focus: Social Services in Kinshasa prison

Inside Luzumu prison, where men sentenced to longer prison terms were kept in order to work in the fields and to decongest the prison in Kinshasa.

Nuria in the closed block, with the Director and a seminarian.

In Kinshasa prison officially the "Kinshasa Remand and re-education Centre" (CPRK) there are about 2,800 prisoners, military or civilian, some on remand, others already sentenced. The building is now in a reasonable state; it had to be restored by Kabila senior, because when he arrived it had been thoroughly looted. Some prisoners have beds, but most sleep on a lilo, a mat, or even on clothing or a piece of material.

The prison provides a meal once a day; it is not very plentiful. Those who receive nothing from their families can easily fall sick for want of resistance. Sometimes there is an exception and they receive something extra. There are two doctors and many nurses of both sexes, but medicines have to be bought by the prisoners or their families. Sometimes medicines do arrive, but they can easily be passed on to the families of the very people responsible for health.

I belong to a team consisting of sisters from various congregations: Dominicans, Sisters of Christ Jesus, Loreto, Sacred Heart. Our service is at present a social one. In view of the situation, we can, with the help of the International Red Cross, give extra maize, sugar and oil to the weakest. Bernadette, the Dominican nurse who co-ordinated the group, died in October, but under the direction of two Health Centres in the archdiocese, we manage to go on looking after the TB patients and the mentally infirm. We also have a library service.

Besides our group, there is also a Pastoral group made up of various priests, seminarians, some sisters and lay people. They try to ensure that the Eucharist or the Word will be celebrated in all the blocks, and that there will be preparation for the sacraments. Our two groups meet once a month.

We share out work among the team members: caring for the sick or undernourished, keeping track of files, library? There are many other things that could be done but there simply isn?t time! My main work consists in keeping track of poor people?s files, because those who have money can easily get satisfaction. The corruption in matters of justice is terrible. I begin by going through the blocks to find out what problems they have, and then I go to the courts to see, with the magistrates or their secretaries, how each prisoner is going, to prevent them from being forgotten or being pressed for money they don?t have. How many, without our help, could have died in prison forgotten by everyone!

All the same, these agents of justice are very friendly with us and even thank us for our service. Their many mistakes are understandable, too, as they are so discouraged by their paltry salaries (the secretaries are told that they are to be increased to 22 euros?!!!). From time to time we organise days of reflection for them, so that the Gospel finds its way into their lives.

I can say that the prisoners evangelise us too; to give an example, I saw one always taking on the most unpleasant tasks. When I asked him why, he said: "That's how I make up for the bad things I've done." The sad thing is that there are so many prisoners, so we can't dedicate more time to listening and dialogue with each one.

María Nuria Sánchez de Ocaña rscj
Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo