Decency also applicable in prison environment

Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, Victor Frankl, emerged from an existence in the Nazi concentration camps ruled by utter fear, despair, death and dehumanization, declaring that within the narrow confinement of the hell camps, he found only two types of men exist.

These were the decent and the unprincipled ones – and they were to be found in all classes and ethnic groups.

Last week a brawl involving seven youths at the Qalaqabusha Correctional facility outside Empangeni, again placed the spotlight on South African prisons and what really goes on behind the high walls, which not only serve to keep prisoners in, but also to keep the public out.

While the Constitution of South Africa and the Correctional Services Act afford world-class legislation, providing prisoners with fair and dignified rights, it is common cause that our prisons are overcrowded, short-staffed and ruled by warring gangs.

Regular reports indicate that corruption is rife and inmates are not only ill-treated by wardens, but also by fellow-inmates.

The worrying aspect is that the general public show little concern about the welfare and safety of inmates in a seemingly uncontrolled and violent environment – until they land there themselves.

On the other hand, countless dedicated correctional service employees, volunteers and churches work tirelessly to ensure that prisoners are educated, heard, looked after and given the best possible chance of rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

Frankl discovered that finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most brutal ones, provides a reason to continue living and that was the key to his survival and ground-breaking work after he was liberated.

Prisons conditions are unlikely to change, but every prisoner and every warden can choose what he will emerge as: decent or unprincipled.