A hunger strike in the jail

Working with incarcerated women, has its trials and tribulations, especially when the jail is in Bolivia, a country known for being prone to strikes, marches and revolts on almost a daily basis. This same cultural phenomenon is also found within the jail, this year alone the facility has had two hunger strikes already.

When a group of incarcerated women decide to go on a hunger strike, the entire jail is put under a state of emergency and total lock down, meaning visitors, lawyers or artisans like me can’t go inside the jail for an undefined time. The entire incarcerated community has to undergo the state of emergency, as a consequence of the protesting group.

This makes my work very difficult, since during these times I can’t deliver yarn for any of the orders we receive or do the quality control I need for the work in progress.  This is one of the glitches of working with incarcerated women. My knitters are also affected because their work is slowed down, and therefore so is their income.

This time around the strike is due to a complaint made by one of the prisoners, who sent a letter to the press stating that drugs, alcohol, prostitution and abortions where common within the jail. The interesting aspect of this is that some of the women inside the jail took offense of this statement and took it upon themselves to start a hunger strike demanding that the author of the accusatory letter be removed from the prison and taken elsewhere. The group of protesting women feel’s humiliated by the accusations and wants the letter to be retracted. They don’t want people on the outside to think these accusations are true. However, it is common knowledge that alcohol and drugs are found within those walls.

It’s interesting for me to hear their reaction. It seems to me that if said actions are happening within the jail, it would behoove the prisoners to have more protection and stricter controls in order to protect the women and children within the jail from being exposed to the many downfalls of drug and alcohol abuse, which can lead to unwanted pregnancies, violence, abuse, depression, prostitution and more.

None of the girls on my team are involved in the strike, yet they are experiencing the downfalls of the issue in place. Prior to the strike they requested that I leave them with a lot of work, should the strike begin and get prolonged. Knitting keeps them busy and out of trouble. Let’s hope they are busy at work, and staying safe while knitting in peace.

~Namaste