Community of Sant'Egidio - Friends in prison

Poverty, which affects a great part of the African continent, clearly emerges even in the prisons.

In these detention sites, frequently the greatest problem is that of succeeding in obtaining freedom, even when it is due. In many African nations, in fact, the law does not set limits to precautionary custody. Added to this is the fact that the sentences are never pronounced. The difference of social class matters much in this regard. Those who are rich pay to have a judgement and to go free. Those who are poor stay in prison. This situation is worsened by the fact that frequently the sentences are not proportioned to the crimes committed. Frequently, in trying to know the reasons for the imprisonment, one discovers that some of the prisoners have been there for years for having stolen food, soap, a chicken, three handkerchiefs

The prisons are frequently in disastrous hygienic state. In the majority of cases, there are no beds, no toilets and the cells are highly overcrowded. The food provided by the prison institution is insufficient. Those who have no relatives to bring them food suffer hunger. In some places prisoners get sick very easily. The most frequent illnesses are pneumonia, malaria, TB, AIDS, severe intestinal or skin diseases. In the infirmaries there is no possibility of treatment, not even for firearm wounds or fractures. In some situations the probability of death in the course of one's detention is high. So it is that at times detention is almost equivalent to a death without sentence.

My dear friend C.,

ï¿½This prison was established for political prisoners. In 1990, it was transformed into a prison for common crimes. So it was that we were taken from different prisons of the nation and were brought here in 1990. From 1990 on, none of us has ever received a family visit because of the distance. It is for this reason that I stretch out my hands: to tell you, in the name of all my brother prisoners, that we beg the grace of your generosity asking that you gather some old clothes and shoes for us. If you and your friends and neighbours could gather these things and send us a package....,we have nothing here and are almost naked and without clothingï¿½

Personally I need little things for personal hygiene-a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, etc.ï¿½underpants.