TAKE THE FLOOR!

Below are two fragments from the autobiography, Life of a Prison Guard. A report of the events of the last years of the prison in Plasa Wilhelmina and the first years of the prison in Koraal Specht, written by Juan C. Martis:

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A prison guard with more experience than me and more years of service once told me, "Martis, I'm going to tell you what happened to me one day when I let some of the prisoners out to get clean sea water. I released eight prisoners to do the work. When they finished carrying the sea water and I let them back in and when I counted to see if they were all there I noticed one was missing. I then started an investigation and went to see the cell where he is imprisoned. But he was not there. I thought and thought and remembered that there was a moment when one of the prisoners had called me and told me that one of the barrel hooks was a little loose. I think when I got up to look at the hooks on the barrel, this prisoner saw an opportunity to escape.

Now Martis, what do you think this son of a bitch did? He went there, between the sea and the prison wall, went around the corner of the telephone office and called in at the prison commander. Imagine! It was just an act to ridicule me and enjoy the fact of me being scolded by the commander. The bastard also gave me the hassle of having to write an apology.[1]“

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             Shift work, especially at night, also convinced me that a prison guard in prison should always be ready and prepared to resist when needed to save themselves from a difficult situation.

             One night, I started shift work and went to change the watch post with a colleague from the preventive arrest department. I checked the form with all the names and cell numbers of the prisoners. I went to look to convince myself that all prisoners were present and that all door locks were closed properly. When I reached the top floor of a cell in the corner where the walls and roof formed a darkness, I did not see the prisoner with initial R who was supposed to be in the cell.

This prisoner had cleverly pressed his body against that small piece of wall next to the cell bars. I got closer and used my flashlight to illuminate the cell to see if the cell was indeed empty. When I lifted my arm with the flashlight, Prisoner R maneuvered at an incredible speed and gripped my arm tightly. I dropped the flashlight on the floor to try to free my arm from his clutch.

I also had to try to keep my body at bay so that he couldn't reach my regulatory weapons. I had to fight stubbornly, turning my arm from all sides to try to free myself from this prisoner. I couldn't even use my whistle to call for help. When I started to feel tired and lost my strength, I got a solution. I threw my body on the floor. His arm started pressing on the edge of the horizontal steel plate that supported the vertical bars. It was then that he finally released my arm. I fell to the floor and hit my body very hard. But I jumped back up on time and could handle the situation. It is not my practice to use impudent expressions, but that night I let several out.

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[1] Apology; a document where someone must defend himself against an accusation.