HIV Awareness raising in prisons and communities

Siam-Care has been visiting prisoners for many years now. Especially in the hospital section of the Klong Prem prison in Bangkok we have counselled hundreds of inmates. In this update we would like to share how we use your donations to make a difference for people in a dark place.

2 times a month 3 of our staff members reach out to the prisoners in the hospital section of the notorious Klong Prem prison. The section where we conduct our program is only for HIV-infected prisoners. Most of them only found out in prison that they were infected, which means they have very little knowledge of HIV/Aids. Therefore we always use one of our 2 monthly sessions so teach about HIV/Aids; how do you prevent the infection from spreading, why is it important to take your medication, etc. Most prisoners don’t stay long in the hospital section, every session we meet new people. Hence it is important to keep on sharing the basics of HIV/Aids.

Life after prison
But today we didn’t come to educate the inmates. The second of the 2 monthly session, we use to counsil prisoners and talk about their situation. Today we have decided to talk about the future, about life after prison. This is a difficult subject, since some inmates will never experience freedom again. Some of them will die in prison, others have to serve a life sentence in prison. Thankfully most of the prisoners will be released at some point, sometimes in a few months, sometimes in a few years or even decades.

Prove they can do good
During our session we challenge the inmates to draw their future. What will it look like? Some prisoners draw a big house and a big car. Some draw themselves working and making a lot of money. But the vast majority draws themselves being reunited with their family. They all feel like they have let down their parents, partners and children. They feel guilty and want to make up for what they have done. As Siam-Care we believe that everybody deserves a second chance. Even murderers, thiefs and rapists. Will you enable us to let the inmates dream about a better future? A future in which they will change their behaviour and get a second chance? Thank you for your donations, which allow us to give hope to people who have messed up once, but are dying to show the world that they can do good as well.

A group of women, dressed in blue. Isolated from the outside world. And a little bird, free to fly out. Singer Anouk from The Netherlands once sang a strange song about birds. When I was in the prison for women, this song suddenly made sense.

As part of our activities, the women did a little performance. One of them carried a sign ‘HIV-infected’. Facing her with disgust, another woman took a step back and shivered. We all laughed about it. But in my heart, it made me cry. This time it was a performance, but outside prison it happens every day. Sometimes being yourself is wrong apparently.

Though the women seem happy when we visit them, their faces sometimes show something else. Some of the inmates are young, but look old and tired. Sometimes they smile, but seconds later they sadly stare at the sky. Their minds wander off, who knows what their futures will look like?

A small bird flew into the group and landed on the shoulder of a young woman. The woman told me proudly: “that’s our bird, we take care of it”. I watched how the bird flew to different women and made them smile for a while. It made me think of the song of Dutch singer Anouk. “Birds falling down the rooftops, out of the sky like raindrops. No air, no pride. That’s why birds don’t fly.” I never understood the lyrics, but now I do. When you have been a prisoner and you have HIV, you are considered amongst the lowest of Thai society. With no air and no pride, you are like a bird with one wing. Even your hope can turn into fear.

But hope is strong. And we come to prison to repair the other wing. We come to give back hope and dignity. We tell the women about their value, despite of their illness. We share God’s love and teach them self-confidence. And we hope that one day, when they are released from prison, they will spread out their wings and fly.