No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

"You know that most of the women in jail are probably there because they didn't sleep with their husbands."  --My friend Linda W.

Criminals incognito?

This may or may not be the photo that nearly got me thrown in jail.

Pictured are the tailors who sewed the sanitary napkins that we distributed at the jail for International Women's Day.  We wanted to take a group photo at the end of the occasion.

But here's the deal:  You aren't allowed to take photos in the prison.  Or in the parking lot.  We understood this and respected the rules.

That's why we snapped our photo OUTSIDE the parking lot.  A man, who I assume worked for the prison, ran over and confiscated the camera.

"You!  What do you think you are doing?  I'm calling the police and they will arrest all of you and throw you in jail for 15 years for taking photos of the prison!" he yelled.

"Sir," I said, "Look at the photo.  You can't see the prison."

"I can see the GATE!"  he said.

"Ok, I will delete the photos," I said.

"No," he said as he dangled the camera above his head. "THIS is evidence of your conspiracy."

My Zambian friends were amazing.  They apologized.  They explained.  For 20 minutes or so.

It was a cultural dance that I wasn't in the mood for.  I mean, we'd waited for two hours in the rain in order to distribute the pads, a pair of underwear, and a box of soap to 100 woman.  We'd raised nearly $1500 to do this. (Thanks to all of you who chipped in!)

Besides, I knew the guy had no case against us. Even if I did get arrested, I could get an attorney and get out lickety-split.  Heck, I could just get in my car and drive away.  Believe-you-me, if this was the  gratitude the jail was going to give me, then forget it.

I'd take my charity elsewhere.

Then it dawned on me.  The women who are locked up have to deal with this guy everyday.  And they have no rights; no money for an attorney; no voice.

I'm not saying everyone is innocent, but I am saying that there are women who haven't been charged with a crime*.  For some it's been over a year.


And it was touching when the woman sang in rich harmony as we handed out their gifts.   The female prison guards thanked us for "taking care of their children."

As it turned out, the angry man told me to delete the photos, which was tricky, because it it was not my camera.

My camera was hidden in my pocket, and it had duplicate photos of my friends and our adventure.

The man gave us back the camera and banned us from ever coming back.  

(I may or may not have come back the very next day with supplies for the babies.) 

* For more information read Human Right's Watch's report