Did you ever wonder what hell might be like? Prison has a psychological consequence, after 18 months it has been remarked a prisoner becomes routine dependent. In the right environment a prisoner can make this hugely positive. Elect a gym time, an education and study time, a particular time to shower, a yard time and a recreation time. All of these are stages in personal development. Most importantly are the times elected as personal and private; A phone call to a family member, a walk in the yard to work through a personal issue or a frustration, at night time the relief of being alone is overwhelming the door locks and that privacy becomes a form of currency it is priceless as that privacy is essential to maintaining who you are and therefore keeping open social contact and sustaining relationships. Michael Campbell is denied these basic rights. He is in a cell with 3 others at all times. Not for the briefest moment does he have an escape, or any privacy and yet none of those he must live with 24/7 speak English and so the torture of not being alone is exacerbated by the fact that being surrounded at all times, but by strangers, the loneliness and isolation endured is all the worse. The Free State Government recently accepted that the process of slopping out chamber pots is degrading and inhumane and will now eradicate the process. In Lithuania Michael Campbell’s wash room facilities constitute a hole in the ground in that tiny cell, with 3 people watching on. Now that is degrading and inhumane coupled with this is the fact that the 4 men in that cell are given 3 rolls of Toilet paper to last a month. Added to this the 4 men have their meals shoved through a hole at the bottom of the door, on to the same floor that acts as the toilet. Eating the meal is as difficult as getting a meal. There is no room in the cell, to eat you sit on the floor there is no furniture, sometimes no meal will arrive. If you have a legal visit, court date your food is not there when you return. All inedible food and waste must be piled in a corner of the cell until the doors open, that has been weeks in some cases, but usually days. 4 men’s waste accumulating for days in a tiny damp cell is an atrocious environment to cohabit in, rancid rotting food and waste. Along with the maggots and the cockroaches is the damp. Michael spends up to 22 hours per day on a damp mattress in the cell. The windows are broken in the cells probably for ventilation but what ever relief that brings it brings the piercing cold and sickening damp. The damp is excelled by the rule prisoners must wash their clothes and dry them in cell. Water for the toilet and washing when pipes have frozen is obtained by placing an electric lead in to snow and ice. “Wing shifts” are regular occurrences, day or night without notice. The Screws are trained to be highly aggressive and confrontational and will not speak in any other language other than Lithuanian. If Michael fails to understand an order he will be deemed insubordinate and punished. He has no belongings as what ever is accumulated must be left behind in a cell move, you can bring only what you can carry. Sanitation in this rancid stinking hell hole comes down to one shower a week, Michael is deliberately refused showers the excuse most commonly used his legal visits or court appearances despite those dates never materializing. Drug abuse and HIV are endemic in Lithuanian prisons. Michael is confronted with the need to protect his health in a place were the right to sanitation is denied to him. His safety is constantly at risk. He has been in cells with people suffering drug abuse and mental health problems, he cannot communicate with them. Can you imagine a drug addict suffering a paranoid and aggressive attack and attempting to calm him down in a foreign language? Michael has witnessed two of his Cell mates attempt suicide. One man slashed his own stomach open while the other sliced open his forearms. Michael has seen a priest once in the past year. If he is not in his clothes and ready for inspection at 6am each morning he will be punished. All of this is the truth. There is no embellishment, exaggeration this is happening and has been happening for years. No need anymore. Bring him home.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 12:45:10 +0000
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