So Oscar Pistorius has received his sentence and concern is being expressed about his prospects in prison - on one specific count because of the terrifying prevalance of TB and DR-TB in South African prisons. TBs out of control in South Africa - but much worse in its prisons. The Independent (19th October), however, inserted a little perspective into the story because, although the risk of contracting TB whilst inside is significant, Pistorius is a star prisoner whom the authorities will do their best to protect - but meanwhile... The publics concern should be: what if you are Tebogo Meje, wrongfully arrested, convicted and incarcerated? Or Victor Nkomo, awaiting a trial for eight years? Or David Mkhwanazi, who was arrested for supposedly sprinting away from the scene of a murder when he had, in fact, been late for work and running for a train? After six years in prison –where he contracted TB – the evidence against Mkhwanazi was finally assessed: he was released immediately, judged to have had no involvement in the murder. Do these names ring bells for you they way that Pistoriuss does? (Or do the names of those thousands of ebola victims in West Africa ever appear in our papers as the names of those isolated cases in Europe and the US do?). The Independant again: So the question of Pistoriuss sentence – and whether it will include time in jail – should stop fascinating South Africans and the world alike. Rather, we should use this surge of interest in our criminal justice system to shine a light on the poor, dispossessed and uninformed who are trapped perilously within it. In 2013 a paraplegic detainee on remand described what life is like for less notorious non-celebrity disabled prisoners in South Africa in the Guardian: Living here is very hard. We are 88 men in this cell which is meant for 32. Sometimes there are more. Twelve people sleep in two bunks pushed together, thats six on the top and six on the bottom. I have my own bed on the bottom, which is a privilege. Luckily, I dont have to share because of my medical status. There are eight or 10 people with TB in this cell and four or five we know are HIV-positive. A guy with multi-drug resistant TB sleeps on top of me. I feel vulnerable all the time ... Id rather die than be here.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 08:07:44 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015