#Bocas2017: Voices from Inside: Prisoner and Poet
An indistinct scent marches throughout the Port of Spain Prison as we are lead inside after being signed in, searched and approved by Prison officials. The eye of every visitor searches the compound, taking in every detail. The cream tall walls with the little barred windows with eyes peering through them are not an everyday sight. “I expected something raunchier- like graffiti on the wall or something. It’s actually a lot more normal than I thought,” I overhear a neighbouring conversation as seats are taken and glances are tossed furtively from the visitors to where the incarcerated men sit at the back. Of course, she is right. For many of us, the most we’ve seen of prison is a couple episodes of Orange is the New Black or between the crooning of Jah Cure’s melodious voice in his video Reflections . However, this is real. This is Voices from the Inside , an exploration of the prison system through the eyes of prisoners with readings by celebrities Machel Montano, Kees Dieffenthaller