A ray of hope for tormented souls behind bars

‘All that they want is someone to listen to them’

March 18, 2018 05:53 pm | Updated 05:53 pm IST

MADURAI

She is the first woman in Tamil Nadu to be given permission by the government to enter Madurai Central Prison and interact with inmates. D. Helen Christina , zoology professor at Sri Meenakshi Government College for Women, has for long counselled girls who came with emotional baggage. Not just those with suicidal tendencies but also those who deliberately indulged in self-harming. She has done her PG diploma in Counselling and M. Sc. in Counselling and Psychotherapy. In a conversation with Beulah Rose, the counsellor explains her prison mission since the idea struck her while attending a training session organised by the police.

Recounting her first visit, she tells of a raw world that is fragile and cracked in some places. The first time, she was met with complete indifference. It took a couple of visits for the inmates to open up. In the prison, it is a surreal life. Bonds are established but each inmate has his own nightmare. She tells of an inmate with end-stage cancer. He is given medical care and taken out regularly for chemotherapy. But when he is brought in and locked up and when nausea strikes, it is the cell mate who cleans up the mess as he lies crumbled on bed. The dying man knows that he won’t have this much of care even at home.

Many inmates are also aware that visits by loved ones would dwindle. Some, scared of the stigma, refuse to acknowledge their kinship and for young children, these inmates are a mere blip in their lives.

Ms. Helen first gives them a sense of hope and an identity and more importantly prepares them for the world outside. Struck by the fact that many of the long-term prisoners have only one request and that is to tell others that living a life inside is not worth committing a crime. Ms. Helen is working on a peer group inside the prison. The group is ready to talk of all that they have lost.

First person account, she says, can create the right impact in the lives of remand prisoners. Remand prisoners, most of whom are in their 20s, are frequently in and out of jail. Recently, she interacted with two youth who were caught stealing motorcycles and what surprised her was their casual demeanour. Nonchalantly, they said that they had sold them for a few thousands as they wanted to party with friends. They were confident of their parents getting them out on bail soon.

Society has changed and so also the way we look at crime, Ms. Helen points out. Earlier, stealing invited not just censure but also a good dose of beating from parents and teachers. Now, the utmost a teacher can do is reprimand a student for stealing or fighting. If the teacher is harsh, then the parents not only berate the teacher but also shift the child to another school. So the child grows up thinking that what he has done is acceptable. The same boy who steals a pen goes on to steal a mobile and later snatches a gold chain. For him, the object he has stolen is a means to achieve his own pleasure and the consequences of the act do not matter.

Ms. Helen wants the long-term prisoners to talk to them about the consequences. She tells of an inmate in his 60s, who is inside for almost 16 years. His zeal to create awareness is so great that he is ready to talk on any platform about the cruel life inside.

Curfew time – 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. – is tough, when guilt preys and fear consumes rational thoughts. To keep depressing thoughts at bay, Ms. Helen has motivated them to read a verse each from the Gita, the Koran and the Bible. They are also motivated to jot down their thoughts.

Next Ms. Helen is planning to start music therapy. Her service is non-remunerative and not funded by any organisation. She says these are lonely people trying to weave a new life. And all that they want is someone to listen to them.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.