Day Five: A Picture of Prison Conditions

After a morning team meeting, our group decided to split up today. Four members of the team traveled back to the drop-in center run by this NGO that works on drug and HIV/AIDS issues (this NGO runs a drop-in center, an HIV shelter, and they also have their own small barrack inside one of Mumbai’s prisons). Two members took the train to downtown Mumbai, to work at the main office collecting data from three behemoth binders that contained questionnaires given to recently released drug users. (The questionnaires did not specifically look at prison conditions, but rather gathered information on (1) where the person was arrested, (2) what charges the person was arrested under, (3) whether the person went to trial, and (4) how many appearances the person made in court, either in person or via videoconference, after being arrested.)

At the drop-in center, the group decided to change things up for our second day. Rather than interview individuals one-on-one in a very structured setting, we asked the staff if it would be appropriate to organize a focus group. The idea went off as a hit, as between 10-12 people who recently were in prison sat with us for three hours providing detailed images of what their experience in prison was like.

The conversation was rich. We heard details of very dire circumstances inside the prisons – some people saying that they were forced to sleep inside the toilets, others saying that there is widespread physical abuse by guards, and a reiteration that inmates with money control life in the barracks. One of our students asked about sexual violence inside the prisons, and one member of the group responded by saying to the others, “Don’t be embarrassed to talk to her. She’s our sister trying to help.” They then went on to tell us several experiences they saw (no one admitted being a victim) of sexual violence.

The group described in detail the consistency of the food and its quality (often poor). They described how drug users are treated much more harshly by other inmates and guards. The listed how much things cost, from a decent shave to a haircut, and how prisoners have to barter for everything. If a prisoner doesn’t have money, they aren’t able to access much of anything in the prisons.

It was a fast-paced and moving afternoon. In addition to having upwards of a dozen former inmates talking to us about their experiences, we also felt a real bond between our team and the group at the drop-in center. We crossed a threshold of building confidentiality and trust, and as a result got better, more coherent testimony.

As we left, several young boys who were milling about us (and who curiously kept poking in and out of the focus group!) urged us to play cricket with them. Two of us got to pitch and two of us got to hit; in fact, one of us scored a six off one of the hits, and the whole yard cheered.