Several people have told me that the prisoners in the prison in Kisangani must miss Joshua and Tjostolv deeply. I think so. They had a humanity that was very important in that prison. Since they were transferred about 19 prisoners (according to the media) has managed to escape night before Boxing Day.
The Ndolo prison is no kinder garden either, and the experiences have lined up since Josh and Tjostolv got there. One of them was the escape attempt that was greater extent with more dead and wounded than the media reported and the UN has reported. The VIP sections of the prison they stay at have been used as an infirmary and mental hospital. The guards who are inside the prison not outside as they were in Kisangani are brutal and often drunk. Josh and Tjostolv share the cell with three former prison wardens from another prison and haven’t been pleasurable so far. The two Norwegians were promised their own cell (located close to where they are now) and it’s empty, but they still haven’t been allowed to move in. The training opportunity is a 20 meters hallway outside the cell. They are not allowed to call out with the prison phone after the first week and even lawyer Kibambe haven’t been allowed into the prison to visit them. If they pay they will get in, but not everyone wants to pay. The two Norwegians have even experienced that female soldiers look at them when they get dressed in the morning!!! We hoped that they would get home in 2011. But we are grateful that they are one step closer with the move to Kinshasa where fewer people have economical interest in them and that they are healthy. We are also very grateful for the support we get in many ways from our readers and others who follow the case. To get support over a short period of time is not difficult, but when a situation stretches over as long time as the “Congo case” it’s not for granted. It’s easy to get tired. So thanks again. We wish you a happy new year. We all carry different kind of hope in our hearts. Our hope is that Josh and Tjostolv get to come home in 2012 at least. And we also wish with you that the things you hope for will be fulfilled.Kari Hilde French, December 31st 2011
