Following Through

A much needed update ahead:

After my last post ‘Persistence’ I wanted to follow up with the fruition of a long-planned personal project that finally came to be. There were actually two personal projects that I got to work on in quick succession (the second I have saved for a future post).  

The first began back in 2022 when the invasion of Ukraine began. Like many others I was struck by the sheer number of people fleeing the conflict. Images streamed in of emotional goodbyes at train stations, long lines at borders, and countless others volunteering to fight against the oncoming invasion. 

I wondered though, what about those who couldn’t leave? More specifically, what about those who were confined, incarcerated? What do prisons look like when a country finds itself at war?

After researching the structure of the Ukrainian prison system and generating a list of who to contact I began making inquiries. Understandably, this took time as there were a lot of variables and unknowns in the beginning of the conflict.

My initial request was rejected by authorities as there had been blindspots in my proposal that could put people at risk. This was uncharted territory for me so I took it as a lesson and pushed forward. Fortunately for me, the Ukrainian prison service saw that my interest was genuine and worked with me to address the issues in my first proposal. With their help and mediation I was granted access to four prisons throughout Ukraine in September. Working alongside an Ukrainian-based NGO we crisscrossed the country visiting institutions both near and far from the front line. 

I can now say that the work will be published soon by Prison Insider who also assisted in gaining accreditation. I can’t wait to share it.

Thank you for reading.