She had just found out that her son’s prison detention has been extended. He was arrested 3 months ago, without charge or trial, and was due to be released in two days time. She will now have to wait another 3 months before he comes home. The most worrying thing for her is that her son has a severe skin condition and is on prescription medication. In prison he is denied this medicine and is in increasing pain. This is also not the first time he has been in prison. In 2010, when he was 17, he was behind bars for 24 months. She is clearly a strong women, but revealed to us that she feels desperately worried that when she smiles, people forget the pain she is carrying. Another lady then added that her friend’s 16 year old son was taken away at 3am a few days ago. She has a 20 year old son of her own and said that, every night, she lies awake until the early hours of the morning, worrying that the army might break in and take him away.
The women in the group have all had their families affected by 'Administrative Detention' - being held in prison without charge or trial. The women gave their heart-felt support to this lady. They requested to move on to a different topic for the class to take their mind off it.
