Prison Journalism: New Year in Jail

A brand-new year means a lot to prisoners, especially those with long sentences. At least it signifies subtracting another year from your sentence.

Welcoming 2017 with Hope

On December 31, 2016, I didn’t sleep; I stayed awake to await the arrival of the brand-new year at 00:00 am. The new year was 2017. That same night, I prayed that as I entered a new year, I had left behind the old me and all the criminal activities from 2016. I was now facing the brand-new year, ready to embrace it. It held great significance as it represented a new me, with new ways, in a new year. I remember writing down all my goals and objectives that I wanted to achieve in the new year.

A Bittersweet New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve had been my favourite holiday since I was young, so that night, while I was in a single cell in prison, I was overwhelmed with great sadness. I knew my family was missing me, and I was missing them too. Memories and flashbacks filled my mind. I almost cried, regretting my actions. I kept thinking that jail was not a good place for me to be I was supposed to be out there with my family celebrating the new year. I vowed to change.

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Celebrating from Behind Bars

I remember precisely at 12 midnight, we stood at the window cells of the prison, where we saw fireworks in the distance as people in the suburbs of Tokai were celebrating, making noise as they welcomed the new year. We, the prisoners, also joined in, hitting the walls of the prison. Even though we were inmates, we were also celebrating the new year…

A Different Kind of Festivity

New Year’s Eve was different from Christmas Day. I realized that New Year’s Eve was more recognized than Christmas in prison. Inmates didn’t sleep that day, waiting for the stroke of midnight. The whole prison was filled with noise as the clock struck 00:00, and we had officially entered 2017. In the morning, inmates congratulated each other. It was a different feeling; even though our freedom was taken, at that moment, we were full of hope, and the despair had faded away, all thanks to the new year.

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DISCLAIMER: Submission published as received

RESTORE is an NGO based in Cape Town, South Africa, providing inmates at Pollsmoor Prison with restorative justice opportunities.

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