Behind the fate of the wrong people

(Baonghean) -It was thought that behind those bars were people who no longer had hope and faith in the future. But the attention of the prison guards at Prison No. 6 motivated them to reform well and have faith in a brighter tomorrow.

At Prison No. 6 (Ministry of Public Security) located in Thanh My and Hanh Lam communes (Thanh Chuong), out of 4,000 prisoners, there are about 500 young prisoners. Among them is Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang (born in 1983), from Tuong Duong, serving an 18-year prison sentence, serving 3 years. Hang has an innocent beauty that makes people unable to believe that she used to be a daring drug dealer. Her husband died of heroin addiction, her 2 young children are in the poor countryside with their old mother. Hang entered her sentence with heavy sorrow. However, when talking to me, she looked very radiant. Hang said: "The road back is still long, but I hope that when I go out into society, I will open a small restaurant to raise my children. By then, my children will be grown up, but they still need their mother's help!" Pham Ngoc Hiep (born in 1988) has only 2 months left until his sentence expires, and is excited: “I will go to the Business Association and ask for advice and support to get a job right away. Later, when I have saved up money, I will open a small company where my workers will be people in the same situation”… All of these plans for the day of return prove that in those lives of mistakes, there are always dreams of doing useful work for life.

Provincial Youth Union presents gifts to prisoners with good rehabilitation at Prison No. 6

Warden of Prison No. 6 - Colonel Nguyen Viet Hoan said: “In 2011, the Prison organized a conference for prisoners' families with businesses in the province. We invited former prisoners who had completed their sentences and were now successful in business so that prisoners could see this as motivation to reform well. Often after such conferences, prisoners are recruited into businesses whose owners are in the same situation.”

Mr. Hoan said that there are people who have become rich from the skills they learned while in the camp when they returned to society. For example, Hai “the statue”, with a billion-dollar business and creating jobs for hundreds of workers, including those who once made mistakes. His company’s products are present in many provinces and cities with annual revenue of up to tens of billions of dong.

The warden also said that most prisoners who are about to finish their prison terms often feel confused when reintegrating into the community. The prison has held talks and equipped prisoners with skills to help them feel more confident when they return. Prisoners will be aware of this and reform well. And when they have stable jobs and are accepted by society, they will not reoffend.

Article and photos: Thanh Nga