Bitter, Sweet and Strange

[oorey]

Chapter 1: Nong

“Baaaammmm!!!!!” The buzzer went off. Immediately, I opened my eyes and knew that it was 5am in the morning. Just like the last 9 years, 3 months and 24 days, I joined my cellmates in washing up and got ready for our morning run. 10 minutes later the gate was opened and I joined 200 other men and walked down the staircase towards the basketball courts. We exchanged our usual greetings. Some were more friendly than others but we speak no more than what we should.

Prison life was not like how the movies were showing. People generally got along. Sure there were occasional fights and quarrels but no one was trying to kill one another or rape another in the ass (at least not always). Conditions were harsh but the inmates kept the place clean and made it far easier than imagined to live. The days were generally uneventful. It was just prison.

We proceeded directly to breakfast directly after the run. After collecting my food which was just 3 pieces of plain bread, I sat down in front of Yut. We exchanged normal greetings and spoke in casual conversation just like any other inmates. It took me a while to learn Thai but I was a natural linguist although it took me 3 years to learn how to engage in an argument in the language. My language philosophy is if you can’t argue with the language, you do not know the language. As I finished my last bite, Yut stood up and got ready to leave but not before looking me in the eyes and giving me that faithful nod which I have been faithfully waiting.

Since 5 years ago, I had gotten myself a job as a teacher in the prison but it was definitely not easy getting that job. It was the very first time in prison that an inmate worked as a teacher (they refused to call me lecturer) for business management. I had to pull every single trick up my sleeve to convince the Warden to start this program.

[oorey]

Every inmate gets a half an hour meeting with the Warden every half year. I recalled that faithful day where I had my 7th session with the Warden. It started off just like any other conversation with him asking how was I coping prison life. 2 minutes into our conversation, I could sense there was something wrong with him. After all, I was a trained psychiatrist. I decided to pry into what was wrong. The trick to getting personal information was easy. You have to follow just two rules. Repeat what the other person said and wait for your opportunity.

Me: (conversation all in Thai) Sir, I’m doing just fine here and I would like to thank you for taking care of me over the last 3 years. I thought since I’m going to be here for another 15 years, I want to ask you how can I make life meaningful throughout this period
Warden: Ngoi, you can start thinking about what you want to do after you go out of prison and maybe learn some skills over here (usual standard answer)
Me: Thank you sir. I never thought of that I could learn some skills here.
Warden: Maybe you could start a teaching business in the future. Maybe teaching others how to manage their businesses or finances since you said you have managed a business before (again, very condescending. It’s 15 years later! Who the fuck knows what is going to happen)
Me: Thank you sir. Starting a business could be a could idea (see, always repeat)
Warden: Yes, many businesses these days are failing because the owners do not know how to manage them (maybe we are onto something)
Me: Sir, are you sure many businesses are failing?
Warden: Yes. My family runs a small printing business in Bangkok. Our accountant tells us we are growing and making money but the business always do not have enough cash. Our suppliers are always chasing us (Yes! Finally!)
Me: Not enough cash? That is a real problem. Can you tell me more?

The Warden was then a 42 year-old man. He was of average height perhaps 170cm, had a small belly but was largely a fit guy. He had a rather soft character for a prison warden and had come through the ranks through sheer hard work backed by good academic records. Many would describe him as a kind man who cares for his inmates. He had strong ambitions but generally lacked the brains and character to climb further. While he was relatively young, his peers would see the Warden position as a retirement job for him.

The Warden spent the next 45 minutes (and we clearly overran) describing to me the business and the issues they were facing. Basically, it was a pure working capital management issue. Work-in-progress inventory was too high and cash conversion cycle too long. As the warden continued his problem, he started to digress into more personal issues. He loves his job as a warden but at the same time has to look after the family business – which he wasn’t managing properly. Often his salary was used to cover business expenses. Gone were the holidays which he and his wife enjoyed as bonuses were used to pay salaries of his workers. The more he said, the more I repeated. The more I repeated, the more he said. Soon, it was more than 2 hours into our session. Rapport was now built and the next step was to create trust. Unlike women, men need solutions.

Me: Sir, I am going to offer you some humble suggestions and I think it will help you turn things around in less than 3 months. If it works, we can speak more.

So I went on for 15 mins in a step-by-step proposal. Nothing spectacular. Just plain old textbook solutions.

Warden: Ngoi, thank you for offering your suggestion. I will think about it (back to his warden self)
Me: Sir, please do not say that. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to offer my suggestions. Today has been a wonderful session.

[DeepOcean]

1st camper

[ccl69]

2nd camper....nice

[Diamonding]

3rd camper!!

[CafeOm]

Camping here now.

[TVBasia]

Camping too

[Lemonthree]

Nice start TS, please update again

[RoyalTroon]

So many campers. Me too.

[uKnowWhoAmI]

Please continue soon

[Confideration]

Keep going TS

[oorey]

After that chat session, life as back to normal. Running, breakfast, performing menial tasks, lunch, free time, run again, more menial tasks, dinner, rest time, sleep. Life was pretty boring for the next 2 weeks until we had a new inmate – Nong and he was the beginning of my nightmare.

Nong was a rising star in a local gang. He was 35 years old, tall at 180 cm. He was tanned and looked very fit. Apparently he took the rap for his boss for the murder of a family of 6. Rumours were his boss’ wife was found having a relationship with another married man. In a fit of anger, he massacred the entire family, including am 80-year-old and 3 children aged 5, 8 and 12. It was a gruesome scene. Nong ‘turned’ himself in for the crime and during the court hearing, the weapons and fingerprint record suddenly went missing. Nong’s lawyer argued the killing was done in self-defence. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison for manslaughter. He had an understanding with his boss that he would take over as leader of the gang when he would be released.

Nong has a particular dislike for non-Thais and just how many foreigners do you think there are in a Thai prison. I made a very strong effort to avoid Nong at all cost. His gaze would seem to pierce my heart like a thousand daggers. But as the saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s always a way.

One day during the afternoon rest time, I had the urge to do a major business. As I slipped away from the rest to my cell, I realized that was the worst mistake. Nong and 5 other guys had been following my every move, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Once I was inside my cell, two of them grabbed me – one by each arm. What happened in the next few minutes was a total confusion for me. Punches and kicks landed on my face, chest and stomach. At some point I felt the worst pain in my entire life as my ribs cracked and that was when I lost all control.

I shitted myself in the pants.

That didn’t stop the 6 men. They wanted to humiliate me, destroy my very existence. I could almost feel their hate piercing through the skins into my bones. One of the men removed my pants and stuffed the entire load of shit into my face. They were not afraid of dirt. They just needed to destroy me. Nong forced my mouth open and made sure I swallowed at least a mouthful of my own poop. It was disgusting beyond words.

Yes, I ate my shit.

[malima]

Do continue TS

[DieselEngine]

Good upd TS

[TitanicSong]

Nice update TS