When the transfer vehicles stopped in front of the gates of The Vinesmany of the inmates who descended did not know exactly what to expect. They came from La Victoria, a place that they themselves describe as a permanent shadow, a space where dignity “does not fit”, where sleeping on the floor or in the bathrooms is part of the daily routine.
But upon crossing the threshold of the new center, something changed. They narrate it themselves.
José Miguel Coma Martínez was one of the first to speak. Adjusting his blue t-shirt, he described what he felt: “My expectations are very good, from heaven to earth. Do you know when they take away your dignity and give it back to you? It’s very good.”
He said that the food, the treatment and the atmosphere seemed different to him from the first day: “Here everything is… with respect for human dignity and there is very good treatment, I have no complaints so far. I think it has been the best for us inmates.”
The difference with La Victoria, he insists, is absolute: “In La Victoria there is no human dignity, here there is dignity.”
José Miguel has already contacted his family. He felt they were relieved, even happy: “They are all very happy… I explained the conditions we found ourselves in.”
And although he recognizes that prison is far away, he says without hesitation: “For the tranquility, the good life and one’s preservation as a human being… it is worth it.”
A few meters from José Miguel, was Fernando López, who with a smile continues to observe the new pavilions. He has been deprived of liberty for seven years and one month. Still, he says it’s the first time in a long time he’s felt even a modicum of respite.
“The difference between La Victoria and this prison… is a difference from heaven to earth, truly. We feel that we have emerged from a mire, a great mire.”
Although he remains in prison, he says it without shame: “Although you are still in prison, you feel like a more comfortable boy.”
“There is no corruption here at all”
Another of the inmates who arrived in the first group is Franklin Sanchez Valdezwho also describes the move as a radical change in his life. He assures that from the first moment he received good treatment:
“We feel very good about the treatment, we have received humane treatment, there is a lot of discipline here and above all I think it will be of great chance for us.”
For him, the difference with La Victoria is absolute: “Here everything is governed by discipline, everything is in order, here there is no corruption, there is no more, there is nothing that harms us inmates. I think it is a change from heaven to earth.“
- This Saturday, after the inauguration of the first stage of the Correction and Rehabilitation Center The Vines and during a tour of the place, the head of the General Directorate of Penitentiary and Correctional Services (Dgspc), Roberto Santana, explained that the venue cash is not handled for avoid traffic, but through a ticket system, prisoners will be able to make purchases at the commissary.
“That’s a facility they give us… there in La Victoria a soft drink cost 35 pesos, here it costs 20. All the prices are affordable because most of us here are humble people, but all the prices are low,” Franklin explained.
“LYour relatives bring an amount of money, there is an amount up to 5 thousand pesos, so you make a deposit, you take 2 thousand pesos, for example, and you have it, and every day you can buy at the cafeteria, you can spend 500, you can spend 100, you can spend 50 pesos, what you want to buy“he noted.
Regarding contact with his family, he said: “We have a fleet “In our block… each inmate speaks for 5 minutes and passes it on to the other roommate.”
Santana explained that, for the moment, they have 15 controlled fleets through the center to provide service to inmates and allow them to communicate with their families while telephone booths are installed.
“Here there will be no private cell phones… not only for those deprived of liberty, but for employees as well,” Santana said.
Franklin has been in prison for 2 years and 8 months. He was sentenced to 5 years for violating the weapons law andAlthough at first there was uncertainty about the transfer, everything changed when he saw the new conditions: “In truth, in La Victoria one is not safe… here it is, here we feel safe“
“They have treated us very well”
Further ahead, Felix was located. He was also one of those transferred and coincides with the others. “They have treated us very well. Better than in La Victoria prison, where I was.”
When he tries to describe the change, he is at a loss for words: “The conditions… compared to those here, it is too small for The Vines. Because the conditions are definitely there… there are many inmates who sleep on the floor. “Sometimes they even sleep in the bathrooms.”
In The Vineshe says, is different: “Here we have had many privileges. We are sleeping well, we are eating well, thank the Lord. And they treat us like people.”
His relatives have also not raised any objections regarding the distance: “There are no complaints, thank you Lord… we have spoken with our relatives. They have helped us with this.”
The team that receives them: mental health and surveillance
In addition to the inmates, a team of penitentiary agents and professionals is deployed at the center. Among them, Juan Pablo Mesa Contreras, clinical psychologist and in charge of health mental, who explained how they prepared for this change.
“My role here is to bring a body of psychologists with the aim of promoting the balance, the health mental and timely treatment for people deprived of liberty in this new transitional change.”
According to him, the process took three months: “Work has been going on… to prepare all areas and be able to provide timely service to this population that comes from a penitentiary center where they did not receive that attention.”
Mesa also explained how work is organized within the pavilions: “They are distributed by different hierarchies… “who are responsible for providing the service directly, receiving complaints and transmitting them to the treatment areas.”
Although they remain deprived of liberty—and aware that Las Parras is not a place of recreation, but rather a place of punishment—these men speak of something that is rarely heard in Dominican prisons: dignity. In their words there is relief and happiness. Many still measure the change by comparing what is new with what they left behind: non-existent mattresses, overcrowding, bathrooms converted into makeshift bedrooms, violence, unbearable heat and the permanent feeling of not being seen as a human being. Today, however, they describe clean beds, better food served, tidy facilities and respectful treatment. For them, that simple fact changes everything. Maybe that’s why, when asked about the difference between La Victoria and Las Parras, they all repeat the same phrase: “A change from heaven to earth.”
