Photograph by Flickr user Kristopher Avila (CC-usage).

Editor’s note: What do toothpaste tubes and the Turkmen prison system have in common?  neweurasia’s newest Turkmen blogger, Humane, recounts the tale of a relative who was incarcerated during the Niyazov regime. “When I think about all that money smuggled in toothpaste tubes, I think it’s ironic,” she writes, “because eventually my country was taken over by a dentist.”

Today I read an article about human rights abuses and corruption in Turkmenistan’s prison system.  Of course the country has a long way to go until it becomes as civilized and developed as many Western countries. Unfortunately though, for personal reasons I’ll have to agree with the report about the prisons.

My relative in Turkmenistan ended up in prison during the Niyazov era.  He was arrested for drug possession charges.  His family could have avoided him going to prison if they were willing to bribe a judge with $5000 (well, that was the price back then; I suppose prices are much higher now).  However, his family decided to punish him for even doing such a thing and for putting his loved ones through hell.  So he ended up serving a full sentence, which was a year.

During the year my relatives went to visit him frequently.  From what they told me, every time they wanted to have a visit that had to bribe the guards or prison officials.  They also sneaked money to him so he could bribe the guards, too, not to mention buy supplies from the black market, including medicine, food, cigarettes, hygienic appliances, and yes, more drugs.  They had to be inventive with how they got the money to him, because technically it was against the rules and the money was often caught and confiscated.  What they did was to buy cheap toothpaste, unroll the tube’s other end, and carefully insert tightly rolled manat notes in a little plastic bag, then re-seal the tube.  When I think about all that money smuggled in toothpaste tubes, I think it’s ironic, because eventually my country was taken over by a dentist.

I’ve read so many stories about abuses and racism within the Western prison systems, especially in the United States, where Latinos and Blacks are routinely discriminated against and given longer sentences than Whites.  There’s also a lot of violence in American prisons, mostly from other prisoners but sometimes from the guards, too.  And then when the prisoners finish their sentences, they face more discrimination outside.  It’s statistically more likely for an ex-convict to end up in jail again than to stay out.  But the Americans at least try to provide prisoners with basic human necessities like clean showers, decent food, toiletries and etc.

But the United States and my country share the same problem.  There’s a cycle of unemployment, low education, and crime.  The Americans are trying some programs to fix the problem, but my nation continues to neglect them.  My government needs to start thinking about this problem.  They could obviously start by just ending the corruption and abuses within the prisons, but it would be even better if they started providing education programs for the convicts, too.  Until these kind of reforms happen, many country in my country will continue to suffer from the cavities of impoverishment and imprisonment.