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Healthy Prison Route / giving inmates / a path back to society

national February 18, 2019 01:00

By THE NATION

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AT THE AGE of 21, /  university student Peung /found her life turned upside down /after taking part-time jobs /a few years ago. /

“My friend recommended these jobs, / saying that I would be paid /between Bt1,000 and Bt2,000 a day,” /says Peung (not her real name) /from Ubon Ratchathani Prison. 

Surprised but tempted / by the good pay, /she agreed to take parcels /to a post office for delivery. /Less than a month later, /while on her fourth assignment, / she was arrested and charged with drug trafficking. /

“Inside the beautiful parcels / was not soap [as I was told] / but bars of marijuana,” /Peung explains, / trying to laugh off her past mistake /but with tears welling in her eyes. /

With eight kilos of marijuana / found in her possession, / she was sentenced to nine years in jail. / The court agreed to halve her term /because of her confession. /She appealed /and the penalty was reduced further to four years. /

She has now been behind bars /  for seven months, /with a long time still to go. /

But thanks to the Healthy Prison Route /  at the Ubon jail, / Peung has managed /to cling on to her optimism /and tried her best / to learn lessons from her past. /

“Before going to bed, / I reflect on what I have done./ Eventually I saw clearly that / I landed up in jail / because I didn’t listen to my mum /and wasn’t happy with what I had.” /

Peung admits /  her family was not financially poor / and, even after her father’s death, / she still received an allowance / to cover her daily expenses and education. /

“But I overspent. /  I wanted to buy fitness courses / to lose weight. / I wanted new clothes /to dress up,” /she says. /

When she asked for more money, / her mother – a teacher – complained./ Fed up with nagging, /Peung thought / it would be a good idea / to take part-time jobs / like some of her friends, /who seemed to enjoy a good income. /

“Had I learned /  to suppress my unreasonable desires / and listened to my mum, / I would still be sleeping / in my air-conditioned bedroom at home,” / she says. /

Peung has a straightforward message /  for other youngsters like her: / never ignore the good wishes and guidance / of your parents. /

Like many of her fellow inmates, /  Peung says / she had learnt a lesson / and is determined / to stay on the right side of the law. /

“After completing my time in jail, /  I hope I get the opportunities / to return to a normal life. / I want to sell vintage clothes / and perhaps teach yoga.” /

Every day, /  Peung practises yoga behind bars / and believes her skills will have developed / by the time she walks out a free woman. /

“Yoga is good /  for both physical health and for the mind,” / she says. / “Yoga has given me a new life. / I am calmer, / more patient / and more optimistic.” /

The Healthy Prison Route concept, /  which focuses on building a caring community / at correctional facilities, / has now been implemented / at the Ratchaburi, Udon Thani and Ubon Ratchathani prisons. /

The concept /  seeks to ensure / inmates enjoy physical and emotional well-being, / and can return to the society / as “quality citizens”. /