LIFE IN THE PRISON: SOCIETY STARTS TO LEND A HELPING HAND

By Frederick Noronha

PANJIM, March 19: Gracy is barely eight months old, and her home
already is the women's cell of the Aguada Central Jail. Her
parents have been charged with murder, so she spends her days
with her mum. Gracy's father is at the Vasco jail.

This blissfully-unaware and still-breastfeeding infant represents
one more-dramatic face of society's forgotten people. There are
other tragic stories too. Goa has been good at dumping a section
of her society into jails, and simply forgetting about them.

But things could be changing. Officials in the state are opting
for a more enlightened attitude towards prisoners, and there are
a few fledging attempts by citizens groups to help out too.

Inspector-General of Prisons Sanjeev Khirwar, who is also the
North Goa Collector, and a team of his more concerned officials
are trying against the odds. Including an acute shortage of
funds. Whether they succeed or not only time will tell.

Citizens' groups have begun coming to help. But somewhat
hesitatingly, and in limited numbers. Nonetheless the few who
have begun coming have already shown some commitment, officials say.

Literacy classes have been started, even if finding volunteers to
travel to the remote jail is proving difficult. One yoga expert
also volunteers time to help the prisoners. Besides, the popular
and widely-appreciated Vipassana form of meditation is making its
appearance in the Central Jail.

Retired educationist Sister Jane, now at St Anthony's Boys Home
in Agassiam, is one of the few persons in the state practising a
'prison ministry', trying to make life more bearable for those
life seemingly holds no hope or future for.

Some time back, the Red Cross created files of prisoners, listing
ailments each was suffering from. In the case of some prisoners,
the authorities say they have to occur huge medical bills,
running into thousands in the case of serious patients.

Jaycee clubs are being contacted to help with the possible
collection of donated medicines. Horticulturists and others have
offered to lend a hand in greening the area. If current dreams
take shape, the inmates could also get training in grafting
techniques.

Superintendent Hemant D Mashelkar says inmates could easily be
taught skills such as wax-making or phenyl manufacturing.
Officials also feel that RDA courses could help the prisoners to
get some qualifications and skills during their otherwise-wasted years.

RDA, the Rural Development Agency, is being requested to start
classes for inmates in tailoring and diesel mechanics.

To improve the food standards, the services of a dietetician was
sought, and changes were suggested to the menu. Plans are afoot
to start a society for the prisoners, so that they could get an
incentive to work for the money they earn, and spend it on
building up facilities for themselves.

Officials however complain that they have to struggle against
nature and man, in their attempts to improve facilities.

"Everything gets rusty here in months," said one staffer,
pointing to the saline breeze that pervades the area just
adjoining the point where the scenic Mandovi meets the Arabian
Sea. "We are starved of water while other influential neighbours
seem to have enough for lawns and their pools," said another.

Convicts at the jail appear mellow. Some are repentant, a few
claim they were "framed". But most seem to have settled down to
their long sentences, unlike undertrials in other jails. Out of
the 198 inmates in the jail, 42 are lifers, and 34 have jail-
terms of between 10-15 years. There are 84 undertrials too.

Currently, the jail houses quite a few held under the stringent
anti-narcotics NDPS Act. At one end of the jail, four Western
young men -- whom you could mistake for tourists -- share a cell
with the aging and now almost-totally-blind Freddy Peat,
convincted in Goa's most high-profile paedophile case.

Some recent high-profile cases of Britons jailed for narcotics
related cases resulted in a lot of negative publicity being given
to the conditions at the jail. But officials don't agree that
this sparked off the changes. "Changes have been coming about
before the press (came)," said deputy collector Sanjit Rodrigues.

Help is to be sought from those with experience in
vermicomposting, so jail-wastes can be turned into manure.
Recently, the small library at the Aguada jail was refurbished,
and now a prisoner himself takes care of the books in the cupboard.

Prisoners make their own bread, which the officials hope to sell
and credit the earnings to the prisoners' accounts. Officials
have also

Manuel from Mapusa, facing the murder rap, has been given
permission to bring in a guitar. Francis Mascarenhas of Curchorem
has got permission to bring in the keyboards, provided he teachs
other prisoners this instrument too.

Some small measures seem to be going some way in giving the
prisoners a feeling all is not lost.

Jails in Goa have long been neglected. Funds allocations has been
low too. Persons nominated to the jail-visiting committees --
including journalists -- have in the past complained that they
did not pay a single visit to the jails during an entire two year term.

It is learnt that the funds allocated to the jails are barely
sufficient to pay for the staff salaries, and the food
requirements of the inmates. Efforts to improve conditions
recently required a whole lot of infrastructure to be set right.
Toilets, lighting, cooking facilities, civil works.

"This is not really a jail. It is basically a fort," say
officials, pointing to Aguada. This makes maintenance a difficult
proposition. Goa has plans to build a new central jail, possibly
at Curca or Batim.

"People are not born criminals. Society has its hand in making
them criminals. It would be nice if society could give something
back (to help these people). Prisons should be reformative, and
not retributive," says Sanjit Rodrigues, the deputy collector.