Correctional Services Bureau Exchanges with Young People, Promoting Community Acceptance (2018-03-23)
To encourage young people to actively engage in social affairs and to cultivate their social responsibility and civic awareness, the Correctional Services Bureau held a youth forum on 21 March, during which Director Cheng Fong Meng had in-depth exchanges on various topics, including facilitating the rehabilitation of inmates and juvenile delinquents, with Mr. Chan Moon Fai, Associate Master of the Ma Man Kei and Lo Pak Sam College (MMKLPSC) of the University of Macau and 19 of its students, who also interacted with young inmates and toured Coloane Prison facilities. The Bureau hoped to use the activity to encourage young people to care more about people from different social classes and promote a positive message of acceptance for the inmates and the juvenile delinquents.
In his speech during the activity, Director Cheng Fong Meng mentioned about the difficult paths the inmates and the juvenile delinquents have to take to return to society; aside from diligently acquiring new knowledge and skills to prepare themselves, they also need to overcome biased views and other obstacles. Support from family and acceptance from society thus play a key role in facilitating their new start and social reintegration, which reduces the harm recidivism poses to society.
During their interaction with the visitors, a young inmate confessed to the guilt of committing a crime as he was unable to repay gambling debts and of causing emotional turmoil to his family by being sent to prison and losing his freedom, and declared his termination to reform himself and repay his family with concrete actions. Another young inmate shared his experience of re-discovering his life directions by reading and learning in prison. Meanwhile, the visiting university students mentioned how they came to a brand-new understanding of corrections through this activity, and admitted that they had only thought a prison to be a place confining offenders, without ever imagining it to also be a place providing counseling services, education and training that help inmates rehabilitate. The university students went on to express their concern about the level of acceptance toward inmates and juvenile delinquents in the community; nevertheless, they believed that everyone could make a difference by actively abandoning discrimination and adopting a fair and just attitude, which is already tremendous support toward the inmates and the juvenile delinquents.
Summing up the activity, Associate Master Chan Moon Fai expressed his recognition of the significance of youth forum as it imparted a positive message and served to urge young people care more about the society, which was followed by Director Cheng Fong Meng encouraging the youngsters to diligently learn and acquire skills, broaden their horizons, carefully make life plans, seize the opportunities presented by the development in our country and in the Macao SAR, make good use of their talents and realize their dreams.
The visiting university students and our staff.
Director Cheng Fong Meng encourages the young people to give fair and equal treatment to inmates and juvenile delinquents returning to society.
The young visitors are impressed with the exquisite handicrafts made by inmates.