Karuna

Okay, so I've been talking a lot about sex workers and brothels. Now it's time to get back to my other passion..prisons!

One of the main reasons I have come back to Kathmandu, Nepal, a place where I volunteered 3 years ago, is Proscovia, a Ugandan woman who is incarcerated here. To understand her situation and how I came to know her, I have to start from the beginning, and now with this blog I have the opportunity to share it all!

In January 2009 as part of my orientation to volunteering in Nepal, we were taken to a prison, likely as a means to show us what could happen if we did something stupid in this country. Not a bad idea given some of the yahoos that come from Canada :) When I saw the prison visit on the orientation itinerary I was super excited as I have always been infatuated with prisons. As a child, I remember on trips into Winnipeg, always asking my parents to tell me when we were close to Headingly Jail. I'm not sure what I thought I would see, perhaps prisoners running around, or maybe an escapee looking for a ride into the city. Unfortunately I never saw anything that exciting but just seeing Headingly's stone walls and watch tower enthralled me.

The prison had 3 separate jails; the two largest were for men and in the actual compound while a third was for women and down a dirt road outside of the actual complex. All the security checkpoints and visiting areas were outdoors. First there was main security which was pretty basic; a check of your bag and a frisk. After that, another check-in where you signed in and got your visiting slip. While waiting there for our group to be processed, I couldn't believe that there was a list of foreigner prisoners posted on the wall, with their name, country and case, whether it be drugs, rape, murder etc. No confidentiality here! At that time anyone could show up, look at the list and visit anyone they wanted. A dream set up for a girl who is dying to get into a prison!

That day some of the volunteer group went to visit to the women's prison to visit a Thai girl, while others went to visit a Nigerian man named Teo. As fate would have it, I met Teo and the rest is history...

At the time Teo was about 40 and had been in jail for nearly 17 years. He was happy to meet us, and talked openly about himself and his situation. We got the basic story that day and over time I got more details, some of which are now fuzzy, but the gist goes like this...

Teo had been travelling to various countries buying and selling various items. At the time of his arrest he had luggage full of children's clothes. That sure must have been strange for the police to see! He had been in Kathmandu for less than a week when he met some Thai girls. According to Teo drugs were found in their luggage in his hotel room. He and the girls were subsequently arrested and charged for drug trafficking. He was about 23 at that time.

During the legal process he had no legal representation, could not understand the charges against him as everything was in Nepali, and he was provided no interpreter to assist. He was forced to sign a statement that he didn't understand, was eventually convicted and sentenced to 16.5 years in prison. He had been languishing in prison ever since without support from the Nigerian Embassy or anyone else of importance in terms of influence on his case. Teo had a strong Christian faith though and through a local church had had support over the years from its membership, including foreigners. They had visited, brought gifts and sent letters back home. Teo had maintained relationships with friends from Nepal as well as abroad for over a decade and they had been his lifeline. He showed me pictures of foreign friends and their families, and while there I also met some of his Nepali friends, including children who had grown up visiting him as you would an uncle.

Over the years Teo had learnt the Nepali language, adapted to a different culture and very primitive living conditions. His routines were down pat and included daily morning exercise so he wouldn't get fat (he was never shy about telling me that I was looking fat despite me explaining that this was just not something you said to a woman, haha!), three meals a day which were cooked with another inmate (there was no way he would eat the prison food!) and visits in between as he was a popular guy! He took great pride in his appearance and always came out looking squeaky clean, with fresh clothes, including iron pressed jeans. He almost always had a smile on his face and had such funny mannerisms that he was an easy target to tease. We had many laughs when I did my impressions of him. He presented as very prim, proper and polite, with traditional values and beliefs, He certainly didn't have much good to say about Nepal or his fellow inmates. He was disgusted by their hygiene practices (or rather lack of), and the violence, rape and so on committed by his fellow inmates. He and my mother would get along as he didn't like me chatting with other prisoners who he thought were no good, such as Surendra, a gangster who had murdered a police officer, who I becae friends with. Surendra talked openly about his charge, the way things worked in the Nepali underworld and at the prison which was of course very interesting to me! But Teo would turn up his nose in disgust whenever I talked with him or of him.

Despite all that Teo had endured in 17 years, he was the most cheerful, positive and lovely man you could meet. I enjoyed that first visit so much that after that I started to visit him almost daily. Back to fate, my volunteer placement was just down the street from the prison so it was easy for me to stop in after work.

He was quite the host when I visited and would always insist that I have something to drink; tea in the winter, and soft drinks when it warmed up, and which he almost never let me pay for. The prison had a little canteen and somehow, someway, he had money to pay. I would often bring snacks and we would have a great time eating, drinking, and chatting about anything and everything. I kept up this routine of visiting almost daily for 2.5 months, then returned twice more for a few weeks each after short trips to India and SE Asia. Teo was a major reason for my returns. We had developed a strong connection and friendship and I knew that he very much looked forward to my visits. He reminded me of Grandma and Grandpa Moshenko who would always ask me when I was coming to visit them again, and question me where I had been if I had been away too long. He wanted me to come everyday and I was more than happy to oblige as I enjoyed every minute. After months of visiting all the guards knew me and many of the prisoners who held jobs within the prison (more on that later) became lovely hosts as well; always offering me drinks and chatting me up. It was simply the best...

I guess only Teo and the Thai girls truly know whether they were guilty or not. Teo adamantly denied his guilt, but I think he was. But to me, even if he was guilty, it doesn't matter. His case was such an injustice; to be arrested in another country, not have proper legal representation, understand the language or be afforded the right to an interpreter. Then, under those circumstances to be found guilty and sentenced to 16.5 years in a hellhole without any support from anyone. No embassy, no family, cut off from everyone and left to suffer for 17 years as if he never existed. He had basically lost his life likely over a bad decision he made very young in life.

I have to also comment on the prison conditions because being sentenced to prison time in Canada is not even close to that in Nepal. First of all in Canada, right or wrong, with his charge he may have been sentenced to a couple years. Unlike Canada, in Nepal, inmates aren't allowed computers, conjugal visits, any food they want and so on. This prison is primitive. You are given nothing; no bed, no toiletries. There is no hot water. You live on 40 rupees a day (50 cents) plus rice, so needless to say, if you don't have outside support it's difficult to survive. And that is why foreigners are in such a difficult position, because they don't have outside support.

As a Canadian, if I ever ended up in jail (not too much of a stretch given my interests, haha!), the Canadian Embassy would have to meet with me within 24 hours, and would certainly ensure that my rights were protected. While I was visiting Teo, a white American guy in his early 20s had been arrested for rape. I saw embassy representatives there on several occasions and within a few weeks he was released. Teo, because of where he was from, Nigeria, didn't have the same rights or privileges. And sadly, because of the political/economic situation in Africa, there are large numbers of African prisoners in jails all over the world, the majority from drug trafficking. And their embassies are far away and of no support.

An interesting side note which speaks to the importance of embassy support, as well as political interference/corruption is that the Thai girls were released after only a few years in prison. One of the Thai girls had political connections which led to the group being released in exchange for some Nepali prisoners who were incarcerated in Thailand. There was some sort of treaty between the two countries which allowed for same. Teo wasn't so lucky.

The other part to the story is that when I met him he had already served his 16.5 year sentence. But, despite being a model inmate, he had been sentenced to an additional 4 years as a result of not being able to pay a hefty fine given along with his jail term. So he was serving the second part of his sentence, and not surprisingly was chomping at the bit at a chance to get out. I advocated on his behalf with the closest Nigerian Embassy in India, the British Embassy given Nigeria's connection to that country, and wrote to Amnesty International, all with no success. Friends from the church were also trying to meet with politicians to advocate for him.

Then, he was pardoned. Every year many people are pardoned by the Prime Minister of Nepal I believe, as a one time amnesty of sorts. Teo was the first ever foreigner to be granted a pardon. We were all elated and for days were waiting for his release which we thought would be imminent. A plan had been worked out that he would be able to stay at the volunteer house with us temporarily until he could make arrangements to go home and we were even talking about where we would go for his first meal. A beer was at the top of his wish list!

It seemed so close, and everytime I visited, I anxiously awaited word, but there was always something preventing those pardoned from being released, like a festival, strike (banda) etc.

Teo was still in prison when I left Nepal for the first time in March 2009. It was so hard to leave and the special pizza lunch that I brought in wasn't much consolation. In true Teo fashion he remained cheerful and gave me a big smile as I left with sunglasses on to hide my tears from the inmates and guards who knew me well by this time. In hopes that he was going to be released, I left him money for a new passport as needless to say his had expired! I was so worried about how he would support himself if he was released as there would be a process to get back to Nigeria and money required to do so. Well Teo had other angels in his corner. A British friend of Teo's who had known him while living in Nepal for years, had sadly passed away from cancer not long before this. After his death a friend brought word that the friend had left money in his will for Teo; from what I remember, about 1300 pounds which was enough for him to get home! Teo remained worried about money but at least a couple of things were taken care of.

I returned to Nepal in both April and July 2009. The reunions were sweet, and our visits continued as if I had never left. By this time though Teo wasn't himself. He was preoccupied, frustrated and angry with the system. Who could blame him? Still he was waiting for his release.

The good news is that Teo was eventually released. I can't remember when exactly but it was approximately the fall of 2009. I believe that his church friends who had been meeting with the 'powers that be' ended up bribing someone which secured his release. That's pretty much the only way the system moves in this country. I received word from him once he was back in Nigeria and reunited with his family. He was of course happy to have his freedom but not surprisingly was struggling with reintegrating, including finding a job which is not easy to find in Nigeria, never mind after being out of the workforce and in prison for nearly 18 years. His mother had also died prior to his release and sadly wasn't apart of the reunion. But thankfully he had brothers and extended family who were supporting him adapt to a world he no longer knew.

The last time I spoke with Teo he was still struggling with not having a job but was still the cheerful guy that I remembered. He was still referring to me as his angel; someone who was there for him during a difficult time. I honestly believe that I got so much more from our relationship than he did. It gave purpose to my infatuation with prisons; in that I could do something to make the life of a foreign prison a little brighter, a little easier, provide support, advocacy or just some companionship. To let them know what was going on on the outside and that someone cared about them. Many people don't understand this. I hope that this story helps.

Good people make mistakes. For me, Teo (and Proscovia who I will talk of next) are proof of that. And what a travesty that he lost a good portion of his life as a result. After this experience I resolved to try and visit foreign prisoners wherever I went abroad, again, to brighten their day and give them a connection to the outisde. And that's what I've done since. I'm sure you've seen that Karuna is the name of this blog. Karuna means 'compassion' and compassion is what I felt Nepal was all about, and how I wanted to live; with compassion for others, particularly foreigners imprisoned abroad.

And with that, I will move on to Proscovia!