Hungary: Maja’s Statement on the End of Her Hunger Strike

Dear people, dear comrades and people who support me,

My name is Maja. Since June 5, I have been on hunger strike [ see here ; Ed. ]. I started it to protest my illegal and unredressed extradition from Germany to Hungary a year ago, the repressive persecution of anti-fascists, the dubious legal proceedings with a pre-determined outcome, my solitary confinement, which continues to this day, and the inhumane conditions of detention in Hungarian jails. Now, after almost six weeks, I have decided to suspend my hunger strike.

I don’t want to continue abusing my health, because I feel that if I don’t turn around now, it will soon be too late. So, it wouldn’t do much good if my requests were met. I would be scarred for life, perhaps I already am. I never wanted to get to this point; I naively hoped that something as radical as the hunger strike would finally raise awareness among those in charge and all those who can change something, that they would take action, after a year of soothing statements, smiles, and ignorance.

Now, there’s not much left of me. My body—a skeleton, with an intact, fighting, and living spirit. It smiles, searches the horizon for freedom and community, and refuses to accept the lack of justice. But I’m not ready to take the step toward imminent death. Of course, we’re not sure; maybe there are still a few days, maybe a few weeks. But if I were to lose consciousness, I would be shifting the responsibility onto the people fighting alongside me, something I’m not ready to impose on anyone. The same would happen if I were subjected to force-feeding.

On July 1st, I was transferred to a prison hospital, 250 km from Budapest, because by then there were already serious concerns about the stability of my health. The new location is quieter than the jail in the big city, but just as isolated, if not more so. Contact with my family is also severely limited. My lawyer, always an indispensable support, now needs a whole day to visit me. During my hour-long walk in the courtyard, I don’t meet any fellow inmates. I spend the remaining 23 hours in the cell, because there are no activities here. The loneliness is heartbreaking, homesickness fills the horizon. Medically, it is possible to get the body back on its feet in this place, but mental recovery seems impossible here. With the predictable return to Budapest, nothing will have changed, because there awaits me what made the hunger strike a necessity. Neither hospital nor prison in Hungary can be a solution.

My demands remain unchanged! I require a transfer back to Germany or house arrest and legal proceedings in accordance with the rule of law. I am determined not to remain silent and to protest, even in the future, for as long as necessary.

I am now ending my hunger strike so that no one is responsible for any long-term or permanent damage to my health. However, this does not absolve anyone of the responsibility to create humane detention conditions, free from pain and suffering, for everyone, to conduct independent judicial proceedings in accordance with the rule of law, whose sentence is not written in advance, and to guarantee the integrity of the detained person, to respect their dignity instead of despising and punishing them. If this does not happen, if my demands are still ignored, I am determined to resume my hunger strike.

I demand what is necessary—that I be able to be at home with my family, that I be able to develop through school, work, etc., that I be able to prepare for trial on an equal footing and no longer be buried alive in a cell. I am still waiting for a clear and honest word, an apology from those responsible for my extradition, as well as an offer of reparation. Even if it comes last, it is the most important thing to me.

Thank you to all those who spoke out, who stood by our side, and to those who have been there, courageously, for a long time, to those who firmly defend the need for anti-fascism, to those who support us, who sacrifice nights and days, who donate, and who are anchors. This diversity is called resistance and utopia at the same time. My thoughts constantly go out to my family and close comrades, knowing the pain they are experiencing and admiring their courage and self-sacrifice. My thanks are expressed today in words. But rest assured that the seed of solidarity with what is possible has fallen on fertile soil. Thus, I hope that not only I, but also many others have been able to unite courage and strength of will, in these last weeks, to look forward, hand in hand, never forgiving, but smiling.

With thoughts of solidarity. A presto, I’ll be in touch [ “See you soon, I’ll give you some news” in Italian ].

Maja

via: attaque Translated by Act for freedom now!

Hungary: Maja’s statement on the end of her hunger strike

https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=20415