Quiet Dramas

In my workplace, I have the displeasure of regularly encountering prison inmates in the hallways. They smell of stale sweat and feces.

I feel bad for the newly arrested detainees, I really do. These thugs and hoodlums act all tough but all that bluster can't hide their palpable dread. You can see the fear in their eyes and the tension underneath the skin. Nobody likes prison, especially Philippine prison. Acting tough is laughable. I'll spare the reader the details regarding the situation of our jails but it truly is hell on earth. Conditions there are inhumane, it's where the dregs of society are dumped to be forgotten. They're the justice system's problem now. With luck, they might find some cog in the machine who really cares.

These new offenders need only take a good look at the older detainees passing by to see their future. Those that have been in the pen for too long carry an air of quiet, fatalistic acceptance. They're shuffling automatons who have either lost too much of their lives and are desperate to make up for it, or have accepted that death will probably take them before they get out.

It's not all so bleak. The inmates are brought to the courts en masse in the morning even if they're trial is in the afternoon. Their families use this opportunity to visit them outside the court in between office hours. Now, I think that prisoners interacting with the public is prohibited (or ought to be), but the prison guards just let it slide. They do this not out of the goodness of their hearts, but rather the fact that there's too few of them to do crowd control. The families often bring with them food and other little comforts. It's not uncommon to see wives and children using this time to be like a family for a while. The inmates relish this opportunity to get some "fresh" air and use toilets (that even flush!).

Come to think of it, this moment of laxity by the prison guards is the perfect opportunity to sneak in contraband. Maybe this is why the wardens of our jails can't seem to get a grip on drugs. Ah, well.

Even through the worst moments of these people's lives, their families are there for them. It's admirable. It's depressing. It's very human. Most of these people are dirt poor and have nothing but  each other. Some of these people are scum but somehow, there's still someone who loves them.

Hmm...