Slavery lingers in Western prisons
Slavery lingers in Western prisons
Published: Thursday | April 12, 2012
Sam Speranza, Contributor
RECENTLY IN Honduras, more than 300 poor souls died at 'hell on earth'; or to be accurate, during a fiery prison calamity that evolved from basic food preparation into a horrible conflagration. This commentator cannot forget that violation against humanity, and more personally, a separate but also inhumane tribulation against my freedom and my family.
Recently, I was unjustly charged with a crime in Jamaica. Without due process, or even time to alert my family, I was arrested, charged, jailed, and incarcerated in a 'rathole' for nine days.
Those nine nights sleeping on concrete floors and wooden slabs changed my life forever, simply because I now TRULY comprehend, for the first time in my life, the genuine meaning of freedom. I'll be better for it, because as the philosophers say, "your worst experiences shape who you are and whether you'll survive or not".
So I'll be OK if my health recovers, but what of the millions of prisoners throughout the Americas and the entire hemisphere who are caged as dangerous animals? Do they deserve their fate because they injured others within society?
More:
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120412/cleisure/cleisure3.html
