Prison guard by day, mother by night

The years they have spent working in prisons has placed many burdens on their shoulders. We listened to the stories of a group of officers from the Bakırköy Prison for Women and Juveniles. We looked at their lives, trying not to distort their stories with problems regarding their job, and the general perception of prison guards. How does spending all day in a prison affect a mother or spouse? How are her relationships with neighbors?

Naturally, the way their job affects their lives is interesting. For instance, some of their children complained of their mother, “Mom behaves like a guard with us.” Although they don’t take their jobs home, there are times when they let off steam at home. While their peers looked forward to spending time and speaking with their neighbors, prison guards avoid doing these like the plague. They inevitably receive curious questions from their neighbors regarding their job, especially when a renowned person or someone they saw on TV comes to the prison where their neighbor works.

Prison guards work in shifts; we spoke with daytime workers. They start work at 8 a.m. and leave at 5 p.m. Their work includes more than counting prisoners in the morning and evening, and walking back and forth between cells until the workday ends. It seems the mercy inside these women is visible wherever they go. Sometimes they collect money to give to a prisoner who was released. When the relative of a prisoner passes away, they deliver the bad news and visit the prisoner in his or her cell to express their condolences. They are also the ones who cheer up the prisoners when their relatives don’t come on visiting days. The more experienced prison officers especially -- such as Mrs. Havva, who is 51, and Mrs. Düriye, who is 48 years old, -- are a kind of mother for the prisoners.

Housewives mull over simple issues

Mrs. Düriye is a warm and friendly woman and we can infer from her accent that she is from the Aegean region. She is one of the most experienced officers in this prison. She has worked in eight different prisons around Turkey in 25 years. She was assigned to the province where her husband, who is a policeman, was also assigned. Although she is from Samsun, her accent sounds Aegean because she has lived in many different cities. Because of her changing appointments from one city to another, Düriye’s children were raised by their grandmothers. Despite this, she never resented her job, saying that this is how she earns her living.

Prison officers let their kids know about their job when they are mature enough. This is to prevent their kids from hearing about their job from someone else and from feeling strange. Mrs. Düriye also brought her kids to prison and showed them where she works. She didn’t describe it as a creepy place and did not label prisoners as guilty people.

That is Düriye’s life outside of her house, but what about life inside her house? She and her family only rest in their homes and deal with house chores. Five o’clock teas and home visits are two activities they definitely avoid. Maybe this is because they witness noteworthy events at work, and what housewives deal with seems simple to them.

Mom behaves like a guard with us

It is Mrs. Havva’s 30th year on the job. Although she applied to be a civil servant in a different department, her fate was working as a prison officer. She loves her job. For instance, when the father of a prisoner expressed her gratefulness for taking care of his daughter in prison, she felt very happy. She has two daughters and confesses that, unfortunately, she sometimes takes out her anger on her children, although she is very nice at work. Her kids complain about their mother, saying, “Mom behaves like a guard with us.” She mentions that her neighbors criticize her, telling her she is overprotective of her children. She explains that she is very worried about her kids because she has witnessed many incidents proving that bad influences mostly come from children’s friends. It seems the stories of the prisoners influence her.

‘Sister Havva, would we ever steal anything?’

The prison guards shared interesting stories about prisoners who continue to commit crimes after they are released. Once when Havva was in the market, she heard two people whispering to each other, “This is sister Havva, put her wallet back.” When she turned around, she saw two of her previous prisoners. They tell her they would have stolen her wallet if they hadn’t realized who she was. Another time, a couple of women in the market were talking with policemen who accused them of stealing, while Havva was shopping nearby. They called out to ask for her help but she ignored them. Besides this, they are all very touching stories. They eyes of Selma, another prison officer, filled with tears as she told us of the happiness of a retired couple who found their lost daughter in prison.

Photo caption: The Bakırköy Prison for Women and Juveniles has 130 female prison guards. Around 1,000 prisoners are serving time here.