Many former prisoners are often denied opportunities to rebuild their lives and it falls to society to help them rehabilitate, said Mustaq Ahmed, senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, at a workshop in a city hotel, yesterday.
Even their families suffer since society stigmatises them, and the isolation and disrespect push them toward the world of crimes again, said the senior secretary at the workshop titled “We Have Not Forgotten You – Pathways for Rehabilitation of Prisoners,” jointly organised by the Bangladesh government and German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).
The multi-stakeholder workshop was a part of a 10-year project titled “Improvement of the Real Situation of Overcrowding in Prisons in Bangladesh (IRSOP).”
Alokananda Roy, dance therapist for rehabilitation of prisoners in India, said: “Everyone has a rhythm in their life, but when one gets involved in crime, that rhythm is lost. Through singing-dancing, prisoners can make their inner talents evolve. It will also boost their self-esteem. The society needs to know that they (prisoners) can do better things.”
She has done many public shows with reformed former prisoners in India to help them ease back into normal life.
Richar Miles, principal adviser at GIZ, said: “Only bad people should be in prison, not innocent people. That is wrong. The work of the Ministry of Home Affairs is to rectify. If we can keep young people away from re-offending, it will reduce overcrowding.”
He added: “We have to respect the human rights of the prisoners. However, it is tough to balance human rights and security. Bangladesh is a law-abiding nation, which is good news.
“The rate of TB (tuberculosis) inside the jail is 11 times higher than outside. That is crazy. Proper medication is needed.”
Overcrowded cells
A paper read at the workshop revealed that many prisoners in Bangladesh spend months awaiting trial. Sometimes the length of a pre-trial detention exceeds the eventual sentence. On March 31, 2014, the prison population was 65,662 (63,451 male, 2,211 female) against the capacity of only 34,167 (32,366 male, 1,801 female). Ten years ago, it was 44,000. Around 69% of the total population is “under-trial.”
Besides, drug-addicted prisoners often lack information regarding treatment facility and counselling. Inside the prison, they are forced to stop taking drugs without any medication. As a result, they may lose the physical craving, but the psychological dependency remains. This makes them more vulnerable to getting addicted again after prison.
Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin, inspector general of prisons, said proper rehabilitation and treatment are necessary for drug abusing prisoners.
“A training has been organised for officers in the Dhaka Central Jail and the Kashimpur prison on ‘Assessment and Care for Drug Dependent Prisoners,’” he said.
Asaduzzaman Khan, state minister for home affairs, said prisons should work as correctional centres where prisoners will enrol into various programmes such as skill training, drug rehabilitation, counselling and education courses while serving their sentence, with a goal to bringing positive changes in their lives.
“Ideally, helping former prisoners to integrate into the society again is a process that should start from the beginning of imprisonment, not toward the end of it or after the prisoner is released,” he said.
