A thousand questions will flash through your mind when preparing for re-entry.
You may have been indicted and arrested which struck your whole being as a bolt of lightning, you may have been in the middle of something and were literally plucked out of your life.
I for one, was on the phone, getting ready for my morning swim, at the same time preparing breakfast. My morning routine has always been getting up at 4:30 AM, pray, meditate, work out (swimming) and then make breakfast, pack lunch in tiffins and get ready for work. Work was International Business, which took me to all corners of the world.
That morning of the arrest, my entire world came crumbling down and my family and professional life shattered in a million pieces. I got incarcerated, had to experience the transition from a cushiony lifestyle to a life style where I did not matter anymore and where I was annulled to nothing but a registration number, which only needed to be fed 3 times a day. Nothing more. Gone were the warm and loving hands that had touched me all my life, the loving words that were spoken to me all my life, the highlights of a very successful corporate life.
But, I kept my routine in prison. I made myself useful, whether it was as a cleaning orderly for $8 per month or helping others out. COVID hit the world and it hit the prisons very hard. Without PPE gear for incarcerated workers, we had to risk our own lives in helping those around us. I cleaned and sanitized until my once manicured hands were raw and chapped. Nothing could stop me, I needed to continue doing what I had always been taught to do: be there for one another.
I soon rustled up a few ladies to join hands and collect clothing and food, to give to new ladies that arrived at the prison. Nobody should spend a day hungry or cold in prison. Where the system fails, we have to come up with compassionate solutions and keep on reaching out to one another.
My motto in life has always been to seek and acquire knowledge. In my religion, Islam, it is a directive for all human beings: “Rabbi Zidni’ Ilm – Always seek knowledge”.
I have continued doing that and have always used a planner and a ‘To Do List’. In all honesty, time management is a skill that becomes 2nd nature when practiced enough. And yes, we have all the time to do such.
I have watched the news and financial news every day, I have scavenged books, written to all the prison book publishers who provide free books, I have asked those around me to read their magazines, I have asked friends, family, organizations to send me publications and books.
Due to limited space and stringent rules, I had to read even faster than before, as I could not keep a lot of books and reading material.
I enrolled in every program possible, I even took up being a Tutor, Mentor, Suicide Companion. Too busy at times, but that keeps me afloat, challenged and humble and most of all, trained and groomed for the outside world.
The rhythm one acquires, will set the tone for a successful re-entry into society.
Sherida Nabi
