What does it mean when a family member is put in jail? Review of Supporting Prisoners’ Families conference, December 2016
Review of Supporting Prisoners’ Families conference, December 2016
There are rumours going around at school. A short time ago, his dad went to jail. “Where is he?” the classmates kept asking the boy. Neighbours gossiped about it too. Finally, the family moved to another place. The mother quit, because she couldn’t stand the glances from her colleagues anymore. How will they survive?
The young man telling the story stares at the audience. His voice sounds angry, so angry that you forget he is an actor. His eyes seem to ask reproachfully: Have you ever imagined what it really means, if a loved one lands behind bars?
The emotional documentary play formed a prelude to the Supporting Prisoners’ Families conference organised by the association Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband Berlin and the Institute for Education in Information Society on December 9, 2016. Representatives of penal institutions, independent organisations and administration came together to formulate plans in terms of supporting prisoners’ families in Berlin.