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what in the body guard. Freddie in turn introduced us to his body guard a
WORLD man called Rubin, all the men have one or more alias names.
There are no guards in the prison itself so we wandered among
is going on the worst of the worst. It was stated that we would visit different
neighborhoods which defined “status” among the inmates.
by Barbara Roy
If you were in the “rich” section you might have a TV, stereo,
I t is well known to my friends and family that I love to travel. a kitchen and even two bedrooms. The arrangement can easily
Areas of a city or country that interest me the most are usually accommodate a family, which is allowed, and many men live as a
off the beaten path. Like a fireman that runs into a fire instead family unit. The children who live within the prison go to school
of away, I investigate and sometimes stay in areas that most daily, catching the bus in front of the park outside the gates.
travelers avoid. My trip to La Paz Bolivia was one of those times. The youngsters were well dressed, orderly and very friendly. In
Bolivia is a beautiful country in South America which spans the the first neighborhood visited it was called “Five Star” area. The
Andes mountains, the Atacama Desert and the Amazon Basin men had literally drawn five stars on the cement wall and there
rainforest. The people who’s heritage vary from the old Inca Empire, was two story “apartments.” For $3,000 you could buy one of the
independent tribes and from the Spanish colonials. Beautiful “penthouses” but to be certain it’s not a penthouse as we think of
country, beautiful and colorful happy people. one. Many men who owned apartments opened a business on the
main floor and lived up on the second floor in a loft.
I had heard about the famous San Pedro Penitentiary in La
Paz and wanted to learn more. As instructed I waited with a small The door key to these apartments is kept by the owner and the
group in a park in front of the 25 foot wall prison wall. When the guards do not have access unless the inmate is home. Interesting
metal gates opened the group was met by several prison guards who to me was the fact the prisoners locked their own doors at night to
directed us to 15 x 20 ft stark room, our passports were taken and protect their possessions as well as themselves from other inmates.
stored for the duration of visit. As we moved into the courtyard of
the prison we were met by Freddie, a convict who was to be our A tour of the “Four Star” neighborhood was interesting and
informative. An apartment in this section sold for $2,000 for life
and if a prisoner was released he put an ad on the bulletin board
alerting others to it’s availability. The prison had about 2,000
prisoners but a population of about 3,000 if you include wives and
84 Life in Naples | January 2016
