The Case of the Prison-Monger

That’s another thing which made prison lovely. In prison, I found a lot of intellectuals

...continues

‘Our prisons are congested: we want to empty them. This prison-monger must, however, be punished. Up to now, he has been arrested six times; if he reached the legal limit of ten then he would automatically get death, whatever the gravity of his crime. But he also knows this. I suspect he has plans to go up to the ninth with his petty crimes and prison sejours. How do we punish him? Do we send him back to prison? He wants that. To labor camps? He would be pleased. I think the best punishment is to set him free. If he goes to commit another crime, he should be arrested and set free again till he reaches his tenth arrest. Then we shall execute him. We want the prisoner freed, Comrade Major Judge.’

‘Objection, Your Honour!’ said the defence lawyer. ‘The accused admits his guilt. He has confessed to his crime and wants to pay for it. He has the right to be punished. , he has the duty to receive punishment. The law demands it. We can’t just set him free.’ ‘I agree,’ said the judge. ‘The prosecutor must realize that this is an open court with its own message to our enemies. So, we must hear what the accused has to say, at least. And then give him the necessary punishment. Proceed,’ he added to the defence counsel. ‘Thank you, Your Honour. I shall call the accused to the witness stand.’

The accused walked briskly to the witness stand – a healthy, athletic figure indeed.

‘You are Matteos Gudu?’

‘Yes.’ A firm voice.

‘Is it true you have been in jail six times?’

‘Very true.’ ‘What have you done this time?’

‘Shoplifting.’

‘Do you admit it?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you a kleptomaniac?’

‘No. But I am a prisonomaniac. I love prison.’

‘Why?’

‘I was born poor. I lived with my family – all eight of us – in one single room which was so small that my friends used to joke about it, by saying that every time I turned over in my sleep I left the room. As a result, big rooms and open spaces suffocate me. Reverse claustrophobia you can call it. In prison, where close to seventy of us are stacked in a room fit for twenty, I feel alive and at peace.’

‘Come now! We know that even if you stay outside you can easily get a small room to rent. In fact, that is the only thing you can get if you are lucky.’

‘Yes, I know that. It brings us to the second reason why I love prison. Money.’

‘Money?'

‘You see, after my first stint in prison, I looked desperately for work. I couldn’t get any. I had lodging problems as well; you must know that I haven’t had any living relatives in this city for a dozen years or so. Broke, hungry, sleeping on the pavement – I was destined to be a guttersnipe. I refused to submit to this. I stole again and got back to prison. This time for a year. No lodging problem, food was little but regular and even if it does not arrive, you can do nothing about it really. So you don’t worry. In prison, you could say, I found happiness and calm. When they came to release me, I begged them to let me stay but they refused. But I went out and came back again.’

‘Prison is a punishment. How could you not feel the lack of freedom? Being cooped up in a little hole? Being unable to move around as you desire?’

What is freedom, I ask you?' said the prison-monger. ‘Who is he who can roam freely in our country nowadays? You need permission. When you are hungry, worried about it, broke and with no place to sleep, freedom is an illusion. Your aching stomach does not enable you to sing with the birds or to roam like a well-fed ibex. You suffer and writhe, that’s all you get. But in prison, I found freedom even if I was hungry. My mind was at rest.’

‘But you studied?’

‘That’s another thing which made prison lovely. In prison, I found a lot of intellectuals. They were ready to help me continue the studies I had interrupted a long time ago. I threw myself into books, I finished the school leaving certificate exams with honors, and qualified for the university. I chose law since I am interested in this field. I am now in my third year.’

‘Your teachers are anarchist?’

‘They are political prisoners. We don’t discuss politics; I am not interested in it. But they are capable teachers and as you know the students who get the highest grades in the national exams are the ones in prison.’

by Hama Tuma

to be continued...