Institutions and the Individual

However, there are some positive aspects of the institution which aim to better the experience and “ break the juvenile crime cycle”; educational facilities are provided in order to supply the detainees with the resources needed to return to a fully functioning life within society, they are also offered various leisure activities such as a pool, recreational room, tennis court and agricultural area- these features assist in the reformation of offenders by shaping their perceptions of the world and themselves.

The article ‘When We Do Nothing About Child Abuse’ written by Lucy Clark and published in the Daily Telegraph on the 8th of February 2002 illustrates the horrendous conditions forced upon individuals at Woomera Refugee Detention Center and other various establishments designed to detain illegal refugees. The article vividly depicts the inhumane circumstances surrounding the physical, mental and emotional states of the individuals in which it confines. The physical environment of refugee detention centers is similar to those of both that of Shawshank Prison and Reiby Juvenile Justice Center; desolate locations surrounded by high fences capped with razor wire along with elements violence and desperation. The institution has clear signs of detrimental effects upon its individuals; physical, emotional and psychological, in particular upon the children who are being detained. The article makes reference to horrific incidents such as a “mother and her 2 small children were handcuffed and escorted to a cell, not let out to go to the bathroom -at all- for 2 days” or the story of a “20-month-old girl who has spent more than half her life in detention”. Such reports of the harsh imposition of rules and regulations upon detainees present a clear indication of the severity of consequences of their experiences within the institution. Many children are now faced with both the trauma of leaving their homelands but also the trauma of being confronted with a dehumanised and atrocious environment; the immediate and future repercussions include incontinence, depression and anxiety, night terrors, loss of appetite and often suicide attempts in desperation. Another controversial facet of refugee detention centers is the notion of “institutionalisation” as is present in “Shawshank Redemption”; some children have spent a great amount of their lives in confinement, not knowing anything else but the barbed wire that encases them; if released they will find it greatly difficult to cope with the freedom of the outside world as well as fulfill normal lives.