Men are sent to prison for committing crimes. The victims of these crimes have the full sympathy of society and often they receive some sort of compensation. There are, however, other victims of crimes that prisoners have committed, victims who suffer but are unseen and unrecognized by society, as if they were invisible. These victims are the families that the prisoners left behind when they were put behind bars. Some of these families suffer economic hardship with the imprisonment of their chief breadwinner. In others, children who grow up without the supervision of a father, make the wrong friends and end up themselves running afoul of the law. Some of these families have long been dysfunctional, often due to abuse, and the imprisonment of a husband or eldest son only serves to make matters worse. The following true stories are an attempt to provide society with a glimpse of the lives of prisoners' families – the women and children who become innocent victims when men commit crimes and are put behind bars. A mother's prayer “May Allah guide and return him to us”. These are the words of Umm A. that were mixed with tears. She said, “After his father's death, my first born son relied on himself until he married and was blessed with two sons. However, bad companions caused him to deviate from the right path despite the warnings and advice he used to receive from me and others. As a result of following his bad friends, my son was imprisoned and then released. He pledged that this would be the last time, but he returned to prison again. Despite my old age, frailty and weak health, I take care of my children and wash their clothes with my own hands, as I do not own a washing machine. The one we have has broken down and I do not have the money to repair it. My only hope is that my son will be released from prison and that Allah will guide him and keep him away from his bad companions. I also pray that we can find a place to live that is far away so that I can keep my son away from those who were the cause of his imprisonment.” Umm Abdul Aziz's sad story Umm A's story is just one of many examples of the suffering of families when their husbands, fathers or sons are sentenced to prison. Umm Abdul Aziz, a resident of the Kingdom whose husband has been in prison in Jeddah for ten years now as a result of a drugs charge, tells her sad story. “When I was in my country,” she says, “I learned that my cousin would be arriving from Saudi Arabia to ask for my hand in marriage. All of my family congratulated me, and I was happy like any girl who was about to become a bride. As I knew that my prospective husband had been imprisoned before, I asked for an explanation. They told me that he had been imprisoned for drug abuse, but they reassured me that he had reformed and no longer used drugs. He came to ask for my hand in marriage and said that he wanted to start a new life. I was living in a village at the time, and I was excited at the thought of leaving to live in a big city. We got married and I came with my husband to the Kingdom. We lived together happily and my only concern was the frequent visits to our home by some of his friends. “After some time, I decided to limit the visits of my husband's friends to our home, but then I noticed that my husband started to come late and even on occasions remained away from home overnight. He used to say that he had work to do. “About ten years ago, my mother and brother came from my country to perform Umrah. When we were getting ready to go to Makkah when we were surprised by loud knocks on our door. Security men entered the house and arrested my husband and took him away. I learned that security personnel had found drugs in his possession and in the possession of his friends as well. From that day my suffering began, and I now live looking only for some hope that he will return one day. Ten years have passed and I am still waiting to realize that hope. I have become exhausted and my feet have become sore from running from one office to another to learn when my husband, who is the father of three children, will be released from prison.” Officials comment There are organizations which strive to assist the families of those in prison. Muhammad Raffah, Executive Director of the Committee for Caring for Prisoners' Families in Jeddah said that the committee supports over 560 families most of them Saudi families through monthly assistance and other donations from philanthropists, who are themselves giving financial assistance to the families of prisoners. In addition to this, other charities are working to rehabilitate prisoners and provide them with jobs after they serve their prison terms. Raffah added that the committee's care for prisoners' families continues until six months following the release of a prisoner from jail. “We strive to expand the committee's work and to have research sociologists study the social and psychological aspects of each registered case so as to find the best way to provide services and overcome the hardships prisoners' families are facing,” he said. He expressed his hope that society would treat these families with kindness and consider them as the other victims of the crimes that have been committed. Society must also give the prisoner a chance to correct his conduct so that he can return to society as a good and useful member. Wafa Shamma, Head of the Women's Department in the Committee for Care of Prisoners' Families in Riyadh, said that in line with the directives of the Ministry of Social Affairs, a tour of the women's departments in different regions of the Kingdom is being conducted to get acquainted with the course of work in those departments and look into some cases that require study so as to find the best ways for helping prisoners' families. Although these departments are carrying out their work properly, they need support so that these families can overcome the problems facing them. She expressed her hope that all the departments would be provided with the necessary staff for studying the cases in order to gain useful information regarding how a prisoner's family is affected by the absence of the family head and how the family is viewed and treated by society. Facilities for prisoners Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi, Director-designate of Jeddah Prisons, said that facilities are provided to a prisoner and his family is allowed to visit him. He added that any family that is harassed while visiting a prison should file a complaint and the problem will be dealt with immediately. As to some families not knowing the prison term that their family member has been sentenced to, he said this can be determined by inquiring from the prison administration. Fawzia Abbas, who is in charge of the women's prison in Jeddah, said there are cases of female prisoners whose families refuse to receive them when they are released from prison. At the same time, she explained that everything is done to prepare female prisoners for reentry to society so that they will not return to prison. She pointed out that the number of Saudi female prisoners is very small. Abdullah Al-Tawi, Director of the Social Insurance Office in Jeddah, said that on the very first day that the head of a family or a family's breadwinner is jailed, the family's economic situation is assessed, and the family is registered among the beneficiaries of social insurance through the Department for Prisoners' Families. After 45 days, the family is issued an ATM card and it receives SR783 to SR2,800 per month, depending on the number of family members. If it is found that the prisoner's family is in need of other financial assistance, it is given an additional cash payment. The prisoner's family continues to receive social insurance until its breadwinner is released from prison. Also, when he is released from prison, he is given financial assistance equivalent to half the total annual financial assistance that his family used to receive. This is meant to help the ex-prisoner start a new life, and is on condition that he has spent at least a year in prison. If the prisoner's wife has been divorced and she is caring for his children, then she is registered in Social Insurance among divorced women and she will receive the same assistance as divorced women. Meanwhile, the children are registered as being members of a prisoner's family and the eldest or whoever has an authorization letter is issued an ATM card. In case the prisoner dies in prison, payment of social insurance to the family is not stopped, but the family's status will change from recipients of social insurance as a prisoner's family to beneficiaries of orphans' insurance. Dr. Ali Al-Hinaki, Director General of Social Affairs in Makkah Region, said that among the most important duties of his Administration is to provide the needs of prisoners' families and other categories that come under the Takaful system. This includes providing the families with financial assistance and employing them in coordination with the Labor Office. Employment of prisoners Qussay Al-Filali, Director of the Labor Office in Jeddah, said that released prisoners who apply for jobs are provided with job opportunities that whenever possible suit their qualifications and interests. He said despite the efforts exerted on behalf of the prisoners, the Labor Office is surprised at their irregular attendance at work and at the fact that they often abandon the job completely. He pointed out that there was a need for research authorities like Social Affairs or King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah to study the matter. Al-Filali added that sometimes the children of prisoners are provided jobs so that they can become the breadwinners of their family. Muhammad Ibrahim Jalal, Director of Employment in the Jeddah Labor Office, said that during the past year, the branch provided jobs to 49 prisoners while the Women's Section found jobs for 58 female prisoners. He added that they take great care to ensure that the employment information is dealt with in total secrecy. As to the role of the Family Protection Society in Jeddah in protecting female prisoners whose families refuse to receive them after the completion of their prison term, Dr. In'am Rabou'iy, Chairwoman of the society, said that the society is concerned only with female victims of violence. The responsibility for female prisoners whose families refuse to receive them lies with the Social Affairs. Rabou'iy added that in her view the authorities concerned must provide a residence for each released female prisoner. Rights guaranteed Sheikh Azib Aal Musbil, Chairman of Islamic, Judiciary and Human Rights Affairs in the Shoura Council, confirmed that the full rights of every prisoner taken into custody or who is serving a jail term are guaranteed according to the regulations for penal proceedings that take into consideration protecting the prisoner's human, family, security and financial rights besides his honor. Every family has the right to visit a family member in prison as long as his condition permits him to receive visitors. If there is any shortcoming in implementation of this right, then the authorities concerned must deal with the matter. In the view of Talal Bakri, Chairman of the Social, Family and Youth Affairs Committee in the Shoura Council, husbands who are jailed or take a deviant path are committing a crime against their families and themselves. He pointed out that the breakup of a family is always the result of the father's or mother's deviant conduct. He said the state has always been keen through various committees and commissions to provide financial and moral assistance to the prisoner's family and even to the prisoner himself.
