Taking light into lives of darkness
MOLDOVA — Lipcani Prison is 200 kms –
or three and a half hours’ drive – north west
from the capital Chisinau, almost at the border
with Ukraine. A former military unit, it
was converted into a prison in 1969. Although
by comparison with similar places in Western
Europe, it now looks run-down, this is apparently
something of a showcase prison. To
judge by what we see, this must be a judgment
more of the program there than of the
physical state of the accommodation.
Broken families
It currently accommodates nearly 200 boys
aged between 14 and 18 – many from broken
families. Their crimes, we are told, include killing,
rape and theft. The prison includes a 22-hectare
farm producing grain and a range of vegetables,
and it raises calves and pigs for the kitchens. All
the core school subjects are taught, leading to
school certificate, and there is also a craft school.
There is a sports hall – in need of repairs – large
enough for five-a-side football and basketball, and
in the final weeks of their sentences the men are
given some psychological preparation for re-entry
into the world.
After handing in our passports and identity
cards at the gate, we pass through the doublelocked
doors into a surprisingly spacious compound
of fences, paths, trees and flowerbeds.
Having brought the minibus in by a separate way,
Pastor Anton Placinta, Director of the
Interconfessional Bible Society of Moldova, backs
it up to the assembly hall doors to unload the New
Testaments and Bibles for the men, and biblical
literature for the prison library (adjacent to the
assembly hall).
After some waiting around, two groups together
comprising most of the teenage inmates are
marched in rank up to the steps running up to the
entrance. Twenty minutes later, when Pastor
Nicolae Plucci, who heads Moldova’s Prison
Fellowship, and singer-guitarist Valeri Motovilnic
have set up their sound equipment and the men are
settled in the 20 rows of chairs, the service begins.
Lipcani prisoners, some reading Bibles distributed by
the Interconfessional Bible Society of Moldova
[photo: UBS/Dag Smemo WR413/3 MOL07DJ-254]
Young prisoners lining up to receive Bibles
[photo: UBS/Dag Smemo WR413/3 MOL07DJ-74]
A young inmate at Lipcani prison
[photo: UBS/Dag Smemo WR413/3 MOL07DJ-241]
Referring to both the story of the first Passover in the Old Testament and 1 Corinthians, Pastor Nicolae explains the meaning of the Easter message. If we accept Christ’s sacrifice for us on the Cross, we are released from punishment, he tells them. When you are given a copy of the Gospels, you can read this for yourself. He tells how he has met earlier generations of inmates from Lipcani who, having put their trust in God, are now following a better way of life in Chisinau, even as members of church councils … as well as others who preferred to keep on in the old way.
Old before their time
The young men do not seem moved by what they hear. Dressed in their own clothes rather than uniforms, their faces nonetheless have a depressingly similar look. The heads are all almost shaved and while they do not look ill, their faces look pinched, and dirty. Though many are not yet physically full grown, they look as if they have grown old years before their time. Those sitting near the windows that run all along one side of the hall look out at the white blossoms and the blue sky. Others slouch, watching the speaker with hostility or indifference. Some watch intently – though it is impossible to know how they are reacting. For his audience this morning Valeri has chosen his repertoire well; he picks his guitar and sings in a reflective and slightly mournful way and receives loud applause at the end of each song. When Anton speaks (in Romanian) and offers them the Easter greeting “Christ is risen!” their response comes back loudly: “He is risen indeed!” But we learn later that this exchange – also displayed on huge billboards in Chisinau over Easter – gives no more indication of a personal, saving faith than the greeting ‘Happy Christmas’.
Stone rolled away
He tells them about the Bible Society having registered in 1992 and commends to them the books that they are to be offered at the end of the service: the New Testament in Romanian and a new translation in contemporary Russian. He tells them about the discovery on Easter morning that the stone had been rolled away and the believers’ discovery of victory through Christ’s death. After another song, Nicolai takes the microphone again. “God can do anything!” he tells the boys. He explains that he is going to pray for them, he urges them all to close their eyes and invites them to respond by raising their hands. At the appropriate moment about ten hands go up. Pastor Anton prays for those men who ventured this. Shortly afterwards, the visitors make their way down the aisle between the rows of youngsters to unpack the New Testaments to offer them as they file out.
(WR 413/3 - 07.07)[10 photos]