© S. Tétaud/RFI
February 11, 2022. In the heart of downtown Mananjary, prisoners are working to cut – with axes – this huge tree trunk torn by the winds and which completely blocks traffic. The cut logs will be used as firewood for the prison.
By the admission of the prison administration itself, prison conditions for prisoners deteriorated even further following the passage of two successive cyclones on the island in February. In all, five remand prisons were damaged, two in particular: that of Ikongo, which was completely destroyed, and that of Mananjary, the landing town of Batsirai, the first cyclone. A month later, where are we?
From our special correspondent back from Mananjary,
On February 11, 2022, six days following the first cyclone, the city of Mananjary was turned upside down. Prisoners are requisitioned to cut, with an ax, enormous trunks which obstruct the roads.
This young man is one of them. He confides: Our daily life in prison is really difficult. We are short of food. We only eat stale cassava. We lack water. And we’re so dirty… Sleeping is the worst. As the roof of the prison blew off during the cyclone, we were gathered in the prison chapel. We are 416 in 35 m². We can’t lie down. We have to squat all night. »
Since last week, all the roofs have been rebuilt. The cells have been cleaned and disinfected, attests Blandine Britis, medical coordinator at the emergency cell at Doctors of the World, authorized to enter the prison. ” As a result, the reintegration of prisoners into their original cell is imminent. »
However, in terms of physiological needs, the picture is much bleaker: “ Following the passage of the cyclone, there was a multi-sectoral emergency response to the prison, which made it possible to deliver drinking water and food. Today, unfortunately, we have come to the end of these emergency initiatives. We therefore find ourselves in the same situation as before the cyclone, namely, no access to drinking water, meals that are not served and suddenly, a very critical situation for all of these prisoners. They are entitled to a daily ration of dry cassava and twice a week to a hot meal with rice and pulses. With this, the essential nutrient quantities of each person are not met. We end up with situations of severe and acute malnutrition. The risks of death are real. Not to mention the increase in associated pathologies (beriberi, tuberculosis, etc.), caused by prison overcrowding [la prison de Mananjary accueille trois fois plus de personnes que sa capacité ne le permet, Ndlr] and lack of hygiene. »
Discussions are underway to find new partners. But also long-term solutions. A well near the prison is a possibility, but the potability of the water has not yet been tested. The national water company was approached to try to connect the prison to the city’s water system; the water currently distributed in the city is still brackish due to the consequences of the passage of cyclones.
For the prison administration, the solution might come from the Fanarinana project, a four-year program financed by the French Development Agency to the tune of 5 million euros, in which the hygiene and food of prisoners in four prisons of the country (Diego Suarez, Mananjary, Manakara and Antananarivo) will be at the heart of the objectives. Planned start: April.
As a reminder, in its report published in 2018, Amnesty International had already warned regarding prison conditions “ appalling and inhuman from prisons on the Big Island.
