Picture this: a sea of blue flooding Mega Star Arena KL at Sungei Wang Plaza on April 20th, where 5,000 fans eagerly awaited the return of South Korean pop-rock sensation CNBLUE. After nearly ten years, the band graced Malaysia with their presence as part of their ‘CNBLUENTITY’ Asia tour.
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Last Sunday, Humans of KL was invited to visit the Bentong prison as they are partnering with Resorts World Genting for a program called ‘Beauty Behind the Wall’ which aims to equip female inmates with culinary skills. Ever since then, I just can’t stop sharing my prison experience with my friends because it was that eye opening.
Besides the female inmates’ culinary workshop, we had a tour around the prison and we visited the male inmates’ textile workshop. We were given a brief on the rules and we were told that we can’t talk to the inmates.
People say that ‘the eyes tell a story more than a tongue’ and it’s true. There were some scary eyes, they will stare at you and it sent chill down my spine; there were regretful eyes, which tells us how ashamed they are; there were hopeless eyes, which tells us how much that they want to be heard.
And there were their hands, they all had a pair of scarred hands. Those hands sent themselves to prison, and those hands are the same hands that are trying to rewrite their own future.
‘Why’, ‘What’, and ‘How’ filled my mind.
‘Why are you here?’
‘What have you done?’
‘How can I help you?’
From the conversation I had with the prison officers, I learned about the causes and consequences of being in a prison, and their personal views of the imprisonment and the rehabilitation system.
When we were leaving the prison, some of them leaned forward to the tiny little window like they were sending us off. At that moment, it felt like they were asking for a second visit as they have lost connection with the outside world for so long.
This is one of the reasons that I joined HOKL, it’s that I get to practice what I preach, and it widens my perspective in life over and over again. It fills me with great pride that I can make an impact. Even if I manage to make just one small contribution, then all this effort would have been worthwhile.
Written by Samantha Siow
Originally from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/day-prison-siow-san-san-samantha
“I’m a dancer so my happiness is in dancing. To be honest, when I started dancing, I felt like I found my life.”
“What was the happiest day of your life?”
“Most days I’m happy because my body is very healthy – and my age is 60. When I pray to God, I pray for my health. Health is my wealth.”
By fellow contributor Tabinda Mumtaz Sultan Shah
“That is a long moustache”.
“Its a tradition that goes back to the 16th century, where all my male ancestors would keep a similar moustache. It is a symbol of strength. I’ve kept it for 15 years already, and I cut it sometimes when its really long – because if I hadn’t it would be much, much longer than it is now. And out of all the officers I’m the only with this so people usually say I’m the unique one”.
“This moustache is my source of pride, history and honour”.
What was your most challenging experience so far as a firefighter?
(On the right)
“It was during Ramadan so we were fasting, and didn’t have the usual stamina to fight the fire but had to summon all our energy as people were crying and telling of how their books are gone, their homes, how the victims are wondering what’ll they do for upcoming Raya.
“We have to stay strong, because these people just lost everything in a blink of an eye. Yes we are firefighters, but we are also women.
“It was also a squatter settlement and those structures can be fire hazards and the cramped illegally constructed buildings allow the fire to spread quickly”.
“Also, we undergo the same specialized training as men. We even wear the same uniform, so its a bit of a problem. The equipment come from the United States, so its all big. The coat, the boots…and I remember falling down once!”
(On the left)
“It was a 6-hour fight with a fire in a clubhouse, where everything was closed, no doors, so the condition is right for the fire to spread easily because there’s no air going inside.
“So we were trying to figure out how can we find a way to bring in some air to help kill the fire.
“In the end, we had to force open the roof using the TTL (the big fire truck with the crane-like ladder extension) and used the chainsaw to open up the roof. We didn’t eat, drink, and was just at it for 6 hours starting from 6am till 1pm.
“It started from the kitchen when they were cooking water and then it exploded. Someone probably forgot they left it there, and it was just small fire. but because there was no big gusts of wind or air, it became bigger and bigger. Thank god there wasn’t many people in it.
“Being a firefighter is very adventurous, and there many challenges. We were afraid at first but after training it becomes automatic and we aren’t afraid anymore.”
“Be human. Don’t be the devil nor be the angel. Just be human. That is the one thing I want to share with everyone out there.
I have been doing this business since 1999, every Ramadan right here. Other than this, my job is at a night market in Uptown Danau Kota. I work there every single night.
Therefore, I am excited for Hari Raya to come and celebrate it with my beloved family in Negeri Sembilan. Actually, all of my families are here in KL but my grandparents live in Negeri Sembilan so we are coming over instead.
The older you get, the more bonding there is to be made.”
