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Ex-prisoner details nightmare in Camp Street jail
Living with HIV in prison can be a death sentence if one is incarcerated in prisons in Guyana. This is what a former inmate of the Camp Street jail and a homosexual told the 2011 Caribbean HIV Conference.
The man who made a presentation as a man who has sex with men and a commercial sex worker, recounted his plight as an MSM in the Camp Street Prison where he spent almost a decade.
Speaking to a packed room at the Atlantis International Resort in the Bahamas, the MSM said that he has used his experience to ensure that there is a change in the way MSM and prisoners infected with HIV are treated.
He said that while a regular prison sentence may be considered a walk in the park for some, for a homosexual it is horrific. He detailed stories of sexual abuse by other prisoners, what he described as torture and manipulation by Prison officers and a complete segregation from other prisoners as part of the treatment meted out to MSMs in prison.
“I have been a victim of rape in prison; I was abused by three inmates. You may come to prison and may not know how to get along and that person may know the ropes and take advantage of the situation.
“Sometimes they will solicit sex from you and you don’t give in, they rape you.”
He listed what he described as discrimination and stigma attached to MSMS and HIV affected prisoners.
“The discrimination is two-fold. As an MSM, access to certain services is not available. Other persons can access the dietary section to help prepare meals but not the MSMs. We were not allowed to access library or play games.”
He said that he remembers being locked away from meetings that were being held with other prisoners. He told a story where an MSM inflicted cuts on himself because of such discrimination.
And redress? “Many times you try to go to the officers to have the issues addressed but it comes back to haunt you.”
There is a silver lining in the form of treatment. Such treatment is available in many forms for HIV affected prisoners, he told the Conference. This treatment is available, compliments of the National AIDS Programme Secretariat. But there have been complaints that Prison officers often make better use of the items sent for inmates.
“Because of the salary scale of the officers, they whisk away some of the vitamins, some of the milk and ration supplements… if you are an HIV-infected person in prison, you run the risk of dying faster because the most important things are taken away.”
Accessing treatment can also be very embarrassing, he said. “Everyone knows the prisoners who are HIV positive; there is no confidentiality.”
All is not lost, the MSM told the Conference. He is working to ensure that MSMS and prisoners affected by HIV are treated differently.
As a trained counselor he said that there have been some changes in the way MSMs and HIV affected prisoners are being treated.
“There are rehab programmes, their plight is being addressed and MSMs are being able to access some services within the prison”.
He told the Conference that he hopes that the government places the situation in prisons on its agenda to be addressed in its entirety.
He pointed to overcrowding, adding that the Camp Street prison built to accommodate 400 now has 1100, which he said is just unacceptable.
He said that every time any issue is raised about the prisons it is hushed with the government taking a position that it is not a five star hotel and he believes that should not be a yardstick for not addressing basic human rights of prisoners.
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Take note Bha-Rat and the cabal.
Condoms should be made freely and easily accessible, like in most civilized societies.
It is time GUyana comes out of the doldrums, and wake up to the realities of life.
Norman if u r as civilised as u portray to be, You will know that there are condom vending machines all over this country, especially to the most popular super markets, night clubs, schools, hospitals, etc. And by the way condom is not the issue in this article
Im sorry, but this is just a sad reflection of many social services in Guyana, what is even worst is the Guyanese people accept this as progress and development, untill they themself become a victim of this neglet…
Well i hope his experiences caused him to be reformed. what treatment is expected in prison? for heavens sake it is supposed to be punishment for a crime, it’s not supposed to be a resort. about the over crowding issue- he should be appealing to his fellow prisoners and potential prisoners to turn their lives around because of the lack of space. i would never agree to my taxes to be spent to make a prisoner comfortable. come on, what nonsense is that????????????
The man was referring to the treatment of gay HIV + people not recieving treatment and their medical status being disclosed, leading to futher discrimination and the fact that Prison officers were stealing their medical supplies. He also mentioned that he was being raped to the knowledge and lack of separate cells for vulnerable prisoners. These are the important issues in the article. Try to understand what the government need to fix.
Built for 400 and is housing 1100? And the government is funding construction of a new hotel. Shake my head.
From the time of Burnham to Jagan to Jurnham to Jagan to Jagdeo,,,it,s time to DEMOLISH THE CAMP STREET JAIL,,,,,DEMOLISH THE CAMP STREET JAIL THIS IS THE TASK OF THE FORTH COMING GOERNMENT,,,,,otherwise this will encourage a riot in the jailhouse wiht the losses of many lives,,,,HUMAN RIGHTS,,THIS IS NOT VIET NAAM.
Millions were spent uselessly,,,,Demolish the Camp street jail or lockup and rebuild another at another lcation,,,,alpolice officers that has tampered with the items of persons held must be immediately dismissed,,,this is theft,,,,by an officer of the law,,,reardless of his or her ranks dismiss them mmeditely,,,,the only measure to be taken for better guyana,,,
Sir I admired you for representing prisoners who are going through what you went through. You made very valid and important points. One of them is taht the government prison officers are not thought to respect or protect vulnerable prisoners.BECAUSE our country do not recognise people who are born different, they have to resort to crime to sustain themselves. I work among gay people who are open and private and I have no issues with them. I am sorry that in Guyana , society made it hard for me to understand that God made a lot of people different. We all DESERVE to live on this earth. It is estimated that 1 in 30 guyanese are gay or bi-sexual. Therefore, all of us know a few people who are different but just as normal as you and I.
Lancelot – prison should be about rehabilitation and reintegration back to society – not punishment.
The Country need to REALY look in to those matters which is a real problem, after be seeking this issue discuss at the 2011 Caribbean Conference, it was a disgrace