Who wants to hire a prisoner?

If your answer to any of the above questions is no, the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service has targeted you in a bid to eradicate the ignorance, discrimination and negative stigma associated with those that have been placed in their charge.

“Behind Prison Walls” is an initiative of the Prison’s communication office that is being conducted at several venues throughout Trinidad.

The public will have the opportunity to meet with prisoners and glean a fuller understanding of their triumphs, struggles and plans for the future.

“Not everyone who comes out of prison comes out for the worse,” insisted Wendell Bomparte, Prison Officer 1. He is the officer in charge at the “Behind Prison Walls” information booth which was set up at Long Circular Mall on Friday. Bomparte said they were trying to educate the public about their role in the rehabilitation of the inmate.

He said that part of the problem facing inmates after their release was the lack of understanding on the part of the society and the reluctance to give them a second chance. He said that the Prison Service was doing its best to equip inmates with the tools needed for their reintegration into society but that this would be useless if the public did not embrace the rehabilitated individual.

The reality of the public’s severe opposition to the notion of second chances was revealed as tenants of Long Circular Mall protested the presence of the prisoners. The mall’s management courageously allowed the Prison Service to set up the information booth and the prisoners to share their stories on their premises despite the strong objections that faced them.

Bomparte said that this reaction was the exact reason why the Prison Service needed to launch this programme as, not only did the mind-set of the prisoner need to change, but so did that of the ordinary citizen.

The hope of one inmate is that the example of her mistake will be enough to deter others from repeating her error. Thirty-two-year-old Rohini Jones is currently serving a four-year sentence for drug trafficking (cocaine) at the Women’s Prison.

“People tell you so many nice things, but the things that they put before your eyes you hardly ever get,” Jones said, referring to the individuals who persuaded her to try to smuggle cocaine out of Tobago. “In the end nothing is worth losing your freedom because even if you had a million dollars you would trade it all in just to regain your liberty,” she said.

Jones has two children, boys aged ten and six, whom she loves dearly and her determination to be with them again fuels all her efforts behind bars. She admits that she was surprised at the amount of opportunities for self-improvement offered at the institution but gladly jumped at the chance to do something constructive with her time. Since being incarceratt she has attained six CXC subjects, learnt cosmetology, upholstery and music.

“Sometimes it feels like a blessing in disguise,” she said, vowing that she would never return to the institution that has helped her so much.

Traffickers tend to prey on women who are battered and are living in poverty, was the observation of Marsha Greene who is also an inmate at the Women’s Prison. Greene is currently serving time for drug trafficking as well. She is determined to use her mistake as a stepping stone and is eager to take full advantage of all that she is being offered as an inmate.

She said that prison has taught her the valuable lesson of learning to be contented with whatever she has.

“When you are on the outside you are constantly thinking about how you can get more for yourself, while you are inside prison you have to make do with what you have,” she said.

She believes that young people should be allowed to tour the prison to see exactly what the consequences of their actions will be if they choose to become involved in criminal activity.

“Prison brought out my hidden talents,” she noted, and intends to use whatever she has learnt when she gets out. Freedom may not come for another 14 months but Greene is already making preparations for the days when the Women’s Prison is no longer her abode and she can let her seven-year-old son know how much she loves him. Serving a three-year sentence is no easy feat but 19-year-old Nekoro Swann is doing so with a maturity that far outweighs his age. Swann is doing time for larceny.

“I began stealing at a young age,” he admitted, “and the thrill of being able to buy whatever I wanted without being dependent on anyone kept my habit going.”

He said he began associating with people who would organise robberies and this became part of his lifestyle. Eventually, however, the police caught up with him, and he was convicted and sentenced.

The time spent locked up has given him a chance to look at the choices that he has made and accept responsibility for his actions.

“When I was first sent to jail I use to say look where the police bring me but then I realised that it was my own actions that brought me here,” he said.

He lamented the fact that he threw away part of his youth but says that their are positive aspects to his incarceration.

“I might have been dead if I had remained out there, even though I have lost part of my youth at least while in prison I have the chance to do something beneficial for my self,” he said. “I prefer to lose a little time now so that I can have a future.”

Swann will begin a computer repair programme in September, a pursuit that has always been his dream. “I always had a knack for fixing things,” he said.

This young man knows firsthand the perils of associating with bad company and warns about the fragility of the association.

“Since I locked up not one of the friends I use to move with come to check me, is only my father who stand by my side,” he said.

He, however, is optimistic about the future and is taking it one step at a time. “I am looking forward to the courses that I can participate in and hope to continue earning the trust of the prison officials so that I can make it into the pre-release dormitory and then out of the prison for good,” he said.

Another installation of the “Behind Prison Walls” tour will be held tomorrow at the Tunapuna Administrative Complex from 10 am -6 pm and will continue on Saturday at the Brian Lara Promenade from 9 am - 5 pm. On August 25 the booth moves to St James Amphitheatre from 9 am- 5 pm; on September 1, at City Gate from 7 am- 6 pm and to the Croisee San Juan on September 2, from 9 am - 5 pm.