Since my first visit with Proscovia I have gone faithfully twice a week as allowed. Spending time with her and being as much of a support as I can is my main purpose for being here so even being sicker than a dog couldn't keep me away.
The process of getting to and from the prison and the formalities once there can be so exhausting though. The first day I did it on my own I couldn't help but think that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that I was only allowed two visits a week.
There were a lot of people around when I arrived for my first solo visit and not surprisingly it was pretty hard to just blend in with the masses. A police officer quickly rushed up to me and tried to send me up to see the Jailer again. I wasn't having any of that nonsense and he wasn't having any of my attempts at explaining in English that I had already done that. Thankfully a staff who had been there the day I got permission showed up and sent me on my way.
Visiting hours had been over the day I had gone with Bikash so there were no line ups. Not the case on this day. Holy crap there were line ups everywhere it seemed!
I lined up in the first line to check in with my passport (which is now required and dangerous for a girl like me given how careless I am with my things). There was a wait there followed by another line to pick up the passport and visiting slip. I have to add that when you check in and they ask you questions like your relationship to the inmate and the type of case they're in for, you get this feeling of wanting to justify why you're coming to see a drug trafficker and to assure them that you're not in the same kind of business. But I just respond by saying "friend" and "drugs." I'm sure it's hard for them to comprehend the karuna part of it.
After that I was on to a third window for a closer check of the passport and slip which thankfully I passed. But then I turned around to the two very long lines of people, one line for men and one for women, which I eventually figured out was the wait to head over to security. It was at this point that I was thinking that visiting twice a week was going to be plenty. It reminded me of when I went to visit some Canadian prisoners in Peru (I'll blog about them sometime soon) and the gong show that went along with that.
So I stood there for awhile not having a clue what was going on. The line wasn't moving and it seemed like it was going to take forever. I have to admit that I was annoyed because these checks hadn't existed before the shooting had occurred and the rules changed. It had been so quick and easy before. Anyway, shortly into the wait I thought I saw a policeman motion for me to come through to security (despite me being at the back of the line). I gestured "who me?" and he motioned for me to come again. I was a bit ashamed to take advantage of my foreign status and leave all the women behind, and even more ashamed to admit that that feeling wore off pretty quickly as I was so happy not to have to wait in line!
I proceeded to the checkpoint where you have to drop off anything electronic, passport etc. and pick up a pass that goes around your neck. This is followed by what I'll call the Curious Georgia" belongings search where the female officers inquisitively check every single thing you've brought while everyone else watches. I need to think of something to bring to really shock them one day. The first day I brought Proscovia a meat pizza and a doughnut as a treat which they made me take a bite of. I took the smallest piece I could and both were kinda gross but I knew that she would love them regardless.
There was one friendly guard there that day and as I was taking a bite he asked me how it was. I responded "mito cha" meaning delicious, in part to try and win some points with the guards who I knew could make future checks either difficult or easy. Well, as it turns out I made a very important friend that day which I will talk about in my next post. He has continued to be very friendly and is clearly very happy to practice his English. I even got an invite to come and hang out at the prison in my free time so he can chat some more. I might have gone for it had the chats been behind bars but otherwise I wasn't interested.
After the Curious Georgias had their way with me, including the one who did the body search, I was on to yet another checkpoint to get a stamp. Here I met a guard I knew from before so that was a nice surprise after seeing only newbies. Then I headed off down the dirt road to the women's prison where the security search occurred all over again. It makes me tired just writing about it.
Each time I've visited there have been sooo many people. Thankfully all but one time I've skipped the long security line thanks to the nice guard that always calls me through. One time at one of the initial checkpoints the staff wasn't comfortable signing my visit slip and told me that I had to get it signed by the Jailer. Explaining that I already had permission got me nowhere so away I went to talk to the Jailer in his big office. It seems so strange to even write about it; that I'm in Nepal and that I just popped in to see the warden of a prison to get in for a visit. Anyway, it was like the guy had no recollection of our meeting the week before. He asked me the same question (my relationship to Proscovia), then signed the form without giving me another glance. The guy who sent me to the Jailer in the first place also seems to suffer from amnesia as he has asked me more than once "first time visiting?" despite seeing me several times (and there aren't any other white peeps around I tell ya) and each time I tell him, no, it's my 3rd time, 4th time...
My visiting privileges have certainly felt tenuous but each time I go I feel a little more secure. The guards are checking me less thoroughly it seems, for example on my 5th visit I didn't have to take a bite of the food that I brought. It's the little things that make the process more bearable.
The actual visits with Proscovia have also been a challenge. There are more women in her jail than before (now about 250) and more people visiting. There is only room for about 8 people so it's been super crowded, loud and visits have been shorter than I would like. Some of you know how ADHD I can be; not liking to get into a topic until things around me are settled and I can focus. Well that's not possible in this environment. Being sick has made it even worse.
Okay, enough Debbie Downer..our fourth visit was great as there was a banda (strike) that day which meant no public transport so there were few people. I selfishly wished for more bandas so our visits could continue to be as good.
Proscovia at least has been enjoying having a regular visitor. I used to call her "celebrity" as she used to have so many visitors that it was like her own private jail and visiting area. But that hasn't been the case for about a year since the rules changed. She has been writing up a storm knowing that her emails will get sent and that she will receive the responses. After my visits I write her many emails to friends and family, and before visits I go and print off any responses that I have received. It has given purpose to my time in Kathmandu.
In addition to being almost entirely cut off from communication with friends and family in the last year Proscovia has also talked about how difficult it has been to survive, basic needs wise, without support from visitors. Inmates either receive 40 rupees per day (plus rice) with which you cook for yourself, or eat what the jail provides. There are "shops" inside the jail where inmates sell various provisions and there is a credit system for those that can't pay. Well, because Proscovia hasn't had any outside support for so long, her bills have become very large and it has caused problems for her in the jail as a result. Compounding the problem is that those running the shops have doubled prices. A Nepali friend estimated that to survive in Nepal one would need about 100 rupees a day (about $1.20). So Proscovia lives on less than half of that, and of course basics like toiletries come out of that amount as well. So you can see why having outside support is so essential to survival for prisoners in Nepal.
For those that choose not to take the money, food is provided, which my Didi (the prisoner/boss that I have talked about) is responsible for. Proscovia told me that my Didi has changed a lot since I was last there and is now quite nasty. She receives the money for the prisoners that choose to eat the prison food and is supposed to provide dal bhaat (the main Nepali meal of dal and rice) as well as tea. Well it sounds like she is skimping on the quality and pocketing the rest. She also has a newfound hate on for foreigners going on rants about how stupid they are (and so on). She has also tried to have them transferred to another region of Nepal, I suppose to get them out of her hair. The prospect of a move has been incredibly scary for Proscovia as she would be completely isolated in remote Nepal with no visitors or ability to communicate with the world.
I was disappointed to hear this news about my Didi as she used to be sweet, well, in her own way. Perhaps she is getting tired of being in jail after so many years. She is also there on drug charges. And by the way she looks like a grandmother, like in her 60s. I seem to still be in her good graces though, as I always get a "namaste" with praying hands and a smile when she sees me. I brought her some chocolate this time which she seemed to like. I sure hope that this kindness rubs off on Proscovia because life in jail can be miserable if the 'powers that be' have a hate on for you.
On that topic, Proscovia told me about an Indian woman who came not that long ago on a drug case. She was caught trying to post drugs out of Nepal. Well Indians and Nepalese don't like each other much (lots of history and issues between the two countries) and the same goes in prison. Being the only Indian woman there, she's being targeted in an effort to get her moved out. Proscovia explained that lots of things can be put on a person to cause them trouble and it sounds like this is what is happening with the Indian girl. At least she has Proscovia, who by the way is now fluent in Nepali. When I was here last she was struggling to communicate so I'm pretty proud of her. Being able to speak and understand the local language is pretty essential to survival when you're in prison in a foreign country.
There are a couple other new foreigners in Proscovia's jail as well. As you can tell some of our conversation is about prison news and gossip! One is an Israeli and the other is from France. Both are serving 2 year sentences for marijuana trafficking. These women apparently have a lot of negative things to say about drug traffickers like Proscovia, yet don't see to see themselves in the same category.
Well that's about it for prison news at this point but you can be certain there will be more to come!
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