From the Archives- South African Prisons

Last time I was in South Africa, I spent 3 weeks doing prison ministry (Bible studies in prison). The work I do on my present trip may or may not be similar. I have purposely replaced names with "the Mission Organization" and the like, since these are my thoughts, not theirs.

Let’s talk about prison. South Africa can’t catch the vast majority of its criminals and it doesn’t have enough jail space for those it does, so it’s a safe guess that those who do jail time aren’t doing it for shoplifting.

Most of the people in jail are members of gangs. If you aren’t a menber of a gang when you go into prison chances are you soon will be. If you don’t are you will probably be abused and raped. The gangs actually have policies about this kind of thing: in some gangs male-on-male rape is acceptable or even an initiation rite, while other gangs don’t allow it on pain of severe beatings.

While prison life can be pretty rough, the prisoners I met were anything but. On the contrary they were polite, friendly and respectful- you wouldn’t realize they were prisoners if they weren’t actually in jail, wearing bright orange jumpsuits that say "Prisoner" on them Even their scars and tattoos don’t make them look scary. They are eager to come to Bible studies, Bible discussions and the like and are living monuments to the power of God to transform people.

The technicalities of prison ministry are easily explained. I visit a different prison every day (there are many near Cape Town), with a team of South African missionarries. The prison guards love to have Christians come into the jails, even if only because a converted prisoner is less likely to cause trouble.

All the prisoners that wish to attend lessons from the organization I work are brought into a room, where the mission people (myself included- I was thrown right in without real instruction) read the Bible, discuss the Bible, give testimonies, do Christian courses from books, all of that stuff. Sure, some of them only come to the classes because a Bible certificate looks good on a parole form, but God can affect people even when they aren’t planning to be affected. The only difficulty for me is that these guys are primarily Afrikaans speaking. My Afrikaans is improving rapidly so that I can follow along with a simple conversation, but when these guys start to get going the language is just too fast and too complicated for me.

Before going into prison, I was worried about my ability to relate positively to guys who have done such terrible things, but these guys are so changed, so repentant, and so eager to live new Godly lives that even when I know what one of them did I feel no anger towards him. In fact some of these prisoners could teach us lessons about willingness and eagerness to serve God.

It’s quite ironic that although I was worried about getting somehow hurt in the jails, the fact is that I have felt pretty safe, even though we have close contact with murderers. I have felt much more fear in the streets of South African cities. However, on one occasion something could have happened: a prison guard who was getting something from his locker failed to realize that his holstered gun was inches away from a prisoners face. The man’s eyes locked onto the weapon and never left it, like a dog stares at the food in a person’s hand. I was too far away to do anything and I didn’t want to accuse the guy of trying something (after all, he was only looking) so I watched nervously. The prisoner ended up not going for the gun, perhaps because the gun was bucked into the holster so it would take a couple of seconds to steal, or because another prisoner touched him on the shoulder and discouraged him with a subtle head shake.

Unfortunately, thes gang violence that is prevalent on the streets does spills over into the prisons as well, and while none of us have been threatened the prisoners themselves aren’t so safe. The most dangerous guys are not the older, hard criminals, but he younger gang members in their late teens or early twenties. They sharpen toothbrushes, smuggle razors into jail on bars of soap, anything to use as a weapon. One day while we were having a Bible Study a fight started outside the room. We couldn’t see what happened but there was a lot of noise, banging and crashing and then the barking of the prison dogs, which are brought in to break up fights because no one wants to mess them. What fascinated me was the reaction in the room- everyone was up and getting excited about it, myself included. "I want to be there" was written plainly on everyone’s face. Young men are drawn to violence for some reason. Perhaps a reason these people fight so much is just that they’re bored and it provides an adrenaline rush…

There are few things sadder than a women’s prison. I was warned beforehand but I was still struck by how depressing a place it is. A lot of men in jail seem to come to grips with their situation and make the best of it. Their tattoos and scars are, in many cases, like badges of honour. The women, of all ages and races look at you and try to act tough act tough but with a haunting terror in their eyes. They, too have scars, not those of street fighters but of abused wives and girlfriends. Their tattoos bear the names of old lovers- quite possibly the men who gave them those scars.

I also got to visit an holding prison where juveniles await trial It is an overcrowded, smelly, joyless place. Many of the inmates are no more than children- We go right into the cells, which are jam-packed fully of filthy, stinky boys who surround you and look at you in a way that is not entirely friendly. I didn’t feel afraid because African missionaries werew with me, but I didn’t feel too comfortable either. One young man in fascinated me because of the look in his eyes. He simply stared off blankly into space, and nothing you said to him got through. His eyes were dead, the stare of a corpse. He is likely dead by now- his cellmates threatened him constantly, for he had raped children. I also spoke to a young man who wanted to become a Christian, but was afraid of his cell mates killing him. I know the standard Bible answer, "whoever loses his life for my sake will save it" but how do I tell that to someone, knowing it might lead to his death? Could I believe, faced with that kind of consequence?

These were some of the "highlights". I apologize for the lack of conclusion. If you are a praying man, remember the men and women of South Africa's prisons in your prayers. If you want more or specific information about this kind of thing, please contact me.