Want to know what prison is like? Its simple Take off all your clothes and put on all white clothes that you have (if you dont have any buy some) - go into your bedroom, close the door Throw away your mobile, TV, PC, internet, mp3 and radio Remove your wardrobe, frames, the bed, the bedside table and anything that is made of wood Close your window, leave an opening which you would not be able to reach if you jumped and cover it with iron bars OK? Place is ready? Not quite Look at a corner in your room, imagine a hole and a faucet 25 cm from the ground.. cover this area with a sheet hanging on a rope.. OK? Now you have a toilet The place is almost ready Forget everything that you threw out of the room because you will never leave Collect all the white clothes you have gathered and put them in a plastic bag or bag (plastic is cleaner, you will know why with time) Forget that your family are outside this door.. you will hear nothing from outside except TV channel 1 or 2 and maybe the Nile movie channel (i.e. you will hear nothing but teslam el ayadi) but there definitely will be headaches and shouting and the worst abusive words.. those will be clear and explicit. You will learn new names; sheffa (lip), batta (duck), el erian (the naked), dabbo, they ruined it.. doesnt matter Every morning at 7 am I shall open the door for you to put out the garbage. You will find some tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese on the floor.. take them fast because we shall close the door.. try to continue your sleep.. two hours later I shall open the door again and let you out.. you will walk in a corridor for half an hour (of course there is not going out on Friday or any day off).. OK? Then you go in again… God be with you until next day at 7 am Do you remember your family? Thank God. They will visit you for half an hour every week (used to be 10 minutes).. you wont see them all.. youll see only 2 of them every week.. maybe 3, but dont get used to this.. they will bring you food.. eat it up on the same day because if you dont itll go bad from the heat and the cockroaches. (Dont feel disgusted. You will never know where they come from) Do you remember your friends? Forget them. Forget your relatives and in-laws as well. Now try to use everything around you. Make glue out of soap, fire out of oil, table and chair out of the water box, pull the rope across the room to hand your laundry. OK? You are now in prison One more thing you must know.. If your daughter will get married you will not attend her wedding If your brother is travelling you will not say good bye If your mother dies you will not attend her funeral Your work has stopped Your life is frozen You miss your family and your wife is dying to see you.. OK? That is almost like a prison How many days would you live like this?! Remember that you are free to move in your room.. there are no other 11 people sharing the same space! I have been living like this for 180 days, half a year. If you want to understand the suffering of the detainees, imagine this approximate situation and try it even for one day to feel them, to realize how some of your friends are suffering the injustice of the authority! Also know that you are not in their shoes. Sherief Farag Assistant lecturer, Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria Writing from Hadra prison, after 6 months of his detention!
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 08:30:27 +0000
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