Valuable lessons from behind bars

LIFESTYLE

 By THEO YASAUSE
VIRTUES of life are sometimes learned in trying circumstances for those in prison.
This comes is all part of life journey. Virtues are qualities of the human heart and mind ranging from humility, obedience, long suffering, gentleness, to goodness and unity.
The Bomana Prison has played host to many visiting students from primary schools, high schools and universities. Many visit as part of their church service programmes or school excursions.
Just last week a group of Pacific Adventist University students visited the minimum security unit (MSU) to close their Sabbath. The ensuring discussions compelled me to write this article on the virtues of prison life.
Prisoners enter the prison environment for varying reasons and come from different social class and social standing such as the unemployed youths, lawyers, politicians, policemen, warders, soldiers and office workers. You name it, they are all in prison.
A person who has not been to prison may assume prison is a swimming pool for only well to do criminals. It is not so, spending time in prison had shown that people here aren’t totally evil and are not actually criminals as the labels suggest in common legal and public policy declarations.
In the last several years, I had endeavoured to mix with all manner of inmates from young to old and from different parts of the Papua New Guinea including expatriates. Many sought counsel and brought their problems for discussions and for us to find collective solutions.
In my entire life, this is one place I had lent a helping hand and written more welfare-related letters than when I was employed in both the public and private sectors. It was here too that I acted as a lawyer by writing legal submissions for court hearings, one of which resulted in the Supreme Court overturning a death penalty sentence for an inmate, as well as advocating for the human rights of prisoners.
I realised that in a place and position of empathy you will appreciate, understand and serve humanity better. It reminded me of a lesson from Sabbath school that stated that “it is often said that we can learn a lot about God from spending time in nature, from looking at his creation and seeing the glimpse of the character of God.”

Empathy and communication
The Christian God is a God of relationships built on communication, companionship and compassion. When in a position of decision-making a clear appreciation of people’s needs and wants can help us to appreciate human desires better and to employ actions that can help arrest their different circumstances.
Prison life is an awkward existence.No amount of preparation will make you understand how it would be but when you find yourself in that position you wouldappreciate the life you are about to encounter. At first it can come as a shock and awe. But one has to observe, listen and more importantly learn.
Many inmates learnt not just to survive in prison but to also know how to thrive in life inside the prison, sometimes under trying circumstances.
One theology student put me on the spot by asking “what are some of the values you learnt inside the prison? This is a valid question. It reminded me to judge history better. I realised that almost the entire Christian Bible was authored by prisoners. Many good people have gone through drama in life to better address life situations and became very good decision makers. People who have been to prison know how to appreciate small or big things in life better because of the pain and agony faced.
So what values and principles did we learn inside the prison at Bomana to be specific? The common and apparent values learnt inside the prison are recounted below.

Humility
The first encounter is at Gate 24 as many prisoners would recall is a strip-search and this is by law and is not inhuman treatment or abuse of human rights as it would appear. It is a place where you let go of everything. As you and I know, our life is filled with attachments. We have attachments to people, things and perceptions.
When you enter prison life, letting go is one of the hardest challenges one would encounter both emotionally and mentally. Psychologists say that validation, love, affection and approval are hard to abandon, but mental toughness is in letting go.
A husband cried removing his wedding ring. A policeman who was asked to strip down to only with his underwear had sweat flowing like an Eda Ranu water tap. Even a one-time warder who was asked to strip off his clothes shook his head in awe.
In prison, it is harder to let go. Letting go off power and freedom is gut-wrenching. It feels like there is nothing to do but dwell on the things you could have or should have done. There are no clocks, 10 minutes feels like an hour. There are longer nights and shorter days for many.
Many prisoners would say if only… The mind spirals downward sometimes out of control until worst possible scenarios’ become tense, anxiety- ridden realities. Breathing becomes shallow, the chest is tightened. Long sleepless nights and resounding cell walk in the hottest of the sun are realities of humility at work sometimes too upsetting.
I look back and contrast my experience with many of the prisoners who lack basic education, but were amongst the wisest people I have ever known. Some are even wiser than those in authority. Most let go of their attachments that embroiled them and enjoy the simplest pleasures of prison life. They embrace their new realities and relinquish television, music, party nights, rugby fan encounters, outings on beaches and hiking.
Humbleness and detachment from the outside world is the number one value you learn from entering Gate 24 at the Bomana Prison. It is where you remove your status and standing in society to lower yourself to new realities.

Obedience
Amongst the first encounters also at the prisoners’ Gate 24 experience, you will also come to terms with obedience as a value and reality. Listening to commands and instructions as you are striped and detached from the outside world will become a norm.
Obedience is about being loyal and adhering to the norms and processes regardless of circumstances.
I could recall in my young life, when I was attracted to a young woman, my hands would sweat, my words would rumble and my body language skewed. I wondered whether she would accept me or not. Self-denial and acceptance are important part of life. I obeyed how my mind reacted to that given situation.
Coming to prison forced me to place myself in a position to obey in a different way. It is self-denial and precondition for change. Acceptance of this fact becomes a huge part of the prison life healing and growing. Becoming aware of the emotions and choices that sometimes led to improper conduct and accepting instructions are some important steps towards redeeming me of defiance and rebelliousness. .
Obedience inside prison therefore brings about a number of benefits: (1) you become the warders’ best friend because the inmate is said to be reliable, (2) you understand, appreciate and know what the warders require of you so you are able to respond appropriately (3) a prisoner gets support and good behavioural reports (4) you get released from prison through parole and other release mechanisms and (5) it brings peace and joy to sustain prison life.
Negotiation
Life inside the prison is in some way no different to the outside world. It is a place of frequent negotiations and collective bargaining. These takes place between the inmates and the warders or between and amongst the inmates regarding self-preservation rules, how to behave and conduct themselves, the living conditions, place of work, health and hygiene and so forth. It provides a positive view of settlement of conflicts and disputes that arise inside the prison.
This principle is a self-regulatory mechanism that flourishes inside the prison environment as an instrument for self preservation to bring about contentment, peace and harmony.
If we work together in unity, everyone benefits, and there is no harm to the community. Our existence is sustainable; together we can and divided we fall. Collective enterprise has benefited the Bomana Prison leading to prisoners administering major programmes inside prison without incident since 2013.

Patience
As I think of the principle of patience inside the prison, it makes me motionless. It is about enduring the longest wait for expectations and dreams. Results come with many months or years of waiting.
I am thinking of a good elder Leo Aiyak, 74 from Arowe, Talasea, West New Britain. Leo has spent the last 35 years of his prime inside the confines of the prison – from Kerevat, Bihute, Baisu, Buimo and then to Bomana. Leo has waited 35 years to leave the confines of the prison and it eventually happened on Sept 7, 2019.
Other inmates, Charles Kauna and Frank Yalikiti who were teenagers entering prison were leaving in their 40s. It takes courage and willpower to be patient and to wait for the right timing and of course perfect timing to leave and receive a blessing.
Longsuffering is the hallmark of prison life. Prisoners are able to endure and preserve themselves from challenges that come their way. They will not give up and preserve themselves to see a happy ending.
One question that keeps coming back is when will the time come for the prisoner to leave the prison. The waiting is sometimes agonising. The answer is waiting, just wait, tomorrow or the next day or soon but wait, it will come. So they waited, and waited and it finally came.
Patience teaches you to be calm, collective and endure with hope and faith that whatever desired will come in due season. It is a virtue that can takesanyone through many obstacles and opposition.
I can safely say that the principle of patience is associated with the virtue of humbleness and obedience. They collaborate and support each other in the prison’s collective enterprise.

• Theo Yasause is an inmate at Bomana Prison.