Thursday, March 5, 2015

Prison Time

Nyoman drove Katrinka and me to the prison here today to meet with others to get prisoner paintings to take to the Hard Rock Cafe in Kuta to be sold for some fundraising venture.
A number of people I know and have met go there to council or run AA meetings, teach yoga, and so forth. I wasn't one of the four they let go inside so I sat outside the door and watched people come and go - a constant stream of visitors with food and gifts. Alice said that the spacious, high ceiling hall before the door is a new building, that she's always waited outside in the dirt before. Her mate, friend Danu didn't want to go in though he works in drug counseling and has spoken with government officials about harm reduction. He told me he'd done time there five times - once for four years. Said he knew a lot of the staff and guards. After a couple of hours we learned we couldn't get the paintings today. Not surprising. No one complained. Some of the paintings are by an Aussie who Indonesia is preparing to shoot - unless Australia, much of the world, people here, and prez Widodo's son can talk him into clemency.

Here's a site with lots on Kerobokan Prison.