A Turning Point: Buimo Prison Writers

134 pp. The inspiration for this book could have been my stories about the prison writings of Papua New Guinea's John Kasaipwalova, Kenya's Ngugi wa Thiong'o, or the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci's Prison Notebooks that got the Buimo prisoners and warders to write their stories during a writers' workshop between October 26th and November 6th, 2009. Doris Omaken and Jill Pijui of the PNG Bible Society coordinated the writers' workshop. University of PNG colleague Sakarepe Kamene and I facilitated the workshop as part of our community outreach obligation. Paul Kaiu gave his support in a significant way to the workshop. We approached the workshop with two considerations: First, we believed, that everyone had the skills and interesting experiences to tell stories. The Buimo Prison writers' workshop began with storytelling. We guided the participants to write these stories down on paper. Second, we decided against using papers, fixed structures, and programs. Our view was that using the techniques used in formal university classrooms was intimidating to learners at the village level or in prisons. Our approach was simple, flexible, and allowed a lot of verbal interactions. The prisoners have a lot of time for devotion and reflection on life. Introducing them to writing techniques and having them write down their experiences can serve as a therapeutic exercise and as a process of self-expression. The writings produced in the workshop had one strong impression. The prisoners are now equipped with the knowledge and techniques of writing their life stories in short prose or if need be, as a book. Some of the participants indicated that the workshop has given them a new ray of hope in life's difficult journeys. Sharing their personal experiences with us through writing gave us a glimpse into their lives outside and inside of the prison walls. As it turned out three inmates were friends I have known before, but had no idea they were in prison for being on the wrong side of the law. Nonetheless, I was happy to share the moments with them as a friend visiting them in prison.…