A few quick words from Refractario on the COVID-19 pandemic

The spread of covid 19 around the world reached the territory dominated by the Chilean State, the rate of sick people grows exponentially and we assume the number of dead people will grow.

Far from speculating on its origins and roots, we believe that it is clear that today we have to fight against a disease on the one hand and the increasingly restrictive measures of social control that states seek to impose on us and others. The reality in prisons is no different, as shown by the riots, escape attempts and mobilizations that have multiplied inside the prisons, since enduring such an illness inside the prisons in practice is a death sentence.

The revolt that is shaking the foundations of the Chilean state has changed drastically due to the force of the context. We do not sit down to cry, but we rather assume the need to know how to overcome these new scenarios and also maintain the confidence that we will take the streets again.

From Refractario we call to remain alert regarding the situations inside the prisons: In the southern prisons where different mapuche community members are imprisoned, in the Santiago 1 prison and the San Miguel prison where most of the prisoners of the revolt are held, in the High Security Prison where our comrades, prisoners of the social war, are being held hostage.

Communication with the prisoners is likely to become less and less fluid, with restrictions on visits and increasing bans looming. We’re out here, we’re with the prisoners, and we’re watching what might happen.

It is likely that in practice, due to the increasingly restrictive measures to move around the city and to communicate, the Refractory page will fall out of date. We will try our best to keep the site as up to date as possible within our capabilities. Since 2012, when we started and continued this project, keeping active in different periods in spite of different obstacles, our possible absence for this period will only be due to force majeure. As soon as we can, we will keep our website active and updated as it has been for 8 years now.

Remain vigilant for our prisoners of social war!

We’ll be back on the streets!

We’re gonna get our prisoners out of jail again!