Prison Journalism: Reflections on past and presentThabo Mthembu was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Prison from 2014 to 2019. Read Thabo's story
by Thabo Mthembu
23-02-2024 08:23
in Prison Journalism
Prison yard
Image via Unsplash
From birth, we have no control over what kind of life we are born into or what life lessons we experience. We have more control over the kind of people we will meet. I believe the only way to overcome this is to take introspection of oneself when it comes to actions and reactions on oneself.
--
When I look at the environment, I have found myself in, both inside my prison and out, I find myself asking the question: what is the difference between inside and outside?
Prisoners inside have jobs, and even though being inside is no joke-it is life or death with lots of plotting and screaming-just as it is outside. Everything is more likely to get you set up or killed, both outside and inside of a prison cell.
False people are most likely found outside, as the world carries more prejudices and fear around with them now more than ever, with the increase of unemployment, homelessness, and poverty affecting all the different racial and social groups. In such a way that crimes of violence now seem to become a norm.
--
Elections ahead Elections become a strong cycle filled with baseless hype, with only the upper class of our nation benefiting mostly! With the poor, young, and old in most social settings being forced to step above the normal conventional method by employing the underground skills to provide for themselves and their families. It has become a norm to live the way ghettos are increasing, and new ghettos are being built further away from positive environments as the state fears crime seeping over and urban zones being overrun by crimes such as break-ins and drug dealing. Now the state sits with that very real problem, actually being made a reality that seems not to be changing soon.
Bad things about this period Sad things about the times of today is that everyone is governed by fear, and those who have financial stability behave and treat the less fortunate as if they are nothing but scum of the earth. The big question is, are we going forward or backward as a nation? More prisons are built instead of looking at the real problem and finding a solution to the current state we find ourselves in.
The current mindset is everyone for themselves. If you ask yourself how much one needs to serve or provide for one's family and how many earn below the minimum wage, you will be able to see why crime is on the increase.
--
The youth and young adults don't know anything better than the belief that crime pays, and there are not enough role models out there encouraging a positive lifestyle. There are even those who haven't left the ghettos or even know there is a better way of life than living a life of crime and drugs.
Hope! I believe the only way for there to be a change is through inner growth and a change of environment. We need all of us as a nation to come together and educate each other about our lives, and maybe things may change.
To understand each other is to have a greater ability for growth, even though we all may be having our own individual problems.
DISCLAIMER: Submission published as received
Should you wish to assist in the rehabilitation of former inmates and help put money into the pockets of those who have struggled to earn a living during and after incarceration, click HERE
RESTORE is an NGO based in Cape Town, South Africa, providing inmates at Pollsmoor Prison with restorative justice opportunities.
If you have any questions you would like to ask our prison journalists, WhatsApp us on 060 011 0211.
Do you have contact with a prison inmate who would like to write for The South African website? If so, send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com or a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211.
You can also follow @TheSAnews on Twitter and The South African on Facebook to get the latest prison journalism articles.
Support Women in Journalism in 2024 - Support us to fund independent women journalism
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
17/06/2024
That Station kicked off the summer 2024 edition of the Artist Notes concert series with Greg Humphreys (of Dillon Fence and Hobex) on Thursday, June 13, on NC S...
17/06/2024
Vhagar, the oldest and largest dragon managed by House Targaryen, currently can ...
17/06/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
After an initial order in 2022 for 3,000 rounds ...
17/06/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have signed a new partnership agreement in the fie...
17/06/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales is launching OpenDRobotics, a revolutiona...
17/06/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thaless first resilient high-data-rate High Frequency (HF) radio sets for land theatre command posts are on display on the compa...
17/06/2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
The Brazilian Air Force acquires the Ground Mast...
16/06/2024
I'm a big believer in getting the shot right in camera, says LEE Filters ambassador Jordan Banks. In this video, he guides viewers through his process as h...
16/06/2024
Media Links, a manufacturer and pioneer in Media over IP transport technology, has succeeded in a world s first3 demonstration of PTP1 and STL2 using IP over mi...
16/06/2024
Ease Live (an Evertz company) and Red Bull Media House-owned broadcaster ServusTV, are building on their successful launch of interactive streaming experiences ...
16/06/2024
CJP Broadcast Service Solutions Ltd has been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. This commitment will see everyone working at CJP receive a minimum hourly wag...
16/06/2024
16 June 2024, 17:35 (PDT) Megabox Adopting New Dolby Vision Dolby Atmos Offer...
15/06/2024
What Exactly Is Dad Rock? 21 Songs that Explain the Totally Not Embarrassing Gen...
15/06/2024
MGM Plus has ordered The Institute, a thriller based on a Stephen King novel, for a series. Ben Barnes and Mary-Louise Parker will star, and Jack Bender and Ben...
15/06/2024
With the retirement of Mike McClain as senior VP and general manager of WOFL-WRB...
15/06/2024
Jimmy Fallon, host of The Tonight Show, has renewed his deal with NBCUniversal, extending his tenure through 2028. Fallon began hosting the show in 2014. Before...
15/06/2024
Prime Video has greenlighted three Tom Green projects coming out of the Amazon Connected Worlds event in Toronto. They include an unscripted series, a comedy sp...
15/06/2024
Tegna said it was ending production of Daily Blast Live, which has aired on Tegna stations since it was launched in 2017....
15/06/2024
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang on Friday encouraged Caltech graduates to pu...
14/06/2024
Program Uplifts Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25...
14/06/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH JANUARY 21: Actor Jennifer Connelly attends the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Bad Behaviour Premiere at The Ray Theatre on January 21, 2023 in...
14/06/2024
NITV and SBS announce extensive line-up of music, news, entertainment, comedy an...
14/06/2024
SEATTLE ZTransform recently delivered AV and media facilities to Augustana University's highly anticipated Midco Arena. Despite challenging tie constraints,...
14/06/2024
LONDON A new report from Omdia finds that the global market for OLED materials is poised for a rebound after experiencing a deficit in recent years....
14/06/2024
WASHINGTON D.C. During the annual NextGen Broadcast Conference this week, the ATSC honored Dr. Sung-Ik Park of Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Re...
14/06/2024
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications has announced that TVMonaco, the first general-interest public television channel in Monaco, has selected Riedels Artis...
14/06/2024
Children's Digital Learning Facility REDEE Adopts Blackmagic Design Workflow...
14/06/2024
NUGEN Audio Releases NUtility Toolkit
Brie Clayton June 14, 2024
0 Comments
NUGEN Audio unveils its new NUtility Toolkit, which comprises its SigMod, ...
14/06/2024
Paul Hering, head of studio and field production at RTL Deutschland tells TVBEur...
14/06/2024
This years awards include Emerging Talent, which celebrates the work of young colourists (age 18-35) in commercial and music video creation
By Jenny Priestley ...
14/06/2024
David Cardinale, product specialist, newsroom solutions at CGI tells TVBEurope about the importance of keeping skills up to date in the rapidly evolving media i...
14/06/2024
HBO has announced that its high profile original drama series House of the Dragon has been renewed for a third season....
14/06/2024
OSLO Pixotope has announced the availability of Pixotope 24.1.0 and is reporting that the release includes the full integration of Unreal Engine 5.4, which open...
14/06/2024
LOS ANGELES Cineverse Corp. is reporting that its YouTube channels have passed the 10 million subscribers mark, thanks to the success of eight brands that have ...
14/06/2024
Ratings for the NBA Finals continue to improve with the average audience for NBA Finals Game 3 on ABC and ESPN up two percent from last year's Game 3, accor...
14/06/2024
Clear-Com is thrilled to announce that the highly anticipated Gen-IC Virtual Intercom, a revolutionary system combining the power of cloud production with Cle...
14/06/2024
Acronis, a global leader in cybersecurity and data protection, is pleased to introduce Acronis XDR the newest addition to the company's security solution po...
14/06/2024
Veset has announced that Veset AdWise is now available in AWS Marketplace. Veset AdWise is the advanced, cloud-based solution for real-time, in-video advertisin...
14/06/2024
Bedrock, the leading European streaming tech company, and Ease Live, an Evertz company providing innovative interactive TV technology, announce their newly form...
14/06/2024
V-Nova, a leading provider of data compression solutions, video compression technology, XR technology, AI acceleration and parallel processing for a multitude o...
14/06/2024
Triveni Digital today announced that Capitol Broadcasting Company owner and operator of WRAL-TV, WRAZ-TV, WILM-TV, and WNGT-TV in North Carolina has selecte...
14/06/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that TVMonaco, the first general-interest public television channel in Monaco, has selected Riedel s cutting-edge Artist i...
14/06/2024
Viaccess-Orca (VO), a global leader providing OTT and TV platforms, content protection, and advanced data solutions, announced today that pay-TV operator Orange...
14/06/2024
Pixotope, the leading software platform for end-to-end real-time virtual production solutions, today announced the availability of Pixotope 24.1.0. This release...
14/06/2024
NUGEN Audio unveils its new NUtility Toolkit, which comprises its SigMod, AB Assist, Jotter and Aligner plug-ins. Ideal for entry-level and professional audio p...
14/06/2024
Ross Video is excited to announce its participation in InfoComm 2024, held from June 12 to 14 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This year, Ross Video is set t...
14/06/2024
Zixi, provider of the award-winning Software-Defined Video Platform (SDVP ) and the industry leader for enabling reliable, scalable and cost-efficient live vide...
14/06/2024
Beam Dynamics, leaders in technology lifecycle management, has implemented its Data Improvement Platform (DIP) at NMR Events, a major American industrial stagi...
Prison Journalism: Reflections on past and presentThabo Mthembu was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Prison from 2014 to 2019. Read Thabo's story
