Back from the hell-hole of four prisons

by Ye Yint Aung (New Delhi)

Wednesday, 16 December 2009 18:29

The door slammed shut violently behind me and it seemed to cut me into pieces. I was in a
totally strange place among strangers suffering from a sense of inferiority complex. I had to walk
slowly and carefully into the 'Pone Zan' room. I dared not face their glaring eyes as they were
approaching me with cold-blooded faces. My heart was in my mouth. I was trembling with fear
as if I was possessed. I have never had such an experience before. The hell angels in the cage
stared at me.

"Hey! Guy. Walk on your legs and hands" the convict prison officer yelled at me. I walked on the
floor as he said in this 30' long room back and forth. And then I knelt down and had to report to
the most powerful persons in this room, 'Tan Zee' (Head convict prison officer in this room) and
'Si Kan Htane' (disciplinary convict prison officer), like a slave. They gave order 'Pone Zan
Htaing' (sit in prescribed position) to me. The series of punches and blows fell on my whole
body until I fell down on the floor as I didn't know this 'pone zan' sitting position.

This is the usual and regular lesson given to the new arrivals by teaching them how to sit, how
to stand, how to behave among other things by these powerful convict prison officers. From now
on, I had to kowtow to these convict officers every time they were present before me like a lamb
before the lion. Answer all their questions humbly; obey all their orders without questions for this
is the rule in the prison.

"Whatever you are outside before entering this prison, son of a minister or mayor, you must
leave your outside life at the entry gate of the prison", they told me. (I later realized this was a
farce, just trying to milk the new arrivals). I am just an ordinary person, having no pedigree or
family background. I arrived here after committing an illegal drug trafficking case due to my
abject poverty having no other choice. After being registered at the prison office at the main
entry gate, giving my name, address and case, I was given a prisoner's registration number and
sent to this 'Pone Zan' room.

There were many convicts and under-trials in this ward. We had to pay entry fees to get a
proper place and comfortable work in this ward. If you don't want to do night-sentry work, if you
don't want to polish the floors, if you don't want to carry the sewage tanks or if you want to work
in the kitchen vegetable farming, if you want to work at the kitchen, there is a fixed price for
each - do want and don't want. Don't try to bargain on the prices. It's impossible. All the
protection money and greasing money will be eventually divided among themselves on a
prescribed ratio. If you don't agree to pay this money, you would be given lessons by these
convict prison officials in accordance to their jurisdiction in this ward.

Verbal pledge to pay money as they asked was not yet enough. I was not allowed yet to greet
my two friends who had already been there. I must make another pledge to give these officials
coffee mix, foodstuffs, sugar, cheroot etc from my food parcel which would be sent by my family
besides agreeing to pay for brooms, water pot, cup and stationery to be used in this ward,
otherwise I have to sit alone at the corner of the room under strict restriction. I agreed to all their
demands out of fear of their strongly built bodies, cruelty and brutality and grim faces. I had no
ability to resist them at that time of the first ever prison experience with a first offence.

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Back from the hell-hole of four prisons

by Ye Yint Aung (New Delhi)

Wednesday, 16 December 2009 18:29

I got experienced eventually as I stayed in prison and got to know how to explore opportunities
for me and how to grease their palms.

Main Jail! This is the special place where we had to work for the prison officials like slaves. But
this place is good for us with very special opportunities. So I bribed the jail superintendent and
jailor to get work at this place. Then I had a right to access every place in the prison, every ward
and every place. This is my freedom inside the place surrounded by four walls. Moreover I got
some chance to earn some handsome money here.

When the prisoners met their family members in prison interviews, we could control their
meeting time according to the payment they made to us. We could check and supervise their
food parcels, inspect the prison to prevent jailbreaks. We could provide our service when these
prisoners wanted to buy something outside with some service money. There will be no take
without any give.

I was accustomed to answering 'present Sir' smartly in a proper tone and proper facial
expression whenever the prison security staff called me and realized how to appease and flatter
them. I brought the prison interview list and informed the prisoners concerned for prison
interviews. I ordered them to be in prison dress and to sit in 'pone zan'. Then I checked them
and escorted them to the prison interview room and told them to take their appropriate seats. If
they wanted more time in meeting their family, I negotiated with the police. If they agreed, pay
money they got more time. I got service money from them too.

If 'Paracetamol' (common cold drug) provided by prison hospital is not enough for your
sickness, you can get the medicine you want from your family along with the right to read in the
prison. No problem! We can serve your every need. We can inform your family of what you
need. When these parcels arrive in prison, they can reach you without any hassles from the
police and inspection staff. All the money will be divided in a pre-arranged ratio. The only thing
you need to do is giving service money to us.

Moreover the food is another important thing inside the prison. The family members can give
whatever they want, fried beef, fried fish paste, tomato, cabbage, anything. All these foodstuffs
will reach the prisoners concerned after passing many tables. But you must agree to your food
parcel raked in by the prison staff. Don't show any sign of discontent to them. You will be
deprived of such a right in future.

I encountered a visit by an ICRC when I was in the Main Jail. We whitewashed the prison wards
and everywhere else before their visit. We replaced all torn prison uniforms with new ones.
When the ICRC team arrived in the prison for inspection, the prisoners sat in 'pone zan'. They
inspected the hygiene, sanitation, healthcare and food in prison along with the prison officials.
They asked some random questions to some prisoners. Every prisoner gave the same answer
to the visitors, 'Everything is okay'. If you dare to answer the truth, you might be diagnosed as
an insane person by the prison doctor and can be eliminated later. You might be deprived of
some of your rights later. Some price must be paid for you daring act. The worst scenario is
being sent to prison labour camp to serve as military porter in the frontline. So everybody had to
be tight lipped. ICRC had visited the prisons for 6 to 7 years starting from 1999. Now they have

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Back from the hell-hole of four prisons

by Ye Yint Aung (New Delhi)

Wednesday, 16 December 2009 18:29

stopped visiting the prisons.

Food inside the prison is the same as other things. The best vegetables from the prison kitchen
farming must go to the prison officers as a quota for each. Only after they take their portion, the
rest will go to the prison kitchen for the prisoners. All of them are put into big aluminum pots and
stirred with some ingredients to make the soup as the one and only main dish. Meal with meat
will be available only twice a week. The meat ration for each prisoner is 5 ticals (approx. 2.1 oz)
so one viss (3.6 lbs) of meat is for 20 prisoners. A fistful of un-husked paddy is mixed in every
plate of rice. It's too hard to have as a meal. If you want to sort out this un-husked paddy from
your meal, you can do it, but it will take time and laborious work. But the sample of the meal
presented to the jailor for his inspection will be of tip-top quality. Then he will give his approval
of the meal saying it is fit for consumption. This is how the system works in prison.

When you fall sick, you must make a request to the jailor and jail staff in the humblest way
possible for access to the prison hospital. At last, you will get only 'paracetamol' drug. So the
food parcel, cash and medicine bought and brought from outside are very important for the
prisoners. Criminals who committed the most heinous crimes are also human beings. Those
who relied only on these heinous crimes will try to earn this money by every possible means.
Sometimes they bribed the officials. Sometimes they flatter the prison officials. For the most
downtrodden prisoners, the prison is mother of all hells.

At the same time, there are elitists and the creme de la creme in the prison too. They must be
provided all comfortable facilities. But the political prisoners will never get such an opportunity.
They are always pinned down by prison officials where every fault is found to justify further
repression. They are treated by prison officials as criminals. But the convict prison officers are
criminals. Everything is upside down in the prison. The criminals get high positions and the
political prisoners suffer most. Some of these elite prisoners, who have a close rapport with the
military authorities, are untouchables in prison even by the prison police and convict prison
officers. They can visit places outside the prison at their will at any time.

If you get a good position in prison, you can rake in profit from your position. So there are many
jailbirds who do not want to be released not to lose their good position inside the prison. These
jailbirds commit petty crimes to get back their good positions. To get these good positions, they
must do everything good or bad by every possible means. In this way, the prison cannot be a
correctional institute which can reform the lives of these prisoners. Though most of the
prisoners do not want to come back again to the prison, some are not reluctant to do whatever
evil. I believe these people will not practice the survival tactics they learnt from the prison when
they are released.

But in the outside world too, it's very hard to earn a decent living. So some of them try to get an
upper hand by all possible means and this strong desire pushed them to practice indecent
survival tactics they learnt in the outside world. If there cetana (benevolence) exists inside the
prison for cleaning all evils in human society, it will be rejoiced by all beings, human beings and
spirits. I'd like to say too Sadu, Sadu, Sadu.

(I am obliged to express my grateful thanks to Ko Yaw Han who retold this story. He was twice

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Back from the hell-hole of four prisons

by Ye Yint Aung (New Delhi)

Wednesday, 16 December 2009 18:29

imprisoned on political cases and in Singapore also he was imprisoned for overstay. So I coined
the word 'Returnee of four prisons' for this story)

(I write this article in commemoration of the 61st International Human Rights Day which falls on
10th December, which coincides with the hunger strike being staged by political prisoner Nyi Nyi
Aung in protest against the discrimination against prisoners and for justice and prisoners' rights
in Insein prison)

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