Becoming a Carceral Abolitionist - A Conversation with Souheil Benslimane
Channel: CAM/MAC Anthropologie / Anthropology / U Ottawa
Date: 2019-11-27

Through a conversation with activist and formerly incarcerated person Souheil Benslimane, this short film traces the story of a young man’s path toward a theory and practice of carceral abolitionism. Filmed and edited in Ottawa, Anishinaabewaki, Turtle Island (Ontario, Canada), the film begins with Souheil’s self-introduction, followed by a discussion of criminalization and the violence faced by incarcerated persons. The film ends with an excerpt taken from an article written by Souheil Benslimane titled “‘Please Shackle Me and Throw Away the Keys:’ How the Understanding of Alienation, Oppression and Determinism Led a Docile Body to Adopt an Abolitionist Stance” (forthcoming). 

Souheil Benslimane is a member of the Jail Accountability and Information Line (JAIL) and the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP). With a handful of students and professors, he works daily to support people inside (accessing medical treatment, legal representation, appeal and parole applications, etc.). With public reports, they work to hold prison institutions accountable. 

The images used to punctuate the interview footage serve two purposes: the first one is to illustrate (in a way that may be suggestive or metaphorical) the narrative aspect of Souheil Benslimane’s analysis and testimony; the second is to stress the context within which this film was made. That is, as we reflect on the abolition of prisons and carceral institutions it is important to remember that the dehumanizing articulations of these institutions take place on colonized land and affect, first and foremost, the members of the First Nations of these lands.

By Khalil Habrih