Afghans see prisons’ pros, cons

Cultures quietly collide as visitors tour S.C. facilities

By NOELLE PHILLIPS - nophillips@thestate.com

Fifteen Afghans touring S.C. prisons this week have struggled to understand why so many people are in jail in the state.

South Carolina has about 3.5 million residents and 24,000 people locked up. In comparison, Afghanistan has 25 million citizens but just 11,000 inmates.

“We’d like to know why this is so much higher,” said Gen. Abdul Salam Ismat, who runs the Afghan prison system.

Ismat is one of 15 Afghan officials touring S.C. Department of Corrections facilities this week as part of a U.S. State Department program.

On Wednesday morning, the Afghan prison officials questioned S.C. prisons director Jon Ozmint about running safe, efficient facilities and then toured the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution for Women.

Ozmint explained how laws requiring mandatory sentences for crimes have caused prison populations to increase since 1992.

The visitors from Afghanistan were screened and underwent background checks before visiting the United States, said Alan Simmons, who trains Afghan prison officials through the State Department program. Training included explanations of American customs and culture, he said.

The background checks and training are important. In August, a group of Afghan police officers was sent home after one member was arrested on charges of assaulting a hotel maid. That group was with a different program for police.

The Afghan prison officials used interpreters to ask questions about vocational and educational programs, human rights and money. And they often questioned ideas that seemed strange when compared with their culture.

For example, an Afghan woman who heads a women’s prison in Kabul thought a greyhound dog in an inmate’s living quarters was out of place.

“They’re not allowed to keep their children with them, so how can they keep their animals?” the woman asked.

Warden Judy Anderson explained a special program that allows six former racing dogs to come to the prison, where inmates help socialize the animals and prepare them for adoption.

The Afghan women nodded and moved along on their tour.

And the question about a husband’s “rights” when his wife is in prison caused a bit of confusion.

Ozmint made sure he understood exactly what the visitor was asking before answering.

“No contact visits. No conjugal visits,” Ozmint said. “I think that’s what he’s asking.”

The question was repeated.

“We just don’t want any more babies,” Ozmint said. “That’s all.”

Reach Phillips at (803) 771-8307.