Jacob et Esau
DEMYSTIFY & ACKNOWLEDGE
Closer Walls has a goal, the importance of which should not be underestimated: encourage the public, be it Lebanese or international, to demystify and acknowledge what is going on behind the walls of Lebanese prisons.
Demystify. The focus of mass media on “religious extremists” in Roumieh has demonized and dramatized the current state of Lebanese prisons. Prisons appear now to be the playground of “sectarian extremists” and corruption. One cannot deny the presence of these 200 “extremists” in Roumieh. Yet, one cannot deny either, that 2.700 other prisoners are not extremists and that they are paying the price of such mystification. The focus on these 200 “special” residents promotes hence an unhealthy and unproductive vision of the role of prison in society nourished by fear and indifference. It is time to overcome this anti-extremist discourse to promote a more humanitarian approach to prisons, which will benefit to its résidents and to our society.
Acknowledgement. It is not enough to be aware of the troubles that Lebanese prisons are facing. It is necessary to understand the role of prisons in our society and therefore to ensure decent conditions to all prisoners beyond their sectarian identity. Closer Walls will explore how the state of our prisons and the state of our society are interlinked, and how improvements in prisons could affect positively our society.
Closer Walls hopes to promote a collective acknowledgement, a collective sense of responsibility to transform normalized conditions in Lebanese prisons into a social problem that matters.
HOW
Closer Walls has two different tracks to help you feel concerned about what is going on behind these walls.
PORTRAITS: Closer Walls will publish portraits of social workers, psychologists, lawyers and other activists who decided to dedicate their time and skills to the most unpopular place in Lebanon. They will enlighten how “normal” citizens are involved and how you should feel concerned about them… and what is happening behind the walls.
ARTICLES: Closer Walls will publish articles, which will explore the relationship between society and prisons and issues rising in prisons that are affecting the state of our society.
CLOSER WALLS 