When Prisoners Cry - Who Hears Them?

The Setting…
My wife and I were sitting in the restaurant on Wednesday evening January 24, 2007 at 7:00 PM. The small family unit across the table is originally from China. The two ladies, a mother and her daughter, came from New York in the morning. The man with them has been living in Canada for the past 12 years. His accommodations have been several of our Canadian Prisons.

There was a huge smile on his face. His eyes are twinkling and he is about to start his new life on the outside of prison. He cannot travel back with his sister and niece when they return to the USA later in the week. But he is willing to start again. His new jacket is shining in the restaurant lighting and there is a tag hanging from the sleeve that his sister reaches over and pulls off. This is a scene of pure happiness and delight.

Background…
I met Mr. C in prison about two years ago. As a Chapel Volunteer I attend different functions inside the prison to encourage the men and offer hope. Some of Mr. C’s friends asked me to see if there was anyway that I might intervene on his part as his release would be soon from what they were told.

I speak Cantonese somewhat and can hear Mandarin with a tiny bit of speaking.

Mr. C is at a tremendous disadvantage in that he speaks only a Chinese dialect that is from a remote and small village on the coast of China. Mr. C is also completely illiterate in the Chinese language. He cannot speak Mandarin or Cantonese. He cannot speak English nor read or write it as well. It is very likely that Mr. C has a major learning disability but it is impossible to test him without knowing his language – and most people that speak his language would not have the ability to do this – nor the time.

Now picture this… Mr. C was tried and convicted of his crime - using a language that he does not understand or read. Yes there was a translator. He was asked to sign many documents to indicate that he understood and approved. He was held in prison for 12 years not understanding the language around him. His few fellow Chinese prisoners are not able to speak with him either in that even they cannot speak his language. In the course of his incarceration he has met approximately two people that spoke his dialect. They were near or with him for short periods of time as they then moved on.

An important part of the story is… he is guilty of participating in a violent crime in Canada and was sent to prison for what he did.

We all knew that he was to be deported from Canada and would arrive in China sometime. This deportation could take up to another 5 years or more waiting until the Canadian Immigration People could determine if Mr. C was from the place he said he was from. If, after 14 years, there was still someone in his home village that knew him and verify that he was who he says he was – they could then send him back.

For 8 months now he has been waiting for someone in the Chinese government to contact someone in Canada Immigration to confirm he is Mr. C. They have found no one. His sister and niece regularly speak with the grandfather in the village in China who wants to know about his son and how he is doing. Apparently our two governments cannot find this man – not have they looked for him.

For 8 months it was stressed that no one could know when they would release Mr. C for his flight to China. It was to be a secret in that Immigration did not want a scene at the airport of grieving relatives as their loved one is deported. We were to wait until something was done and then they would let us know he was gone. If it seems secretive – IT IS!

Earlier this week…
On Monday Mr. C. was “released” from prison. He was taken from the prison near our area in Lindsay, Ontario…to the city of Toronto and the immigration holding area at the West Metro Detention facility. At that point in time he was placed in a Taxi and told to go to another minimum detention facility and to report there immediately. He was to do this BY HIMSELF.

Does something seem strange here? It did to me… very strange indeed.

The instructions and the strict orders were given to him in a letter – which is in English. The instructions were clear and outlined the importance of doing what he was told… in English with some sort of translation.

Mr. C had an address in the Scarborough area of a Chinese family that could speak his dialect. He produced the paper and indicated to the Taxi cab driver to go there. The driver didn’t know the area and got lost often. He finally found the address $55.00 later.

Mr. C called his sister and told her where his was. That was Monday afternoon. He waited there with the family until his family arrived from the USA by bus on Wednesday AM.

They bought him a new jacket and some clothing. He had been very cold in his transit from Lindsay to Toronto and also in the Taxi Cab wearing only a T Shirt. That is all the clothing he had after 12 years inside of prison.

Wednesday at 5:00 PM…
My telephone rang and Mr. C’s niece was on the line telling me that she and her uncle and her mother were at the Peterborough Bus Depot. They had come to see me and they thought that I was the only one that could help them. I was stunned – how did he get out of prison?

Again the smiles and delight of our Chinese friends was simply wonderful. The brother they had cared so much for was now out of prison and could start life again. And they were asking if I could help him find an apartment tomorrow.

At 7:00 PM we arrived at the restaurant to eat with them. I began to read his file that he passed over to me as the food was being served.

There in very good and clear English were the directions that he was expected to have completed. It was very clear to understand – IF YOU READ ENGLISH. He was to have reported on his own to a special building where he would begin his next part of the journey. It is kind of holding area with some freedom – kind of a half way house. The wording is as follows…
Quote…
“You are required to contact the undersigned immediately when you are released from custody. Failure to do so could result in suspension of your release and return to custody. The Peterborough Parole office will accept collect calls.” End quote..

My coffee became cold and the sticky bun that I was enjoying lost its taste. I picked up my cell phone and called the number in the letter. The lady asked for the details and within minutes she informed me that Mr. C now had an “outstanding arrest warrant” out for him – and that I should be in contact with the police immediately.

My hands shook as I dialed the police station. After a few words of why I was calling the immediacy/urgency that the police had of this matter became very evident. They wanted to know where I was and told me they were sending a police car to help me.

Mr. C’s face grew dark and the smile vanished. He stopped eating. The twinkle in his eyes vanished in a heart beat. His anger and frustration was impossible to express here. Why? How? What reason should I go to talk with the police? NO! I have done nothing wrong! They released me and I waited for my family.

At that moment I witnessed what being illiterate meant. I saw what an inability to communicate means. I saw almost 50 years of frustration and the end result of a life alone.

By 9:00 PM the five of us were in the Police Station with Constable Keith. After much animated conversation Keith informed Mr. C that he was going to be arrested and sent back to prison. Two English words were given to me from Mr. C “Why?” “No”…

The Constable carefully read Mr. C his rights. Realizing that Mr. C didn’t understand he turned to Mr. C’s niece and asked her to translate. He began again. She asked him – “What do those words mean?” You see his niece also cannot read English what she does speak in English is broken.

As we left the room Constable Keith had Mr. C empty his pockets and take off his new coat. Then as Mr. C looked at the wall, with no translation now, Constable Keith handcuffed the “free man”.

Questions…?
I know that your mind will be filled with hundreds of questions – as mine is. How about starting with this list…

• Who made the decision to begin the process of sending him to Toronto to the special place to live?



• Why the radical change from the strict stance before to the “let him go on his own” now?



• Who made it clear to him what was written in the letter with his directions?



• How can anyone make a decision to allow a man – convicted of a serious crime – to be released in the same city that he created the crime in?



• Do you suppose that the victims of his original crime might have been concerned about him being in a Taxi passing the very same areas that the crime had been committed in?



• Was he set up to fail?



• Why?



• Do you suppose that Mr. C is angry now?



• Could it be that he is a little more angry that he was last week?

When prisoners cry – who hears them?

One answer I have so far… “NO I will not stop until I get some answers on this one.”

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~

The Sheep and the Goats - Matthew 25: 31 – 40
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.

32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'