wear their own clothes
and made other concessions, and the prisoner leadership of the PIRA (Bik
McFarlane, OC, and Richard O'Rawe, PRO) agreed to accept. After word
passed outside to Gerry Adams and his "Kitchen Cabinet" (Martin
McGuinness, Danny Morrision, Tom Hatley, and Jim Gibney), they vetoed the
prisoners' acceptance and ordered them to continue. They gave the excuse that more was needed, but the real reason was that Adams and the rest want to
keep up political support for the upcoming August by-election for Westminister
to fill the seat vacated at the death of Bobby Sands. Adams and the
Kitchen Cabinet kept the contents from the leadership of the IRSP, who would
have ordered their members off the hunger strike, as well as from the
candidate, Owen Carron.
Joe
McDonnell died at the age of 30 on 8 July (17 Tir) after 61 days on hunger
strike.
Pat
McGeown of the IRA joined his comrades on 9 July (18 Tir).
Martin
Hurson died at the age of 29 on 13 July (22 Tir) after 46 days on hunger
strike. He had lost the ability to hold down water and died from dehydration.
Matt
Devlin of the IRA joined his comrades on 14 July (23 Tir).
In the
second half of July, Fr. Denis Faul, realized Maggie Thatcher had a head like
the Rock of Gibraltar and was a bit lacking in the soul department, and would
never express a gesture of humanity. A strong supporter of the prisoners in the
H-Blocks and a frequent visitor to that hellhole, he began trying to convince
the families of those on hunger strike to take their sons off once they lost
consciousness.
Paddy
Quinn lapsed into a coma on 31 July (9 Mordad) after 47 days, and his parents
took him off hunger strike.
Kevin
Lynch died at the age of 25 on 1 August (10 Mordad) after 71 days on hunger
strike.
Kieran
Doherty died at the age of 25 on 2 August (11 Mordad) after 73 days on hunger
strike.
Liam
McCloskey of the INLA joined his comrades on 3 August (12 Mordad).
Tom
McElwee died at the age of 23 on 8 August (17 Mordad) after 62 days on hunger
strike.
Patrick
Sheehan of the IRA joined his comrades on 10 August (19 Mordad).
Jackie
McMullen of the IRA joined his comrades on 17 August (26 Mordad).
On 20
August, Owen Carron of Sinn Fein is elected as the Anti-H-block/Proxy Political
Prisoner candidate to the Westminister seat of Fermanagh-South Tyrone vacated
by Bobby Sands upon his death.
Pat
McGweon lapsed into a coma on 20 August (29 Mordad) after 42 days, and his
family took him off hunger strike.
Mickey
Devine died at the age of 27 on 22 August (31 Mordad) after 60 days on hunger
strike.
Bernard
Fox of the IRA joined his comrades on 24 August (2 Sharivar).
Hugh
Carville of the IRA joined his comrades on 31 August (9 Shahrivar).
Matt
Devlin lapsed into a coma on 4 September (13 Sharivar) after 52 days, and his
family took him off hunger strike.
Laurence
McKweon lapsed into a coma on 6 September (15 Sharivar) after 70 days, and his
family took him off hunger strike.
John
Pickering of the IRA joined his comrades on 7 September (16 Sharivar).
Gerard
Hodgkins of the IRA joined his comrades on 14 September (23 Sharivar).
James
Devine of the IRA joined his comrades on 21 September (30 Sharivar).
Bernard
Fox was taken off hunger strike on 24 September (2 Mehr) after 32 days when his
condition suddenly deteriorated rapidly.
Liam
McCloskey took himself off hunger strike on 26 September (4 Mehr) after 55 days
when his family made it clear they would intervene if he fell into a coma.
Patrick
Sheehan (55 days), Jackie McMullan (48 days), Hugh Carville (34 days), John
Pickering (27 days), Gerard Hodgkins (20 days), and James Devine (13 days)
ended the hunger strike on 3 October (11 Mehr) after realizing their families,
as well as those of potential strikers who have not yet joined, had listened to
Fr. Faul.
For years
afterward, Fr. Faul was known to republicans and republican socialists,
especially among then current prisoners and ex-prisoners, as “Dennis the
Menace”.
After the
hunger strike ended, the British government, quietly and in stages, fulfilled
all five of the prisoners’ demands, though not in writing. The concessions are exactly the same as those
offered on 5 July.
In other
words, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Tom
McElwee, and Mickey Devine died because Adams and his Kitchen Cabinet
(McGuinness, Morrison, Hatley, and Gibney) were more interested in ephemeral
political gain than in the health, welfare, and lives of republican prisoners.
Hunger
strike in Irish culture
The idea
of hunger strike in Irish culture is sacred. Its roots as a form of protest
against transgression or for compensation of a grievance go back 2500 years. The
practice was even codified into the system of ancient Irish law that later
known as the Brehon Laws.
The Brehon
Laws survived in parts of Ireland until 1607 (986), mostly in the west
(Connaught) and the north (Ulster). In the Highlands and the Isles of Scotland,
the Brieve Laws (as they were called there) survived until 1746 (1125).
The only
other culture known to have codified laws governing hunger striking is that of
ancient India, where its roots go as far back as those in Ireland.
Hunger
striking has been a form of republican protest since the early 20th (late 12th)
century, and several republicans have died. The Irish, especially republicans
and even loyalists, consider faking a hunger strike or bluffing about one an
extremely grave transgression.
When Sean
MacStiofain, chief of staff of the Provisional IRA and one of its founders, was
arrested in Dublin and brought before the Special Criminal Court in November
1972 (Azar 1351), he defiantly told the judge that within six days he would be
dead. Placed in jail, he immediately began a hunger and thirst strike. Under
pleas from the Catholic Church, he ended his thirst strike, accepting juice and
soup but no solid food.
MacStiofain
remained on what he was calling a hunger strike for 57 days, when he was
ordered off by the army council for bringing the IRA into disrepute by cheating
on his fake hunger strike. After his release from jail, he found he had lost
all credibility and status over the matter. He never again held a position of
any rank with the republican movement.
Similarly,
a former commander from the loyalist UDA imprisoned in the H-Blocks declared a
hunger strike and was found to actually be gaining weight. He likewise lost all
prestige and credibility with his organization.
During the
Irish War for Independence, Thomas Ashe (1917/1296), Terence McSwinney
(1920/1299), Joe Murphy (1920/1299), Michael Fitzgerald (1920/1299), and Conor
McElvaney (1920/1299) died on hunger strike.
According
to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest hunger on record without
force-feeding lasted 94 days. It was carried out in 1920 (1299) at Cork Prison
by John Crowley, Peter Crowley, Thomas Donovan, Michael Burke, Michael
O'Reilly, Christopher Upton, John Power, Joseph Kenny, and Seán Hennessy.
The men
were striking in support of Terence McSwinney, the lord mayor of Cork, who had
been striking in Brixton Prison in England for repatriation. After he died,
Arthur Griffith, acting Priomh Aire (Prime Minister) for the nationalist
government, ordered the men in Cork Prison to cease their strike on 12 November
(21 Aban).
After the
Irish Civil War, Denny Barry and Andrew O’Sullivan died on a mass hunger strike
by over 8000 IRA prisoners across the Irish Free State in 1923 (1302) in
protest against their continued imprisonment. After their deaths, the strikers
ended their protest.
During The
Emergency, Ireland’s name for World War II, Tony D’Arcy (1940/1319), Sean
McNeela (1940/1319), and Sean McCaughery (1946/1325) died on hunger strike.
Sean
McCaughey was the first blanket man. Imprisoned in Ireland for membership in
the IRA in 1941 (1320), he refused to wear a prison uniform and lived in a
blanket for five years. In April 1946 (Farvardin 1326), he went on hunger
strike, and after 16 days refused water. He died on 11 May (21 Ordibehesht) at
the age of 30 after 23 days of hunger then thirst strike.
Prior to
the big one in 1981 (1359-60), two IRA volunteers died on hunger strike during
The Troubles.
From 14
November 1974 (23 Aban 1353) through 7 June 1975 (17 Khordad 1354), Marion
Price and Dolores Price, along with Gerry Kelly, Hugh Feeney, Michael Gaughan,
Frank Stagg, and Paul Holme refused food for 205 days and were force-fed 170
times. They were being held in English prisons and were striking to be
repatriated to Ireland.
After one
of these force-feedings, Michael Gaughan died on 2 June (12 Khordad) at the age
of 24. They ended their strike when the British promised repatriation; the
British reneged on their deal.
Two years
later, Frank Stagg began another hunger strike demanding an end to his solitary
confinement, no prison work, and repatriation to Ireland. He died on 12
February 1976 (23 Bahman 1354) at the age of 33 after 62 days.
Other
hunger strikers
Aside from
Irish republicans, the best known worldwide is Mahatma Gandhi, a key figure in
India’s struggle for independence from the British Empire. As mentioned before,
hunger striking in India’s culture goes back as far as it does among the Irish.
In America
in the early 20th (late 12th) century, labor union
activists, socialists, and anarchists, particularly members of the Industrial
Workers of the World, often employed hunger striking as a method of protest
when in jail.
Suffragettes,
women campaigning for the right to vote, in both America and Britain employed
hunger strikes as a form of protest. In both countries, the women were
subjected to forced-feeding, resulting in the deaths of several in Britain.
Aside from
many other examples, there have been several hunger strikes among the prisoners
at Guantanamo Bay. The largest peaked at 131 in September 2006 (Shahrivar
1385). Force-feeding has been employed upon hunger striking prisoners strapped
into chairs for the procedure.
The
June 2011 (Khordad 1390) reformist hunger strike in Iran’s prisons
There were several mistakes.
First, there were no clear goals or demands. The strike was mainly cast as a protest against the deaths of fellow prisoners Haleh Sahabi, who was murdered at her father’s funeral, and Reza Hoda Saber, who suffered a heart attack after being beaten for fasting in protest of Sahabi’s death. No fasting or hunger strike will bring back the dead.
Second, many of the men who went on hunger strike were already in poor health. Once several of the participants had to be sent to the infirmary, where they still refused food, the others had but two choices: let several of their hospitalized comrades who were unwilling to give up their protest die, or end their strike prematurely.
Third, since those on the reformist hunger strike chose the latter, as any Irish republicans in that exact situation probably would have done, it was too short. Nine days isn’t really a hunger strike. When I was getting ready for confirmation in the Catholic Church (I’m now an atheist), I fasted for eight days, from Lazarus Saturday through Holy Saturday, and worked every day.
Of course, at the time I was half the age of most of the men in Evin, Rajai Shahr, and Gohar Dasht who were participating.
Fourth, too many outsiders kept calling on the men to end their hunger strike. Hunger strike is a deeply personal commitment that no outsider has a right to interfere with.
If you are going to declare a hunger strike, you need to have clear demands, be in good health before beginning, and be willing to die if necessary. A hunger strike is a battle of wills, the ultimate form of nonviolent resistance. Of course, if after a long enough period demands haven’t been met, there is no shame or dishonor in calling if off after a lengthy period. But it should be long enough to demonstrate your will.
If possible, discuss the issue ahead of time with your loved ones.
In addition, a hunger strike should not be an impulse reaction. It is more likely to be successful with planning ahead, clearly defining goals, choosing participants carefully.
There were also a couple of major pluses. First was the courage and stubbornness of the men who took part, including those in the infirmary who refused to end their strike as long as their comrades remained on theirs. Second was the campaign of support that immediately sprang up from outside.
Those
still on hunger strike in Iran as of this writing:
Besides those from the reformist movement and its allies, several other men (and possibly women) remained on hunger strike as of 1 July 2011/10 tir 1390):
Mohammad
Ali Taheri,
a physician and practioner of alternative medicine, had been on hunger strike
at Evin Prison in Tehran since 12 May (22 Ordibehehst) this year. He was
striking against unfair treatment and conditions of his imprisonment.
Anvar
Khaziri, Kamran
Shakhi, and Ebrahim Seyedi are Kurdish activists who had
been on hunger strike since 1 June (11 Khordad), protesting their transfer to
Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj and their placement in general population among
ordinary criminals.
Kamal
Sharifi,
a member of the Kurdistan Free Reporters Union, had been on hunger strike in
Minab Prison in Hormozgan province since about 2 June (12 Khrodad). He had
recently been transferred to the infirmary at the prison.
Tiocafaidh
ar la, Rooze ma khahad amad, Thig ar latha, Saya'ty yawmana, Our day will come
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