The term is clearer than imprisonment .It embodies the removal from society of an individual for reasons that though are stated as legal often do not appear to be so. The very act of removal (sending down legally) forces the detainee to close down dramatically and adapt to an environment where the input is minimal except for the insular little world encapsulated within the walls of the containment zone. This means the loss of all we take for granted from traffic noise to aromas, sounds and conversations. It is quite eerie at first, the dramatic change in sounds and the quantity or volume of noise, the realisation especially at night when all is quiet, that he world still continues on its merry way outside the walls. But you can seldom even catch sight of it so it becomes more and more unreal every day. Yes there is most often (not in all places or countries) a TV to watch and Newspapers to read but the disembodiment continues as it becomes them and me (sometimes but not always it can become us) and I want to be there. I am alone among caged animals if in prison or alone with myself if in solitary in whatever form and I can turn to, rely on, beseech or plead only with myself. Even with a complex network of friends and family supporting you with visits and mail, you are still cut off. So goes life under imprisonment.
But what of the individuals caught up in the Kafkaesque system for reasons of politics, crime, social crimes or any other purportedly logical reason that either are or believe themselves to be innocent and wrongly found guilty. How do they deal with the cut offness? If you are innocent and are locked up, then the complexities start to multiply as the complete insanity of what you are caught in is not logical and therefore cannot be legal. The problems start to mount after an amount of time has passed. For people like Julian Assange the very fact of his long imprisonment in an Embassy ( The Ecuadorian Embassy )has taken its toll on his health. He also has limited contact and access to information leading to further lack of social attachment. This man is suffering because he dared to openly publish the truth of what Governments do in the name of the people without their knowledge (specifically the US Government).
By what means can he be held accountable because he brought to the public's attention the fact that the United States Government and its Agencies were openly committing crimes. How did he commit a crime by reporting a crime? Does this now mean that if I enter a Police Station to say I saw a crime being committed that I will be sent to prison for reporting it? Even Gogol in His Madness could not have foreseen such behaviour. This cannot be allowed to continue without open protest because if he can be put through such unwarranted inhumane treatment, then we too all face the same future should we be blind enough to misunderstand the rules of the game. (It should be noted that the Sexual assault Allegations from Sweden against Assange were dropped by the complainant and there is no case to answer). And the Rules are simple. Do not oppose Us openly or covertly. Do not expose Us. Do not communicate about Us. But I stupidly thought we had Human rights and the Law protected us from abuses of power or insanity. Not according to today's trend (it has been slowly increasing since the 70's) where the right of Governments, Multinationals and certain power players individually and in organised groups as well as peripheral wolves have taken for granted that their rights override those of the people.
But the British Government (I hope not the people but I cannot be sure) refuses to guarantee Mr. Assange safe passage to an Airport to leave their jurisdiction. Why? At the behest of the USA which wants to crucify Mr Assange like they did to Bradley Manning (now Chelsea Manning) and Edward Snowden for 'whistle blowing'. If we have this term, then the Law must recognise it as a logical and necessary right bestowed on every Human by Law (though it is a Right and therefore Not to be Bestowed) so that excesses in the system can be stopped and removed. Not so that the perpetrator becomes the accuser putting the whistle blower who in all honesty because they believe in Freedom of Information and Speech, then told everyone who was interested or listening that this was occurring so as to stop it and prevent further abuses from occurring.
A Crime against all of them. No, it did not only involve Heads of State like Angela Merkel but the common everyday citizen who has nothing serious to hide (we all have skeletons and our cupboards are huge)and cannot fathom why he is being watched and listened to. Paranoia? I would have agreed but too many years have given me too many revelations about what is done in 'Our Names'. Sorry but Not in Mine. Nor do I accept that it is for' the Greater Good' because I want to know conclusively who decides this and what are their agendas. I do not see why I should be silenced from thinking as they have done to Julian Assange and others especially most of the political prisoners whose crime is not insurrection but daring to think out loud. Are we sheep? Or dare we openly antagonise them by contesting their right to behave in this manner. Do we have not only the Will to do so but the tenacity to withstand their actions to silence us and the long period of time they will ensure passes before any progress is achieved by the usual time wasting methods.
Mr.Assange represents all of us in all our walks of life. We are as vulnerable as he is and he will die in the Embassy soon as his health is deteriorating rapidly, an outcome they would prefer. We are becoming the voiceless majority, long known as the silent majority but unlike them, we are now muzzled. And the Prisoner, the old series from the 70's had it right. The complete schizophrenia resultant from the experience of being removed. Because that is what it really is. So do we calmly sit back and think of what we can do? There are many options available and all of them require exploring but in order for any of them to work, the level of noise or media coverage is what will count as the large majority of the population need to roused out of their apathetic torpor. We all bear the responsibility for this state of affairs because we all stayed silent until this point. Will we stay silent for more time? We the thinking minority have to decide if the poem below applies to us or are we really so removed from the true reality we all inhabit that it is impossible for us to see let alone start implementing the changes required to shift the status quo.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--- Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--- Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--- Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me---and there was no one left to speak for me.
. Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892-1984).
To boldly write what is never written.
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