Hunger and Starvation - Interview with a 14 Year Old Detainee
No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” Nelson Mandela
Starvation remains a serious problem in Madagascar prisons due to overcrowding and inadequate provisions supplied by the government. According to the U.S. Department of State, malnutrition affects up to two-thirds of prisoners in some Malagasy prisons and is the most common cause of death (Human Rights and Labor, March 2008). According to the Red Cross, an average of almost one in every two prisoners in Madagascar suffers from moderate or severe malnutrition. Prisoners are typically given one starch a day, consisting of either manioc, white rice, or breadfruit (Madagascar a Double Sentence, July 2016).
Madagascar’s national law states that detained persons must receive a varied diet, well prepared and corresponding to the standards of hygiene and dietetics. It also states that at least two meals must be distributed by the prison each day (Amnesty International, June 2019). However this law is not implemented. Instead, families are expected to supplement the prisoner’s diet, but 80% of prisoners are abandoned by their families due to poverty.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.,Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, March 11 2008 https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100490.htm
Madagascar a Double Sentence - Prison and Malnutrition
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/madagascar-double-sentence-prison-and-malnutrition
Amnesty International, Punished for Being Poor
https://www.amnesty.be/IMG/pdf/amnesty_international_-_punished_for_being_poor_-_madagascar.pdfMadagascar’s New Diet for Detainees
https://www.amnesty.org/fr/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AFR3505192019ENGLISH.pdf
After interviewing these teenagers, I turned to Bruce.
"You know, even if we could find funds to supplement each prisoner's diet once a day for $0.50, it would cost $350 per day for Morondava prison and $1000 per day for Antalaha prison. And these are just two prisons out of the 84 that Madagascar runs. Better to develop the prison farmland.”
Actually this plan is in the works though our partnership with EMM (Elson Hanitra Madagascar Mission) and the RCA upon a request from the Regional Prison Administrative Director (DRAP). We’ll be sure to keep you updated on its progress. I’ll be posting our joint proposal on Our Projects soon.
The prison official in Morondava informed me that each detainee or convict is weighed every three months. If their weight has substantially decreased, they are categorized as high risk. The catholics in town provide them extra food, but I don’t have any more details than this. Grandir Dignement is a French organization that operates in six Malagasy prisons and focuses exclusively on children. They supplement the diet of malnourished kids with highly nutritious koba bars, milk powder, and other enriched sources of vitamins and protein.
I leave you with one more brief clip of another interview with a very hungry kid.
