Jail time

I went to jail yesterday.

As part of our orientation they bring us to the Nepali jail to visit some of the foreigners imprisoned in Nepal for everything from murder, drugs, to visa overstays. I wasn't really sure what to expect at first. I've never been to a jail before, so I was far from sure as to what to the jail would look like or what to say to these foreigners.

The jail is located in Kathmandu, other than the police presence around the perimeters, there wasn't much that resembled prisons that we would find in Canada. Even the visitors entry is pretty low security. There's this check-in table outdoors and two small "cubicles" boarded up by blue tarp in front of it that acted as the security gate. A woman was in one and a man in the other. Despite the basic set-up, the frisking process was very thorough, there was definitely no way to sneak anything in - and I'll leave it at that. The next part was the most bizarre part of the whole experience. We proceeded to a small office where a listing of all of the foreign prisoners were posted on the wall, and we were told to pick one. It doesn't sound very strange, but standing there and reading the list of names not knowing who they are, just their names and crimes, it just felt wrong. The best way I could explain it was that it felt as if this was some contest and we were picking our prizes. After we had chosen our foreigner to talk to, me and another girl headed to the back to the woman's prison, where we visited Irina, a Russian woman in for murder.

The visits are about 20 minutes long, and unlike the movies there were no plexi glass or phones to speak into, it was a simple metal fence where the prisoners sat in a row on one side and the visitors on the other. It's rumored that Irina may have some type of mental health disorder, but it was hard to tell in the brief time we spent with her. According to her, after years of 'training' and studying she has attained spiritual enlightenment. Since she has attained this state, she sees it as her goal to travel the world to alleviate suffering by praying, meditation and taking it onto herself, and in return giving her good karma. When I re-tell the story I think I may make it sound more absurd, but coming from her it sounded genuine. It would be easy for me to simply say all of it was absurb, but I refrain from judgement as I'm not sure if I can soundly delineate the line between being mentally unsound and intense spirituality.

She tells us she has a website describing her case, but I have yet to find it.

Another interesting fact about Nepali prisons is the management. In North America we have wardens and various staff that take care of the prisons, here the prisons are run by the prisoners. They do the cooking and cleaning, and aside from the guard presence outside the perimeters, the management of the prison is prisoner controlled! How very unique and good use of resources. (Although I don't think that would ever work in North America.)