Roun’ dey nuh nice! 19-year-old offender relieved after Food For The Poor pays his fine

Thirty-four days behind bars, sleeping on cardboard on a concrete floor, and unsanitary living conditions are dreaded experiences Saheem Whittaker is adamant he will not relive. Whittaker says those experiences have propelled him to choose a better path in life.

The 19-year-old of West Park in May Pen, Clarendon, was among over 100 non-violent offenders whose fines were paid by international charity Food For The Poor as part of its tradition for Holy Week at Easter.

Whittaker, a first-time offender, was charged for driving without a driver’s licence, and disobeying the curfew; a breach under the Disaster Risk Management Act that governed protocols as mandated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He told The Gleaner that when he appeared in court on March 10, he was fined $50,000 or 30 days in prison. Unable to pay the fine, Whittaker was taken into custody at the Lionel Town lock-up in the parish. He said, however, upon being transferred to the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre, he was informed that he would spend three months in prison. He claims he was not privy to details surrounding the extension of the sentence.

The youngster painted a grim reality of his experience behind bars, from witnessing fights and the anxiety of living among hard-core criminals, to surviving bland meals and unsanitary cells.

“If yuh nah do 12 years or more, yuh cyaa get a sponge, but yuh see like me weh go in fe dah likkle time deh, me a fe use cardboard,” he said.

“[Prison] nuh mek fi no young youth. Them say prison nuh mek fi dog, and mi go see fi mi self as a 19-year-old. Roun’ deh nuh nice,” he told The Gleaner.

He said each day was distressing, citing his confinement to four dark walls, but said he prayed relentlessly to make it out alive.

“Roun’ there is rough because any likkle thing mi can die. If yuh walk too close, someone can stab yuh up and yuh lose yuh life easy. It was stressing me because every time me wake up me see me self pan di concrete ... it never nice. Them transfer mi among some man weh a do eighteen years and me just get charge fi curfew. Man in deh bad mind and if yuh tell a man say yaah do three months him will stab yuh up fi dat ‘cause him nah guh home,” Whittacker related.

‘best day of my life’

The youngster recalls his April 13 grand release as the best day of his life. “Mi get the news the 12 of April and from the 12 of April mi nuh sleep back ‘til the next day,” he said with a big grin.

Whittaker believes, however, his punishment was too harsh. He said he asked the judge if he could do community service instead of jail time, but his request was denied. Measures under the DRMA were withdrawn on March 18.

Whittaker said he feels “a way” knowing he suffered under the now suspended measures. But despite the suspension of the measures, he joked, “Ten o’ clock nuh ketch me pan the road again and curfew done.” He also argues that being huddled with people who had committed heinous crimes was unjust.

Whittaker who harbours dreams of becoming an animal farmer said, “God spare me life and send Food For The Poor fi mi. Thanks [to Food For The Poor], because unuh give me a next chance so mi can do sup’m positive with me life.”

Similar sentiments were shared by Whittaker’s aunt, Kadion Flynn, who lauded the charity-based entity.

Flynn told The Gleaner that upon learning that her nephew’s fate was dependent on a $50,000 payment, she got weak and felt despondent. “Fifty thousand dollar a nuh nuff money, an’ fi see say yuh cyaa find it...,” said Flynn, adding that countless phone calls for help to fund her nephew’s release were futile. The days with her nephew locked away seemed like years as she prayed for his safety.

“Him nuh do nutten, eno, and him a go ‘mongst bare man weh do killing and robbery so yuh affi fret pan him as a juvenile weh never in a dem situation deh.” Flynn said her family is grateful to Food For The Poor for spearheading Whittaker’s early release.

A total of 187 non-violent offenders across Guyana, Haiti and Jamaica benefited from the initiative. Craig Moss-Solomon, executive director of Food For The Poor Jamaica, says the team hopes the beneficiaries will see the initiative as a new lease on life.

“Food For The Poor is humbled and grateful that we are able to help rehabilitate these inmates during our prison release initiative at Easter and Christmas each year. We hope that through this gift, they will understand that they have been given new life and a second chance to rejoin society as productive citizens,” Moss-Solomon told The Gleaner. He added that the entity is committed to lending long-term support to the former inmates.

“Food For The Poor is here to support the inmates, not just for this prison release, but for the long term as it relates to getting them engaged in sustainable, income-generating projects. We hope that they recognise this gift as a blessing from our donors to them,” said Moss-Solomon.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com