A Letter Of A Prisoner - Essay Example

A Letter Of A Prisoner Dear Mom, We are allowed to receive visitors, or letters once a month. Please feel free t send me letters, and whenever you have time, you can also come to visit me. I hope life outside is treating both you and my daughter with tenderness and fairness. It is my prayer that you live well, and get enough to satisfy all your needs. I wish you to know that I miss you so much, and I am always longing to hear from you. My life in prison is a little hard, but I am glad to let you know that for these two months that I have been in prison, I have lived well, and have not had any major problem. It is all about trying to adapt, because life in here is not one of the best. It is quite murky, gloomy and sorrowful. There is no freedom and private space. I am confined in a big room with many other inmates who are under different convictions. Each one of them has their own strange behavior nd I would not want to be associated with any one of them. Sincerely, it is very hard to live with such people in the same room, especially for me, since I none of them is my friend, as I always distance myself from them. Earlier, most of them tried to get close to me, but I was not comfortable with that, so I had to put them off, and now I live my life. Unlike home, prison is not clean, sometimes when you get a chance to visit me, you may think that it is a clean place, because the outside has been kept tidy. However, from the inside, you come across every nature of dirt. It is a dirty and filthy place, but I am glad since I always try to keep my place as clean as possible. You taught me how to be clean and I still uphold that. Every moment of our lives is guided by rules, but there are some major rules that we should never fail to obey: 1. Tobacco and cigarettes are prohibited in the prison. 2. We all should be wearing the same uniform, which contains a green top and green pants. Wearing your own clothes is not allowed in prison. Inside the prison, we have a small clinic, something similar to the family doctor. One day I had a bad stomach ache and they took me to that clinic. The doctor examined me and assured me that I was going to be all right, and that there was no major problem to worry about. The pain stayed with me for two days, after that, they took me to the hospital with two guards because the doctor in the prison’s clinic did not know what I actually have. In hospital they said that it was the appendix, so I had the appendix operation done for me, and then I went back to the prison. In fact, the guards who were accompanying me were treating were very nice people. They treated me so nicely and for once I felt a touch of the love that I so long to have close to me; your motherly love. I noticed that they were better than when we are in prison. I suppose this was out of compassion. Normally they are not nice people, especially when dealing with us. Prison-officers are tough and stern in the jail. They often insult us, and however much we try to be good and obedient, they can never commend us for our behavior. All they do is insult and mock us; that is the life that I have to live here in prison. We are not treated with less dignity, and handled like animals, or some creatures that are less human. It is correct that we are here owing to the fact that we are convicted as criminals, even though, it is enough for us to be punished with the confinement. However, not all the warders are that bad. I usually meet a few good ones when I go to the library to study. Let me tell you something about the prison routine. Our day starts at 7:15 every morning lights,and lights are usually on by then. We are allowed to take breakfast from 7:45 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. Breakfast is the same every day; two boiled eggs and some cheese, this comes with bread and a glass of orange juice. Lunchtime is from 1:00 until 3:00 in the afternoon. It is usually rice and chicken, and salad on the side. Nonetheless, I have heard from the other inmates that during some special occasions we could have either meat or fish instead of the chicken. Finally, dinnertime is from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Then the day ends at 9:00 pm, and when we are locked up again in our cells until the next morning. Some inmates complain about the food that we are given, they say that it is bad quality and that the quantity is insufficient. In my opinion, I agree with the second part, because I sometimes still feel hungry, especially after the lunch. But, as for the quality of food I reckon that it is not bad. We always have to work every day on some labors that are given to us. We have six hours of work per day. We sew and make clothes as well as work on prison gardens. We also work in the prison kitchen either in preparing food section or washing the dishes, and also cleaning. Moreover, there are some recreational facilities inside the jail. There is an exercise yard, which has some outdoor games, and a gym which is provided with some equipment and indoor games that we can access during the day. Although those equipments are good, the space is too confined to do exercises or play games. It cannot fit more than six people a time. More than that, there is a little room made as a library, which is stocked with some books, most of them are religious books, but there are few other kinds of books, as well. The library is also supplied with a weekly newspaper. Similarly, there are educational books and stationary stuff , such as papers and pens in order to be available for inmates who are studying or practice writing. One of the positive things in here is the rehabilitation programs, as they call them. They set up several types of these programs such as, educational and entrepreneurial ones. These ones help us to either complete our study, or to learn something good that will facilitate our way to get a job at the end of our prison term. Besides, we can still use these skills to build on our talents and use them to create self employment, where possible. The prison also sets some other programs, which are related to prisoner’s crimes. For instance, drugs treatment, sexual treatment, psychological treatment and so on. Speaking about myself, I am included in one of the educational programs. As you know; I have not got the opportunity to complete my degree since I got married. At the moment, I am doing the registration in the university to study for a bachelor’s degree. To be honest, I see it is something good, and interesting to get away from this tedious life. At the same time, it may benefit me in the future; at least, I will not stay without any means of making a decent income. The final striking thing in here is that we have some foreigner inmates from other countries. They have different religions and are allowed to practice their own devotions inside the prison in a special place, which prepared for that. I hope you have enjoyed reading this letter. Please remember to pray for me, and know that I really miss you and my daughter. Please take good care of her, so that she will not end up in prison like her mother. Let her know that I love her so much. May God Bless you my dear mom With Love, From your one and loving daughter. References O’Sullivan. E. and O’Donnell, I. 2012. Coercive Confinement in Ireland: Patients, Prisoners and Penitents. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Speaks’. American Quarterly, 51 (3):738-44. Broadhead, J. 2006. Unlocking the prison muse: the inspiration and effects of prisoners’ writing in Britain. Liverpool: Academic Press. Campbell, B., McKeown, L. and O’Hagan, F. 1994. Nor meekly serve my time: the H- Block struggle 1976-1981. Belfast: Beyond the Pale Publications. Hamm, T. 1999. ‘The Prisoner Speaks’. American Quarterly, 51 (3):738-44. James, E. (2003) A life inside: a prisoner’s notebook. London: Guardian Books. Read More