Today I got the opportunity to visit the infamous Changi Prison in Singapore! Really really lucky, coz it is by the fastest finger and there are very limited slots to begin with...
Today didn't rain, surprisingly, even though the sky is dark and dreary. I took the train all the way from Chinese Garden mrt to Pasir Ris Mrt, and had to take a 15 min bus ride to Prison Link centre (long ride><)
As soon as I reached Prison Link Centre, I was pleasantly surprised by how atas the whole place looked, and DID NOT look like anything related to holding inmates (except for the name of course). We were then told to leave all our belongings, phones and recording devices on the lockers assigned and left to visit the real prison via a bus (Prison Link centre is just a holding place for relatives to contact or do televisiting with the inmates)
Before I arrived at my destination, we had to go through multiple security gates and checkpoints (5??!!) The officer then said that those are a special pair of gates, in which only one of the gates can open at any time. This is to prevent any dash-through, breaking out by the inmates.
When I reached Cluster B, I was once again pleasantly surprised by the exterior of the buildings where the inmates were held custody in. No kidding, it looks like a condo, white walls with clean orange stripes. Pretty, But looks are often deceiving. Once I entered the building, it was a different matter. Dull white walls. Blue doors, metal gates... It immediately gave me the feeling of oppression. All the inmates have to shave their hair wear standardised clothes and discipline is very much emphasised. Even though they do have recreational time (1-2 hours), they are stuck within the building for most of the time. They couldn't even see how beautiful the buildings are or any of the natural environment outside.
The main motto for the Patrolling Officers is to rehab, renew and restart the lives of the inmates, to motivate them, impart them the necessary skills for them to start a new life, and reduce the risk of reoffending and revisiting the prison again. Which makes a lot of sense, as if the prison was a good place to live in(with free food and medical services), I am pretty sure most of the inmates are not willing to leave this place and face the harsh realities of life. The officer then told us stories about how some of these inmates will try means to prolong their stay here, one by punching the officer in the face right before he can step out of the security gate. Funny huh? But at the same time sad. How can anyone be satisfied with prison life? You practically cannot see the daylight, and everyday is pretty much the same routine... But if the world outside no longer holds anyone that cares about me... no one who I can honestly trust and believe in... I will want to stay also, because I can feel that the officers here still care and did not give up hope in. That is perhaps how some of these inmates feel.
To be human is to err. "They are humans too!" 2 different officers said this exact sentence, who convinced me how much they believed in maximising potentials in these individuals. And to reduce number of intakes to prison, everyone in the community must contribute as well. We should not judge things at face value and be convinced by our "mental shortcuts", because such evaluations are often wrong. Blame the crime, but not blame the person committing the crime. Everyone deserves a chance, and ultimately, it is up to us to provide them any form of support, or simply treating these erred individuals as part of this society will be good enough. Perhaps I should consider taking SPS as a career choice( and scare my parents to death hahahah.... well I need to clarify their myths and doubts first!)
