Thu, Aug 13, 2020 page6

• Virus Outbreak: In Mali’s largest prison, coronavirus kept at bay

  • AFP, BAMAKO
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  Mali’s largest jail is a squalid and overcrowded colonial-era throwback that, in theory, would be an open invitation to COVID-19, except that the staff at Bamako Central Prison say that so far they have kept the virus at bay, thanks to hygiene and self-help.

  Outside the penitentiary’s walls, the Malian capital has registered most of the country’s 2,577 infections and 125 deaths, while inside, the number of recorded cases is exactly zero.

  “From the start of the pandemic, we did everything we could to prevent it from getting in,” said prison warden Adama Guindo, who wore a mask.

  

  Detainees gather at a cell window at the Bamako Central Prison in Mali on July 3.

  Photo: AFP

  Hand cleanliness, temperature checks for visitors and an innovative scheme for inmates to make masks have been crucial.

  There is every reason to be vigilant, as the prison is an ideal breeding ground for the coronavirus.

  Built by French colonial authorities in 1951, the prison was designed for 400 inmates, but holds 2,100. Hundreds of people are crammed on top of each other in filthy cells.

  

  A detainee sews a mask at the Bamako Central Prison in Mali on July 3.

  Photo: AFP

  Common criminals and captured militants from Mali’s eight-year conflict live cheek by jowl: cooking together, running tattoo parlors and trading cigarettes.

  In Mali’s Bamako Central Prison, officers transferred about 600 inmates to another jail in the city’s suburbs to reduce overcrowding. Some prisoners also received a presidential pardon.

  However, even with those measures, the prison remains hugely overcrowded, mostly because of the vast number of people held in pretrial detention.

  Only 160 inmates there have been convicted, which Guindo admitted is a “catastrophe.”

  His staff have limited prison visits in a bid to reduce the chances of infection. Anyone entering must also take a temperature test and wash their hands.

  However, early action by the authorities to impose restrictions on contact and mobility has been a key part of reducing the risk, experts have said.

  One of the first steps was an offer of help by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

  It donated hand-washing kits, which are dotted around the prison, and is also encouraging prisoners to manufacture their own face masks.

  The ICRC buys 500 masks per week from inmates who work as tailors and then redistributes them.

  Chiaka, a prisoner and apprentice seamster who is about 20 years old, said that usually the prison tailors made everyday clothing.

  “Now masks have become a priority,” he said.

  For all that, only prison officers appear to wear masks. Many in Mali choose not to, partly because of stigma, although, among prisoners, the main reason seems to be an indifference to the coronavirus.

  The ICRC confirmed that there have been no documented cases at the prison and Mahamadou Diarra, one of the jail’s two doctors, said that there had “only been suspected cases” of coronavirus, all of which had tested negative.

  Guindo is cautiously beginning to hope that the pandemic will pass his prison by.

  “If the monitoring continues to be done proactively, we have every chance of being spared,” he said. “We’re in the middle of the river, but we can’t declare victory until we’ve reached the other side.”
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