Prison Journalism: Challenges faced when released from prison

Prison Journalism: Challenges faced when released from prisonFawaaz Adendorff was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Correctional Centre and participated in a Restorative Justice programme while behind bars.

by Fawaaz Adendorff

12-04-2024 08:41

in Prison Journalism

Prison. Image via unsplash

Time for me to go home after a very long wait. I don't know what to expect, all the mixed emotions and all the things going through your mind, stomach turning and head spinning. Very excited but also nervous. What makes it so exciting is that you are being released, but not knowing what is waiting, yet also aware of how dangerous our community is with all the gang fights and drugs.

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Facing Old Demons It's a battle before going home because, before going to prison, there were so many bad things I've done, and I wasn't sure who was waiting. But what I knew was that there were people waiting for me to be released from prison to be killed for things I didn't even do. It was a battle because I was not sure if I have to commit a crime in prison to stay longer, or should I just face what's waiting for me. I knew somehow if they would just find out the truth, I would then step out because if the truth didn't come out, I would have been dead. That's where I started pulling myself away from the negative friends and distancing myself from all the negative things I've done.

Seeking Help and Rehabilitation I asked Lisa of Restore to help me get into programs to be more equipped to face the outside world because it was and is still very hard finding work with a criminal record. It's easy to sell drugs and take the shortcut, but I don't want to be back where I came from. It's dark, and you will never have peace with life; you will always be restless and dark. But for how it is with all the corruption and violence, it's hard staying on the right path and out of prison because there are not many opportunities for people coming out of prison.

Navigating Post-Release Life And it was also very difficult to travel to the programs I had to attend because of ongoing gang violence in my community. Every morning when I wake up, I'm grateful because, for how things are now, it's very risky. The friends I left behind while in prison also changed to other gangs and are not the same; lots of good friends died. There was no one left that I could trust. Living in a community where you don't know who your enemies are and who is in for you, walking around looking over your shoulder everywhere you go, is like the norm to me now. That's how bad things turned out.

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Adjusting to a Changed World Looking from a positive perspective, things just got harder because coming from a prison life and living that life made a big gap between the outside and inside prison. Trying to catch up for what I've been missing out on and to cope with the new generation of gangs is a problem. Being provoked and not wanting to retaliate because I know what that life brought me, and I've learned through my mistakes.

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

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RESTORE is an NGO based in Cape Town, South Africa, providing inmates at Pollsmoor Prison with restorative justice opportunities.

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