Restorative Justice
It’s been a few weeks since my last post and I’m sorry for the delay! I’ve been learning a lot and plan on putting out a few posts this week to catch everyone up. As a side note, I’m having a really hard time putting my full experience into words which is part of the reason it's been so long since my last post, as I have seen and heard more than words can say so I'm trying my best!
This post is about my experience in prison during our week facilitating restorative justice (RJ). As a refresher, RJ is a voluntary course led by our ministry to help turn around the idea of crime. It focuses heavily on the victim and teachs how crime effects others. We facilitated the RJ with 24 inmates in Hawequa prison which is just minutes from our housing in Wellington. I had the opportunity to sit at a table with two other facilitators and four of the inmates. Two of the men at my table were arrested for murder, one for rape, and the last for armed house robbery. The basis for each day of RJ is to introduce a new concept and have open conversation about what it looks like to live out what we taught.
Day One - Examining the Roots
Today we started with their childhood and explored how they were treated to see how their own pain effects their behavior today. The idea we were teaching is that hurt people hurt people and how to recognize this before it becomes a loop of pain and hurt to others. The man at my table who was in prison for raping his girlfriend eventually shared with our table a traumatizing story from his childhood where he was actually raped by a man when he was seven years old. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see the emotion and pain that he had held onto since he was a kid come out 20+ years later for the first time. We were able to pinpoint that because of the way he was treated as a kid, he has turned around and inflicted his own pain onto others. He shared that he had never told anyone this story but felt that we were providing a safe and comfortable place where he for the first time in his life was able to talk about these things and hopefully see how this trauma causes him to act.
Day Two - Damage, Hurt, and Pain on the Victim
Today the focus was on the victim. We talked about the crimes they committed and how that directly effects the victim and indirectly effects others. We introduced the idea of a ripple effect of crime. The concept is that when you commit a crime against one person, their emotions, reactions, and behavior effect hundreds of others. The communities, families, friends, etc. are also effected and feel the pain and consequences of that one crime. This concept was wild for the inmates because they have always believed that when you commit a crime the only person it effects is the victim. We led a fun demonstration where one man stood in the center and other men held hands in rings around him to demonstrate how crime ripples outwards like when you throw a rock into water.
Day Three - Honesty, Respect, Trust, and Integrity
Day three is all about teaching core values of what it means to be a good person. Many of the basic ideas of how to treat other people were never taught to these men and today we looked at how to behave and positively impact others. This is meant to be the start of a conversation of better ways to act inside and outside of prison. Many of these guys grew up without great parents so even though to you and me they seem basic, these ideas are sometimes new for them to learn and actually live out. We talked about various scenarios and ways to act respectfully and honestly. One of my favorite activities from this day was when we gave three men bars of chocolate in front of the entire group and said we needed it back on day six. They needed to keep track of it and report back to the group if they could control themselves. Spoiler alert: one of the men ate the chocolate but was able to be honest about it in front of the group.
Day Four - Accountability and Responsibility
Today we taught on what it means to be responsible for your actions. Lots of inmates have never owned up to the fact that they committed the crimes they did and 9/10 plea not-guilty to convince their family that they are innocent. Even in prison, many of the men run around acting like they didn’t do anything wrong and the system has falsely put them in jail. Although this unfortunately does happen, it’s not nearly as often as the inmates say. I sat at a table with 4 men and at the beginning of the week three out of four said their families didn't know they committed the crime. The family of one of the men at my table had spent lots of money on lawyers and legal fees to try to keep their son out of prison but the whole time he kept it to himself that he was indeed guilty of the murder. On the last day of this course, he was courageously able to confess that he was guilty in front of the other inmates and directly to his family.
One of the head facilitators, Skwei, led another demonstration in front of the group that was probably the most moving and powerful one all week. He had the men circle around him in chairs as he made an absolute mess on the floor. He used soda, milk, flour, dirt, eggs and other things and scattered them across the ground. He used this as an analogy for the destruction that we create in our lives. He then sat in the mess and rolled around in it to say we have no problem sitting on top of the mess we create acting like everything is ok. He then offered to the men that if this situation was anything like their own they could join him on the floor. I didn't believe any of the men would be able to admit to themselves that this was similar to their own lives and get their clothes dirty but I was so wrong. A vast majority of the men stood up from their seat and willingly sat in the mess. I was in tears. It was moving to witness this, as it was completely optional, but the inmates recognized that they have caused pain and destruction and never cleaned up what they caused. The conclusion of this activity was saying that it is time to call out for help, take responsibility for the mess, and clean it up. As a group Skwei and the inmates cleaned the floor.
Day Five - Confession and Forgiveness
Today was the last day of teaching before the long awaited family day. We talked about the correct way to be honest and take responsibility in front of their family. We included that it is not a time for the inmates to ask their families for forgiveness because that would put them at the center of this process, when in reality the focus is on the victim and the family. My favorite part of today was having the men run back and forth across the room and with each go around we would have him carry another man on his back. The most one man got was three others on his back at once. We timed them as they ran around to show them that what you hold onto weighs you down in life and the more you have the slower you become. We had them repeat over and over that "what you keep, you carry". This one was simple but even I started to think of the things in my own life that I hold onto.
Day Six - Reconciliation and Beginning the Healing Process
Day six was the day to let the families and inmates speak. All week, the inmates were aware that their families would be coming and were so nervous for this day to come as they didn't know what to expect. These families would have the opportunity to stand in front of all of the inmates to share their pain as a victim of their crime. It wasn't a time to hand the microphone only to the inmate but instead let the inmate hear from their own family how their crime has hurt them. Lots of learning can be done in the classroom, but I bet you most of the content from the past few days settled in as they stood in the front and faced their own families. Most of this day on my end was spent preparing coffee and cooking food for these families as most of the event was spoken in Afrikaans and Xhosa. It was however impactful to get translations every now and then and to witness the start of a new chapter. Although it was solely in a different language, you can see the tears and hugs and kind of understand what is going on. I was surprised to see men openly tell their families they were guilty and even a few men left the prison gang during this day.
The next step afterward the six days is weekly follow ups. For the next eight weeks, our team goes back and facilitates continued conversation with the 24 men. I will get the chance to be apart of only a few of these, but our team goes in to check to see how the content is sitting with the inmates. We provide even more content for them the wrestle with for months to come. After the eight weeks of follow ups are over, if they request, the inmates can have additional one-on-one time with a therapist or spiritual worker to continue to provide a safe place.
Overall, RJ was something that I will remember forever and something that I see a tremendous amount of value in. I do believe that lives were changed this week and I know that I had a very small part in it. Our team is here to plant the seeds, seeds which will continue to grow long after our summer is over. I can oddly say that I have grown close with murderers and rapists. Although it was tough to hear about their hard lives, I have witnessed a lightbulb moment for many men and hope it never burns out. Society has written off these people for the awful decisions they have made but I can honestly say that they are looking to change because the cycle they get stuck in is just not cutting it. I'm not here to save South Africa but I am here to walk alongside inmates, and that is what I have been able to do and will continue to do for the rest of the summer. This was unfortunately our only experience with RJ during our time here, but in my next few posts I'll share about the other crazy stuff we've done here! Again thanks for reading this, praying, and supporting me through this life altering experience.