For So Long

This morning I went back to the prison and had my favorite volunteer experience so far. Today we did not take the children out of the prison for an outing, but rather we helped the older men celebrate Father´s Day.

Alejandro (my favorite driver here) drove Marisol (our volunteer coordinator) and me on the dusty, bumpy road out of town to the prison. Our arms were loaded down with a huge cake, two bottles of red soda (Peruvian Big Red maybe?), and some volleyball jerseys (will be explained in the next post). Our entry today was expedited because of our tardy arrival, me being the only gringa, and we were not taking any children out of the prison. I got my two stamps on my arms thinking, "this is the closest I´ll ever get to having tatoos." There was a quick search and we were inside the walls.

It was a busy day in the prison. There was a big ceremony in the main courtyard (this too will be explained next) and a health campaign with tents and doctors in another courtyard. We entered the women´s area and Marisol was greeted like an old friend. The inmates do not wear uniforms and are all dressed like normal people on the street. Thus, it is difficult to tell who is incarcerated and who is not. There is a small stand with candy and a few other things like juice at the front of the women´s area, so three women seemed to be running that. I smiled and tried to speak with them. One pretty woman was named Carmen and she was particularly happy. I wondered what they were in for.

We also took care of a little business. My jeans as well as another volunteers jeans were torn, so Marisol asked if they could fix them for us. It was going to be about 2 soles (about 60 cents) to fix. What a bargain! I hope I see those jeans again.

While we waited for the Father´s Day celebration, I watched the action that was taking place. There were some people dressed in suits, important people from some company, a man dressed in a green dinosaur mascot suit and his escort, a highly make-uped woman in a tight yellow suit with her hair pulled tightly into various clips. They were walking around passing out big green and blue balls to the children. There were of course several people to take pictures of this to make sure they got the proper media coverage for their do-gooding. It was quite a funny sight particularly because I kept remembering we were in a prison. Also, several of the children were frightened of the dinosaur man because they had no idea what he was. Can´t imagine they see lots of those around a prison.

After a about half an hour of waiting, it was finally time for the Father´s Day celebration. We were escorted through the crowded hallway, through the packed courtyard where the health campaign was taking place, into a smaller room. I think it is normally used for the daycare/nursery. I walked through the long lines of male prisoners waiting for their turn to talk to a doctor and couldn´t help but feel extremely self-conscious. Every eye was on me. I do not say this in a conceited way at all, but in a matter-of-fact every prisoner watched me (the only gringa for miles) coming and going.

A group of about 26 older male prisoners were escorted into the room and they sat in one line on either side of the room. I helped to set out the tres-leches cake we brought on a table at the front of the room. The cake joined piles of churros, small donuts, rolls and sandwiches. The smell of fresh baked pastries surrounded me. I help to pour the red soda into small clear cups for each man, after awkwardly spilling some when I first opened it.

I looked around the room at the men´s tired, wrinkled faces. There eyes looked worn and a little sad and I wondered many things about them. I wondered how long they had been here. I wondered what they did to get in here. I wondered if they were sorry. I wondered where their children were and what they thought. I wondered if the men would get out soon or if some of them would die here.

Soon the "ceremony" started. The main social worker started by welcoming them and introduced the organizations that had helped today and through out the year. When they turned to Marisol and me to thank Cross Cultural Solutions, I wanted to announce, "I only carried the cake." But I didn´t. I just smiled. Then, we passed out the treats. I tried to serve each thing like I was serving my own grandparents. I smiled at each man and looked them in the eyes, (just like my mother taught me) if they did actually look up at me. Several said thank you and about two men looked up and smiled at me as they did. The main social worker wished them a Happy Father´s Day and said that we hoped they would have a good Father´s Day on Sunday with their families.

Marisol offered me a churro and I didn´t take it at first, but thought to myself, "how many times can I enjoy a churro in a Peruvian prison?" It was actually the best churro I have ever had. We enjoyed some more treats and I tried to just keep smiling. Just as I was thinking to myself what a nice, happy little celebration this is, the main social worker stood up to close the ceremony. That was fine. But then, one of the men stood up to say a few words. He was the nice man in the maroon sweater who had smiled at me earlier.

As he spoke, I was over come with emotions. Of course he was speaking in Spanish, so I didn´t understand every word, but I was still touched by the sincerity in his speech. He first said thank you on be half of all of the men and his gratitude is what made me choke up. He continued. My lip quivered. He spoke of how many of their children had gone on with their lives and have forgotten them. Now, I had to turn around and open my eyes really wide to hold the tears back. I looked around at the faces of the other men and thought of how I won´t be with my own father on Father´s Day. However, I get to celebrate later with him. And next year too. However, I wondered when the last time they were with their own children at their own houses for Father´s Day. Or for a birthday. Or for their child´s birthday. I was glad I could be there to celebrate with them. I thought my dad would like this gift better than anything I could have bought or done for him.

Another man spoke too, and by this time I could see the red in a few of the other men´s eyes. Wow, I almost lost it at this point. Several men came up to us after the ceremony to thank and hug us. I was touched by their appreciation and I just wished I could have done more. All I could really do was stand there and smile. I also forgot for several moments that we were in a jail. They were just old men and I didn´t see them as criminals. I even wished they didn´t have to be in here for so long.

For So Long, Honeybrowne