Reform

I have engaged in prison reform, attending conferences and talking to stakeholders. A large proportion of those involved are leaders of NGO organizations, providing activities to assist inmates. Unfortunately, talking seems the main purpose and substantial amounts of donated money are used for administrative purposes (self-sufficiency) resulting in thinking in circles.

The human rights conventions are supposed to be the basis for prison reform. I have had a lot of positive experiences in this regard in the women's prison over the past ten years. I remember one scene. A relatively young female guard hits an older, defenseless inmate with a piece of green PPR water pipes. I hear the guard speaking in a calm voice: if you defend yourself, I will hit you harder and for longer. Now there is no more of this. A reform initiated by the administration.

Since then, I have observed another very positive development, inmates being the initiators. There are innocent people in prison, women with good-natured personalities. Now with brutality off the table, they tried to get closer to those guards able to show compassionate understanding for life situations. Today I see how they approach each other. There is cheerfulness and seriousness, often even friendly respect. This is now realistic prison reform, a process carried out by the affected people themselves. What's more, sponsor money is not needed.

Of course, the psychological pressure remains for the inmates. As a comparison, consider the current performance of the Swiss alpine ski athletes. I watched all the races at the World Championships in Saalbach, Austria. From observation, the success of this team originates from enjoying skiing under stress. In the start gate, they think: Now I'm going to race down the mountain and win, if not, life goes on anyway. This nonchalance is also visible in the gestures of their coaches. This psychological disconnect is clearly evident in their joint work and cannot be a coincidence. They all can handle pressure and succeed, hence the rain of medals.

A few basic thoughts on this. The systems created by the human mind are failing all over the world. The Trump administration is showing this. Jurisdiction is being manipulated. Politics a playground for the super-rich. Science driven by influencers. The time is ripe. Cosmopolitans should now enforce ignorance towards the wrongs, similar to imprisoned women and ski racers in search of the meaning of life. Let’s have the mess fixed by those affected. The success of the imprisoned women and the Swiss ski team is proof of correctness regarding the procedure in question. Right-minded people of humanity can do the same.