Young in Prison
by kadir van lohuizen
Kadir van Lohuizen travelled to Malawi to complete the first phase of a collaborative project with Young in Prison, a Dutch NGO that campaigns for the rights of juveniles in prisons.
The first chapter of this long-term project starts at the Mzuzu prison in Malawi.
The project consists of a photo essay produced by Kadir documenting their living conditions and day-to-day life, and a workshop of practical photography exercises with 11 juvenile inmates.
He produced a black and white photo essay about the prison while the eleven students also produced a series of color photographs. The outcome is quite impressive, considering that none of the boys had ever touched a camera before.
Mzuzu Prison
The prison in Mzuzu, Malawi holds 450 prisoners of which 60 are juveniles. It was built in the early 60’s by the British and was meant to hold 50 prisoners at the time.
The circumstances are harsh; the prison is so overcrowded that the inmates can’t lie down to sleep, and they receive food only once a day. For the few hours that they are lead outside, they often sleep sitting or laying down on the courtyard.
Many of these prisoners have committed only minor or no real crimes, mostly due to economic and social troubles that the country is suffering. Poverty and unemployment are significant factors playing a role in the shaping of a young generation, many of whom are imprisoned in Mzuzu.
Through the eyes of juvenile prisoners
As part of Kadir van Lohuizen’s photography workshop with eleven juvenile inmates of the Mzuzu prison in Malawi, the young prisoners were given small digital cameras so that they could photograph each other and their daily activities, focusing on what they considered important in their lives as inmates.
The outcome is quite impressive, considering that none of the boys had ever touched a camera before.
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