Today we are going to learn some more about child imprisonment.
As we've read Andy Mulligan's Trash, we've gradually seen more of the country that exists beyond Behala and the Smoky Mountain dump site. Now we will get up-close and personal with the nation's prison system. In our reading, a few of the characters are brought into the heart of a prison that is overcrowded with children and adults alike. We have already focused on the corruption of law enforcement in this book, but it is important that we become more informed about the extent of the problems of the judicial system.
The following is a slideshow of photos that a journalist took while visiting Cambodia. The journalist was working with a volunteer organization that provides help for children whose families have been destroyed by imprisonment or who have been imprisoned themselves:
We are going to watch this slideshow in class and have some discussion about the living conditions and the failings of the judicial system in Cambodia. The video will serve as a way to move the discussion in the right place, so that we can look at this testimonial from an imprisoned Cambodian woman who was forced to bring her child into prison with her, during much of her 16 year sentence.
The link accesses a PDF of this woman's testimony, which we will look at in some detail in class. We will be linking the information we have learned with an activity as well.
-Mr. Thomas
