“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless’. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.”— Arundhati Roy

I want to tell you about my community — the one here at Westgate — because it is one that is often forgotten.

This community has men who have dreams and aspirations. Who have concerns and fears. It has men who have found peace and redemption through religion and spirituality, and who are able to exercise their faith freely. Most importantly, it has men who take responsibility for the actions that brought them here — and express their remorse.

There are men who have taken the opportunity that incarceration has afforded to better themselves; to invest in themselves. Men who are determined to be the masters of their fate — the captains of their souls. For so many inside our prisons, life was once an endless loop of negative reactions; of responding to some stimulus the best way one knew how. Now, armed with a new mindset, new coping mechanisms and new skills, many have a determination to be and do better.

I don’t want to fool you into thinking that Westgate — or Bermuda’s prison system — is some utopia. Because it’s not. But it is no further from what our ideal view of society is than what we see across the island; it mirrors it. The biggest difference — as it relates to this upcoming election — is that the voices of those behind our prison walls cannot be heard at the ballot box.

I hadn’t planned to submit an opinion piece this soon after my last one, but the call of an election by the Premier made me want to inject the issues of the incarcerated into this election cycle; into the minds of the electorate.

The franchise is a sacred right that far too few in our society value. In the shadow of our colonial and racial history, this reality is tragic. But it is a symptom of an apathy that exists in so many parts of our society. An apathy that can be tied, in part, to the effectiveness of our elected officials to not only do the will of the people, but to do what’s best for the people.

The incarcerated do not enjoy the right to vote — although there are reforms taking place around the world to address this that may reach our shores — and so the direction of our society is determined for us by those who still have their liberty. But our society is small and interconnected, so the issues that affect society at large affect the incarcerated. Conversely, the issues of the incarcerated will eventually become the issues of the wider public.

There is a mindset within our community that discards people; that those, not just who have done wrong, but those with “issues” or who don’t fit the mould, don’t belong. The incarcerated feel this intimately. The problem for those with this mindset is that the system is rigged against them. And that is because everyone in our prison system will be released at some point.

So why not advocate for programmes that would see the best versions of our island’s sons be released? Why not provide us with the skills and training needed so that we can emerge and be productive members of society? So that we can be contributors to our island’s prosperity instead of being a drain on it, as we are now.

Why not tap into the experiences and stories of former gang members to help steer vulnerable youth away from lives of crime? As bestselling author Rory Vaden states, “you are powerfully positioned to serve the person you once were”. Our country would do well to tap into this resource found behind our walls. Otherwise, we are all just waiting for the next tragedy when our elected leaders will offer their “thoughts and prayers” to those affected.

While it is assumed that many will go to the ballot box this election largely motivated by personal finances and party loyalty, that does not mean that other issues won’t be factored into one’s vote. Voters are nuanced and their issues reflect the breadth of our societal issues.

So as you talk to those canvassing for your vote in the coming days, I implore you to ask them what they will do to ensure that those who are re-entering your community will be better than when they were removed from it. Ask them how the incarcerated can be a part of the solution to our island’s gang problem. Ask them when trades programmes, entrepreneurship classes and small-business microloans from the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation will be offered within the Department of Corrections so that the men who leave our prisons can hit the ground running.

If you don’t, you will be complicit in a system that is working to keep those of us “inside” silent and those who have paid their debt to society marginalised long after their release.

• Behind The Walls is a resident of Westgate Correctional Facility