Hi Steemit,
so this year is my second year as a teacher in the jail of Sherbrooke a not so little town in Québec,Canada (I know, Quebec is not a country :P)
Prison is a lot like high school, but with some prison officers. There is a lot of gangs (some more powerful than others) there is a lot of intimidation, and to be honest, pretty much everyone wears a mask, they hide their emotions, except anger, that one is pretty hard to hide and come out quickly.
They don't complain about their situation and every time a guy complain the next day he will come back with a black eye.
So no one cry, no one complain and they show no emotion. But, my strength as a teacher is to relate really quickly with them, start to talk one on one, ask them some questions about what they enjoy (a major of time is MMA, UFC, or Politics). So as soon I find a common point I start to build a link from there.
After a while, guys start to open a little bit, but always in private, the beginning they ask for help, basics stuff, winter clothes, look something for them on the internet (they don't have access) and with the time and without even asking they come to my office and start to talk, they start to show their feelings, talk about why they are there, about their wife, kids, job, and they start to cry (I never see so many men cry, but it’s a relief for them). We even have a full day with individual meetings with them.
I let him do the talk, empty their heart, and when he starts to calm down I start to look for a solution for them or sometimes just listen is enough.
They even let me read and correct the letters they send to their wife, kids, brothers. Those letters are the most honest thing I ever read in my whole life.
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Those letters, that I keep in a USB key (with their permission) are all about the struggle in jail, how hard is to be far from their families, how hard is to always be aware of everyone and everything, they way they are treated, and the way they don’t feel like a normal citizen anymore.
They are scared of being in jail, but they are even more afraid of when they will come out, what they gonna say to their kids, how they will be receipt by their wife or families, they are afraid of the judgment of the others. Because when you go to jail you left alone your wife with the bills, with all the things to care (house, kids, bills, grocery, and bailiff) So they feel more guilty and all the friends, neighbors, what they gonna think about him? They can’t wait to exit from jail, but they are aware that outside is not gonna be easy.
And for others guys who are alone in life, for them the jail is outside, trap to some old addictions, some really bad relationship and to look each day for something to eat, a place to stay. Often, those guys are the ones who came back in jail 4 months later.
What is missing in the society is a link between the jail and the outside world, someone who can help them to build a link between them and their families, between them and their job and between them and the society, is a project that I have in mind and I try to build with the school.
The majority of them are not criminal, but people who need help and someone to hear them, to treat them like a man and not like a prisoner they need someone to help them with their esteem and not someone who will judge them! This is my approcah with them.
Thx for the read and I wish you a happy new year! And sorry for my english, I work really hard to be better and better!!