Past the Haverbubble
I feel pretty drained after I come back from the Cannery - a low securities prison for women in Philadelphia. Just for some backdrop to this post: Haverford’s Center for Peace & Global Citizenship sponsors a restorative justice class made of both inside and outside students. Both Haverford students and incarcerated women (“inside students”) meet to learn about restorative justice, it’s principles, and also it’s problems. This is the second real class that we’ve had together, and I always feel exhausted when I get back to campus.
Some things running through my head:
- Some of the women are able to hold jobs either inside or outside the prison. They get paid $1.50 a day. I still really can’t process this in my mind.
- The building of the Cannery itself is really old and run down. It reminds me of an old elementary school. No fancy gimmicks like at the maximum security prisons elsewhere. Shouldn’t lower security facilities have resources as well?
- Some of the women spend a lot of time talking about their own personal experiences. I think its hard to talk about situations and models when they are so close to your personal experience. Even if it’s good for us to be sounding boards, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed. I’m not equipped to help them or solve their problems, but where will they be able to find that support?
- What are my intentions in taking the class? I can’t help but feel like there’s a lot of voyeurism going on on my end. I definitely wanted to see what prison is like- but at the same time is that kind of ‘seeing’ objectifying the women more? (This question may be more fitting for someone about to go on a tour of a prison)
I think that’s all for now.
