13 May 2008
Douala — Carlos Feudjio Diffo, now 22, spent a year of his life in Douala's notorious central prison when he was 15. He recounted his experience to IRIN.
"I was arrested at my house for stealing money. Basically, my best friend had given me 850,000 CFA francs (US$2,010) and asked me to look after it. I didn't know that he had stolen it from his father.
"After being held at the police station for a week I was taken to a judge who asked me a few questions, not in a court but in the corridor. He then decided that I had told my friend to steal the money so I was taken to prison and my friend was let go.
"Prison was another world. I started taking drugs to escape from myself.
"I have some very bad memories of my time there. Once, another minor imprisoned for a murder tried to rape me.
"Many inmates died while I was there. My cellmate died of tuberculosis. He was 16 years old and his family didn't even come to collect the corpse.
"There are so many diseases in prison. Food and eating utensils were often dirty.
"We were forced to do many horrible things. Every day at 5am the children had to clean the prison toilets. If we refused we were seriously beaten.
"I think prison changed me a lot. It made me into a man. I had to go through that to take control of my life and myself."
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
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