Bilibid lessons

There are a lot of things we take for granted. Most of the time we forget to appreciate the little things. Sometimes we complain about how long it takes to accomplish a task or the amount of time we need to save enough for a gadget we've been eyeing on for weeks. And after we've reached our goal, we set ourselves to reach another small thing, another mundane task, just to satisfy our cravings to be in or to be useful. But most of the things we want are nothing compared to the only desire of people who have spent years behind bars, away from all the things we so desperately pursue, away from their families, and that is to live.

It's real, you know, that life inside prison is hard. It's the most extreme of all punishments, I think. To be separated from your families, from your friends, from your job, only to be locked away with fellow men who have wronged as well. To be taken away pf your life is torture. The emotional, psychological and sometimes, physical torture, takes it toll on their bodies. What is more painful than to be separated from the people you love? Oh, the irony of being labeled as a menace to a hypocritical society.

Inside, they get to enjoy what little freedom left they have, a few rights they still posses. But not always. They only get to do what they can in a short time, and if they don't obey, they either get punished with extremely difficult tasks, or worse, death in the hands of corrupt wardens.

Sure, most of us will say they deserve to be locked away from the rest of society, from their families. But that's just mean of us. They're people, too, with feelings and rights. And no amount of prejudice will ever change that. Like all of us they deserve a second chance, don't they?

The only thought that brings them hope, gives them joy, and gets them going each day, is the fact that they will eventually be set free to be with their families, and to rebuild their lives again outside the barbed walls and iron gates of prison. They only want to live again.

Many of those who were sent to prison deserve freedom. Many of those who are free deserve to be locked away. Are we lucky? Extremely. But are we better than these people who spend years locked away? Hardly.