Hello!

            My name is Marta. I have been in this prison for eight months. It is a prison of an opened – type and it is a kind of a reward. There are about fifty women from the whole Poland. It is quite a modern penitentiary institution as far as Polish conditions are concerned.  Have I imagined prison in this way? – I don’t know.  I suppose that nobody who is free thinks about it. Do I regret being here? I say – yes and no. I regret it because innocent people suffer because of it (my parents and children), but on the other hand I don’t regret because I live in agreement with myself. I think that every experience has its aim – you just have to draw correct conclusions. I am a life optimist – I take life as it is. I believe that something up there cares about me and that everything has its destination – even though we don’t understand it sometimes. As I have written above, it is a modern institution – we can use computers, telephones, and we have good life conditions – but this is not everything. The Polish law has many bad sides and sometimes there are people here who should not be here. There is also a problem with free time. There are too few cultural events. At the moment the inner regulations are being sharpened. There is too little of resocialisation – if something like this really exists. Another problems are probations, which are difficult to get. The health service isn’t on the highest level, either. Maybe when we are in the European Union, the Polish law and courts will change. In order not to be a complete pessimist, we have a great social worker, who tries to do her best. The rest of the staff is O.K as well, although they sometimes show us who governs.

            Write to me either in English or Polish.  I am interested in journalism, poetry, sport and people.

Lots of love,

Marta.

(Poland)

Transated by Joanna Wiśniewska