Where there is hate I can confront, where there are yokes I can release,

Where there are captives I can free, and anger I can appease...

Fiesta at the City Jail – that was what we called the affair when we went to visit the prisoners, and shared a little time of our lives with them as we gave food, clothing and sanitary products to them. I didn’t know how to react at such appalling conditions – twenty or so inmates cramped up in detention cells smaller than our bathroom, stories of how people share in a bowl of rice, and the horrible stench in such a dark and dismal place.

And what can be more saddening than this? Having children in such places. Though the detention centre we visited did not have children, certain jails in the Philippines have minors in such inhumane conditions. These children who are charged with small crimes such as petty theft, sniffing solvents, and vagrancy are mixed in adult prisons where criminals of murder, rape, and other heinous crimes are put (Sabine Dolan).

In other countries, jail cells are at least hygienic & sanitary, well-kept, suitably ventilated, and properly lighted. The Philippine prison is a whole other story as people are restricted to such small spaces with little or no ventilation and source of light. They also sleep on cardboard beds, eat on meals that just pass the day, share communal bathrooms which have an unbearable reek to it, and have to bear with water dripping from the roof when it rains. Such is the picture of detention centres in the Philippines and this, as well, is the environment of young convicts.

Lord grant me courage, Lord grant me strength,

Grant me compassion that I may be Your Heart Today...

At some points in time, certain people (or groups of people for this matter) have the strength and courage to create a difference in the child prisoners’ life. These people in their own ways have given hope to the children in jails. They have been catalysts to change the conditions of these minors, to go beyond their means, and to make their lives a complete reflection of their advocacy for child rights protection.

Such is the example of filmmaker Kylie Grey who went to Cebu in Southern Philippines, taped the conditions of the children, and described that “hundreds of Philippine boys stand naked, arms hugging their chests, shivering in the rain”.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yo87OON7oo)

She followed the story of four child prisoners who were freely roaming with the adult convicts. One of them is ten-year-old Julius who remarked that he stole anything and got high on sniffing rugby (glue). Another one is Danny with his older brother Jospeh, both of whom travelled around Cebu seeking for food for two reasons: because of hunger, and because when they would go home, their father would beat them and put them in chains. The most horrible of stories would be that of eleven-year-old Tommy who was caught stealing, put to jail for the third time, detests his parents, and asks why God has allowed him to be born from poor relatives. At the end of the film he was accompanied back to his parents whom did not welcome him. After three months, he was again caught and put back to prison. Saddest part of the story is that Tommy died when he was fourteen from heart attack. Here in the Philippines, “in the absence of juvenile detention facilities, some 9,000 children languish in Filipino jails” (Kylie Grey). It takes a certain type of courage to do such a documentary and a certain kind of strength to tell such a poignant tale of young children. Grey has been an example worth emulating in helping these kids.

It is also in the film that we meet Atty. Nina Valenzona who despite her 84-year-old age still visits the boys weekly, fights for these kids in court free of charge, and lobbies to change the laws in the national level. Kylie Grey remarked “I was humbled by her generosity”. Sure enough, her munificent efforts to alleviate the children from the filth of living in such ghastly conditions have not been in vain. We truly are humbled by her generosity and care for these children.

Organizations such as the UNICEF, Preda Foundation, Council of Welfare for Children, and Consuelo Foundation have teamed up to promote rehabilitation of children who come in conflict with the law (http://www.unicef.org/philippines/news/050804.html). They are part of the Juvenile Justice Network Philippines which aims to give children in conflict with the law “another chance by making the justice system more child-sensitive”. Much more than these organizations which lobby for the institutionalization of juvenile facilities, are the people behind them and the amount of sacrifice they have put to such endeavour.

In December of 2005, the Philippine Senate has passed the Juvenile Justice Bill with a unanimous 21-0 vote (Sabine Dolan). The bill prohibits the incarceration of children in adult prisons, raises the criminal liability from age 9 to age 15, introduces restorative justice, provides for the implementation of juvenile delinquency prevention programs, and so on.

The people behind all these endeavours have been successful as they are the Lord’s heart today and they have done so by doing what they can to the fullest, just personal steps to further the cause. Indeed, this is one very huge leap for the advancement of child prisoners’ rights in our country yet there are still more to be done. Proper implementation must be met to firmly establish this law.

When comes the day I dread to see a broken world,

Compel me from my cell grown cold, that Your people I may behold...

After such actions have been done by those who came before us, it is only crucial that we are obligated as well to act on this matter in ways we can. We must never be complacent in the actions that we choose to take so it is necessary for us to be vigilant in having the proper implementation of the juvenile justice act.

So what can we do? Education... both ours and the children. We must educate those who do not know that these types of injustices are happening to our society. They must be informed that such inhumane conditions abound in our prisons, and actions must be taken for such awful environments. Another thing that we can do is to reach out to these children in conflict with the law through proper elementary education, providing these kids a chance to have a better future through nourishment of the mind.

We can also volunteer for programs that help these normally out-of-school youths, such are those that focus on community-based rehabilitation and even those organizations that help in the children’s reintegration in the society. There are a lot of cause-oriented organizations that we can join and be an instrument of change for these minors.

Last of the things we can do is to target the problem at the very root of it and that is poverty. Most crimes are committed because of dire poverty and we must help these people by giving them family livelihood options which the government can provide. We must seek help from the local government in helping alleviate poverty through jobs and businesses that can be offered to those who need it most in the community.

A lot can be done about this issue yet our duties would again boil down to us being the Lord’s heart today as we show compassion and utmost care to the youth who have gone in conflict with the law. We do these actions because there is a need for us to do it especially for those who do not have their own voice to stand up for them.

Yet our world is not perfect. Sometimes we can’t do everything and so we pray:

And when I’ve done all that I could Yet there are hearts I cannot move...

Lord, give me hope that I may be Your Heart Today.

-o0o-