Prison Journalism: Inside and Outside

Prison Journalism: Inside and OutsideFawaaz Adendorff was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Correctional Centre and participated in a Restorative Justice programme while behind bars.

by Fawaaz Adendorff

28-03-2024 12:27

in Prison Journalism

Prison yard

Image via Unsplash

Being incarcerated was not easy; it was an experience that I will never forget. Each day had its own challenge. Being controlled by the prison system was not easy, but for me, it was a lesson that made me stronger and humbler. I've learned through all the hard times, and it's harder missing your family on the outside, knowing your hands are tied up. There is nothing you can do in any situation. Don't know what to think and do.

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My mother had breast cancer, and it was very hard for me because I was not there while my brother and sister needed me the most, and I never wanted to be away from them again. It was really hard sitting behind bars while life is going on while yours is stuck in prison. It's like torture to yourself, blaming yourself for the stupid things that brought you to a place like prison. Always feeling restless made me think that I need to change my life, not to be locked up again.

Support Systems and Rehabilitation That's where I had people in my life like Restore, Lisa Marqua-Harries was always by my side, supports me and my family. It was not easy for me to get used to living in a positive world because things were not so easy for me, but it is worth being the person who I am today. Looking back from where I came from, it's a really big progress in my life. Coming out on parole was also not easy. Being at home was and under house arrest was not easy. It's very tempting to step outside but also fear being locked up again, and the wardens visiting your home made it even harder.

Eventually, I found a way to occupy myself by asking Lisa of Restore to help me get into a program called RLabs. It's a youth uplifting organization focusing on youth and community development. After attending the program for three months, I then started, after my 3 months, to volunteer with the organization to care for our elder people of the community at an elderly club. I was part of the youth that was chosen to do the job by the organizers, RLabs, and it was all thanks to Lisa for helping me through the process to better myself for the best.

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A New Path and Future To be a good husband and father, it didn't stop there. I was doing odd jobs until I heard of Chrysalis Academy in Tokai, and I thought it would be a great stepping stone for me to boost my life away from gangsterism and the reality of my community. To feed my family, it was not easy because Chrysalis Academy has a strict criterion, and I had a criminal record. As we know, it's a big problem in South Africa to have a criminal record, but I knew I would be accepted because I believed, because I've prayed, and I know people always pray for each other.

I've asked Lisa if she knows about Chrysalis, and she told me she is in contact with the CEO, and there I knew it's God's work. I got a date for an interview with the CEO, and that is where my life had a very big turn for the better. Working with youth and living in a positive environment where you sleep safe, no gunshots or contact with the outside, everyone being treated fairly, and being built and equipped with the necessary skills to face the world with two different perspectives of life. Knowing the good and the bad, the world in the prison and Chrysalis is both totally different to how the life in the hood is like. The Cape Flats have a unique culture in life, and it made me who I am, a changed person for the better, just learning every day and taking my past as a stepping ladder to do better each day.

DISCLAIMER: Submission published as received

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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.

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