Ten female inmates at Tangerang penitentiary listened to instructions given by Ian Pierson, while he led a group of students from the British International School in a workshop Wednesday.
The mixed group of students and inmates followed the step-by-step instructions, ordering them to walk into each other with their eyes closed.
Some of them stopped after hitting others standing as a human wall, but some others failed to do so because they stopped before they could reach the instructed destination.
"You stopped before you could reach the human wall and that's because you are afraid of falling down. You already know that you will not fall, but you are still scared," Pierson told the group.
He said this happened because the group members couldn't trust that those standing as the human wall would stop them from falling.
"The main purpose of the activity is to train the inmates to control their emotions, and to gain the patience and concentration needed to build trust," Pierson said.
One of the inmates, Herlina, 18, who is serving the last month of her one-year prison sentence at the penitentiary for drug possession said she was very pleased to participate in the activity.
"This is a rare opportunity for me to be able to communicate with people outside the prison and I can also improve my knowledge through interaction with the (visiting) students," she said.
Another inmate Monika, who is sentenced to four years in jail for a drug offense, said she was also happy to be involved in the activity because she could learn how to control her emotions.
"I did enjoy every part of the activity because I will never find the training anywhere else," she said.
The visit was part of the Creativity Action Service (CAS), the final requirement for grade-13 students before their graduation.
"We are all required to perform creativity action service for 150 hours as the last grade to get our diploma," a student, Albert, said.
The mixed group of students and inmates followed the step-by-step instructions, ordering them to walk into each other with their eyes closed.
Some of them stopped after hitting others standing as a human wall, but some others failed to do so because they stopped before they could reach the instructed destination.
"You stopped before you could reach the human wall and that's because you are afraid of falling down. You already know that you will not fall, but you are still scared," Pierson told the group.
He said this happened because the group members couldn't trust that those standing as the human wall would stop them from falling.
"The main purpose of the activity is to train the inmates to control their emotions, and to gain the patience and concentration needed to build trust," Pierson said.
One of the inmates, Herlina, 18, who is serving the last month of her one-year prison sentence at the penitentiary for drug possession said she was very pleased to participate in the activity.
"This is a rare opportunity for me to be able to communicate with people outside the prison and I can also improve my knowledge through interaction with the (visiting) students," she said.
Another inmate Monika, who is sentenced to four years in jail for a drug offense, said she was also happy to be involved in the activity because she could learn how to control her emotions.
"I did enjoy every part of the activity because I will never find the training anywhere else," she said.
The visit was part of the Creativity Action Service (CAS), the final requirement for grade-13 students before their graduation.
"We are all required to perform creativity action service for 150 hours as the last grade to get our diploma," a student, Albert, said.
source: Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang | Sat, 11/22/2008 12:53 PM | City
