Internship Report

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Entertainment

In ulucanlar cezaevi very little entertainment facilities can be seen. There were radios but no televisions. Sports and gym facilities were entirely lacking. However, from the ward that contains personal belongings we are able to see for ourselves that entertainment for the prisoners mostly consisted of musical insturments such as baglama, board games and books.[8] According to Camgöz, most of the prisoners consisted of middle or lower class people who were either students or educated. Therefore, it was no surprise that books were the most common source of entertainment.[pic 5][pic 6]

Comparison/Analysis

Juxtaposing the standards of past and present prisons through the various sources we ascertained offers insight into the general ascension or dissension in regards to humanity. By using Uluncanlar as an anchor of comparison, and the prisoner as a landmark, we clearly see discrepancies that surface which indicate a rise in the general quality. However these advances have not been in concert as the empirical data presented shows, and many areas have gone almost unchanged. Looking at hygiene and sanitation, though still disheartening, progress cannot be abnegated. The absence of mice obviously reflects this improvement[9], furthermore hot water was available to a greater extent and without any monetary obligation. However, the lack of basic hygienic needs such as toothpaste and other essentials still remains ghost in the haunted halls of incarceration[10]. The magnitude of overpopulation that took place in the past at Uluncanlar makes the congested life of modern 20-30 people cells pale in comparison [11]. It can be argued that once water is over your head it matters not 1 inch or 1000 inches you’re going to drown, yet one could surmise extreme overpopulation could catalyze an unhygienic setting further perpetuating grit and grim. Entertainment though not ideal was better diversified in modern times ,[12] prisoners enjoyed a common TV, sports, and books of course but it seems that musical instruments became a rarity. The standards of Guard and prisoner relationship are qualitative in nature, thus varying upon individuals, however we can infer deaths related to guard brutality has drastically declined or become obsolete since our prisoner didn’t convey such implications [13]. Perhaps even tacitly alluding to safety in regards to death by personnel within the system, particularly since overall our prisoner seemed eager to paint a negative portrait of his experience and meticulously brush stroke every mishap on the canvas of his experience [14].

Conclusion

In this study, we have analyzed the living standards of the prisoners before 2003 to the standards of modern-day prisons, which dates after 2008 within Ankara using an approach that adequately aids us in drawing an evaluation in terms of the improvements that are still needed, and the changes observed that have eradicated poor living conditions of the inmates. As such, the analysis should prove useful for understanding the general factors that have broad effects on the shape of the prisoners’ lifestyles. As this paper sheds light on the drastic change in the sanitary, healthcare, and hygienic conditions of the modern-day prison, it evidently solidifies our argument that the overall structure and quality of prisons have improved. In a nut shell, it is evident to say that the standards have improved overall, but the fluctuation of improvements in various facets reflects failure in eliminating root causes. The fact that some of the same issues are only to a lesser degree show that these advancements may be elusive for they were achieved by merely tending to the symptoms. If the goal is progress and not perfection, then the aforementioned analysis shows humaneness to be on track, yet if one is looking to inherit universal standards congruent to human development then we may want to reevaluate our current standards.

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Bibliography

Anonymous – Interviewee. Interview by Sabina and Omed. Esat, Ankara. December 02, 2015

Bal, Ersin. “PKK'lılar katılmadı”, SABAH online, September 09, 1999. http://arsiv.sabah.com.tr/1999/09/28/g01.html

Bayraktar, Necla. “İdamları duyunca titredim”, Sabah news, September 01, 2013. http://www.sabah.com.tr/pazar/2013/09/01/idamlari-duyunca-titredim

Liderler Türkiye haber portal. “Ulucanlar Cezaevi 4.Koğuş”, September 02, 2013. http://www.liderler.net/haberler/25903/ulucanlar_cezaevi_4kogus.html

Ulucanlar Cezaevi Muzesi official website. “First stop hiton ward.” Accessed December 06, 2015.

Ulucanlar Cezaevi Muzesi official website. Prisoner and mice Image 1. Accessed December 06, 2015.

Ulucanlar Cezaevi Muzesi official website. Baglama and books Image 3. Accessed December 06, 2015.

Ulucanlar Cezaevi Muzesi official website. Towels and slippers shared among the prisoners Image 2. Accessed December 06, 2015.

“Ulucanlar Cevaevi Raporu.” B.M.M, Türkiye. TBMM Isan Haklarını Inceleme Komisyonu, (1999): 3.

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Transcript of Interview

Interview of prisoner, Turkish transcript(interviewer: Sabina Mahdipoor)

- Sağlık bakımları varmıydı

Simdi soyle,ozamanlar saglik bakimlari varmiydi,hani olağan ustu bir durum omladigi surece disariya cikartmiyolardi.

Tamam,peki cezalilar cok hasta oluyorlarmiydi?

Yani hemen hemen hasta olma ihtimalleri vardi cunku koguslar soğuk oluyordu,uzerlerinde birer battaniye var ya yok,yerine gore yorgan geliyordu, kimine geliyordu kimine gelmiyordu,yani parasi olan ustune yorgani ortuyordyu,olmayan garibanlar da oyle kalip hastalaniyordu yani.

- Peki temizmiydi cezaevi?

Maalesef temiz değildi.

- Değildi!sizin için ozel bakim esyalari falan?

Yok,kesinlikle oyle seyler içeriye alinmiyordu.

- Yani