Stanley Prison

What do you do with the rest of your life if it's going to be spent in prison?

My first-ever prison visit at Stanley today, for a music sharing session with Christian fellowship convicts with Ms. Nancy Loo.

Stanley Prison is one of the few maximum security prisons for male convicts (I know of only one other, Shek Pik). Of course there was a lot of security; we probably had to walk through at least seven locked/monitored gates in order to get to the activity room.

We went into one of the Category A (ie. the most dangerous) prisoner blocks, where the convicts live in single cells. I got to see bars, bars and more bars. Basketball courts with bars. Bars and locked doors. Loss of freedom, loss of possessions, loss of choice. Even the brands of shavers and notebooks and mosquito patches are regulated. How do you live the rest of life like that?

The first thing I realized upon seeing them - they're real people! They're not monsters that you only see bound and covered on the TV screen. Granted, they were convicted of the most ghastly of crimes, but people tend to forget that they're living persons with physiological needs and psychological struggles and dreams and aspirations as well... but really, what use are those in a prison?

These people have stayed for ten, twenty years, with little hope of being set free. The phases of anger, denial, depression, hope, acceptance, calm, meaninglessness and more have all been experienced several times already. Many know that their parents will pass away before they're allowed out of prison. I'm lost... What's the meaning of living in such a place?

I understand why these prisoners hold onto their faith - it's one of the few things can remain constant in such a harsh environment.

Once you realize that the power to choose can be taken away from you...
Cherish what you have, and take responsibility for the choices that you can make.