Bounced By My Brother - S01 E32

3 years ago

Bounced By My Brother - S01 E32

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 32

Dickson’s Prison Life And Work As A Watchman.

< Third Person’s POV>

It had been over 27 years since Dickson was arrested for raping Doreen. He could vividly recall how he was handcuffed and sent to the police station. The District Crime Officer detained him in the police cell. Soon, he was taken to court, found guilty and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment with hard labour. He was immediately handcuffed and taken away after the pronouncement to Nsawam Prison. Prisons always take away your identity. Apart from your freedom that is denied you, life in Ghana prison is like living in hell even for one day , not to talk about one year, let alone ten years.

It was by definition purely an authoritarian and restrictive institution that tolerate no independence or individuality. A Prisoner’s daily life takes place according to a daily schedule .The laid down rules and regulations in the prison were very strict and inhumane.

The food cooked in prison was cooked according to prison standards.The food given isn’t food that you will eat at home; it was so terrible that it was not fit even for a dog. The dinner was a stiff cold salty porridge with a half teaspoon of sugar. Meat and fish were eaten once in a blue moon.The “banku” had no salt and the soups were so light that you could see your reflection in it. Everyone wore the same uniform. The standard prison uniform was a pair of short trousers, and a rough blue shirt.

Dickson met Dennis in prison. Dennis told him he was arrested for allegedly killing a teenager he had no idea about; a fellow left a vehicle in his care which later turned out to contain the body of a teenage girl. He was arrested for that and he ended up in prison after the fellow told the police That he( Dennis) had stolen his car.

The state of the prison was a very disturbing sight to the eye, people were packed in the cell like sardines or slaves in Europeans ships. This made it difficult to breathe due to the overcrowding. There were frequent disease outbreaks and wee smoking.

‘Wee’ and other illegal materials prohibited in the cells were smuggled into the cells. The Prisons were a place where little or no attention is paid to inmates’ health; they were left to their own fate when they fall ill. When one prove stubborn,he is beaten mercilessly by his own inmates. Nurses and Health Aides who operated infirmaries and clinics within the prison facility were quack and not qualified. They were unexperience and didn’t knew the drugs they administered very well.

Dickson was once given a bad injection and that worsen his situation resulting in chronic pains all over his body.Sometimes they had to prescribe drugs for themselves.

In the depth of darkness, he laid on his bed , with Dennis at the adjacent side. They were talking to busy ourselves, not even aware of time or place. His new prison smelled stale and dirty where he wouldn’t imagine any human being could spend even a night. They were languishing in jail, dying slowly, spending day and night in a dark smelling cell, in the company of insects, with no real human dignity and freedom Unlike like ordinary citizens. However ,he got accustomed to the place and circumstances. Their chit-chat sounded weak, hopeless and sorrowful, his voice was full of sadness and pain as he said , ” God, have mercy on me.”

Dickson’s voice sounded regretful and reflected the need of crying although his tears had stopped flowing years ago.

One of his prison mates Eric grew desperate and remorseful and said:”I was arrested for stealing money from the bank I worked for. They never believed it wasn’t me. What pained me the most was my wife. She never believed I was innocent. Consequently, she neglected me to my suffering. He asked his inmates, “You know what she did next?

They answered in unison, ” NO”

He continued,”She brought divorce papers here for me to sign with a threat that if I refused to sign it, she will leave me anyway to another man.”

Silence reigned and darkness prevailed. Eric didn’t tell his inmates whether he signed the divorce papers or not and they didn’t want to push it. He left the conversation open-ended. There was a long boring silence. Day took a long time to come.

Daylight brought a temporal glimmer of joy and expectations to the prisoners.

Early in the morning, there was a knock on the door and a plate was pushed with some poor food from a hole at the bottom of the door. Dickson and his mates were not interested in eating the food.

The thought of Doreen crept into Dickson’s mind. He could hear himself saying,

“She is an icon of beauty. He imagined himself apologizing to Doreen and saying ” my love, Doreen, I am very sorry for what I have done to you……..”

“Dickson!,Dickson!!Dickson!!!,His sweet reverie was broken by the incessant calling of his name. A stern looking officer materialised at the exit.He really looked stern, ruthless and sadistic. He stared at Eric and Dickson and sarcastically said:” You are lucky to be pardoned by the president.

You will be able to breathe some fresh air after been in this stink odour.. Dickson and Eric were the oldest prisoners in that prison. They have been in prison for 27 years out of the 30 years pronounced on them.

Their mates looked at them, green with envy. The two prisoners didn’t know what to say. They were lost of words. A mixture of happiness, sadness and surprise dominated his emotions. The President had exercised his powers of prerogative of mercy to grant remission to prisoners who had serve 20 plus years in prison.

****

When he was released, he begged some people for money and used it to board a car to the apartment he rented before his arrest. Unfortunately, It was given to another occupant and his family had come for his belongings. His village was not far but he wanted to live in the city of Accra. He remembered Tord. Tord was Dickson’s friend and ex work mate. They were both fire service men before Dickson’s incarceration. He managed to walk for three hours to Tord’s residence to beg him for an accommodation.

To his amazement, Tord declined his offer. He said he couldn’t harbour an Ex-convict in his house. Even if he agreed, his wife would be uncomfortable with a full grown male in the house where their two teenage daughters also live. What is more, the man in question was a rapist who just released from prison after serving 27 years there on the charges of rape.

Tord concluded, “my friend, it’s practicably impossible.”

Tord gave him Ghc 150 and Dickson left quite disappointed. The joy of getting released was short-lived though, and reality soon set in.The end of his first very tiring day of freedom was a maltreatment from a friend. There is the stigma of having been in prison – few employers are willing to take on an Ex-convict.

Prison isn’t easy, it isn’t pleasant by any stretch of the imagination, and it isn’t a ‘holiday camp’ as he so often hear – but it offers stability and structure.

Dickson was contemplating what to do when he saw a notice advertising a Job Vacancy for a watch man. Well. He was 52 years old now and could still work as a watch man.

Without hesitation, he rang the gate bell. A young man came out and asked in an American accent, “what do you want sir” staring at the man’s shabby dressing.

“I’m here for the watch man job,” Dickson said.

The young man laughed and said, Then you are welcome, my name is Marvin. Come on in. After sitting down, the young man conducted a little interview for Dickson. After that, he said, “Let’s discuss the terms and conditions of your work.”

Dickson smiled.

At least he could start life from there. He counted himself lucky to be a security man in a rich boy’s house. He was given a nice room for accommodation. A single room self-contained. Dickson got to know the young man Marvin was based in USA but returned to Africa in search of his true parents. He often wondered where his parents might have been and secretly wished he were Martin’s father. He recalled the day he became a fire service man. He was just 21. To him, Firefighters and firefighting was something that seemed bigger than life!

He was among the Four hundred and seventy Fire Service recruits, including 300 females, who passed out in Accra. Dickson came out as the best recruit in their year batch. He saved a girl from a high rise building over 100ft which was engulfed in flame. In the process, he got burnt. His bravery earned him a national award and a promotion at work. He made other strides in the fire service and became quite famous. He had worked for 4 years as a fireman before meeting Doreen that fateful day. Unfortunately, Dickson who could quench and face monstrous fires and inferno could not quench the fire of lust that had challenged him.

***

Prison is a second by second assault on the soul, a day to day degradation of the self, an oppressive steel and brick umbrella that transforms seconds into hours and hours into days. -Mumia Abu-Jamal

People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes -Abigail Van Buren

****

What happened next? Episode 33 is LOADING…