The Free Souls behind Barb Wired Fences

The Free Souls Behind Barb Wired Fences

 

Tall, red brick walls standing still in their futile attempt to defy God while covering up the lost souls of an unseen and unexplored world of "law breaking citizens," were head facing me mercilessly on an early sunny morning. San Gabriel Valley was coming out of the morning doziness, and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary until the barb wires on top of the brick walls started glittering in the sun's embrace. "Am I in LA or communist Romania?" was the first thought that crossed my mind as I was parking the car outside the juvenile facility, fostering Glenn Rockey High School.

The warmness of the air, the chirping of the birds, and the carefree flight of the butterflies were in acute contrast with the law of nature and the idea of freedom. The universe's first law of creation has been "adjusted" by other humans in the name of a collective truth that judges people on the ideas of right and wrong. The ones who went astray are now punished behind the walls of justice, incarcerated for their deeds, admonished for their behavior, while being looked down by society as being the misfits, the pariah of a law abiding regime.

"You either hold your purse very close to your body or leave it in the car," said the smiley but firm woman officer as I was buzzed into the "other world." There, Neil, the counselor who invited me to be the guest speaker was waiting for me, extending his hand in a nice, welcoming gesture. I was supposed to talk about my book, "Out of the Transylvania Night" as it had so many common points with these students, being a walk down the path of reminiscent Communist Romania, the flying bullets of the 1989 Romanian revolution, my trial and tribulations of starting anew in a brand new country and pursuing the American Dream. These students and I grew up in different times and in opposites parts of the world, and still we have been sharing universal cruelty, fearless adversaries, blood and crimes, fear and distress, faith and death. How powerful is this universe, after all, to bring all of us to the same universal denominator called humanity?

Here I was facing the "troubled ones" in my first round of speech, while curious eyes were screening me from top to bottom, analyzing every move, questioning the presence of five adults in the same room – their teacher, the teacher's assistant, their counselor, the police officer and a brand new face – me. Even if their first attitude was rebellious, there was something behind those numerous pairs of dark eyes. A flicker of warmness, a spark of unaltered beauty was still there, ready to come out, ready to be shared with the ones willing to perceive the bottled up emotion, the "sacrificed" goodness for the displayed badness of a place that was already labeled as evil. William, Terry, Cesar, Adam, Jesus were just names of good souls lost in the jungle of human survival. They are not their addiction to drugs; to murder, to robbery, to control and domination. There are not any of these labels, but the product of a careless society who has forgotten about its own children and threw them out in the dangerous streets without the proper training, the adequate ammunition of human survival traits as self-confidence, love, courage, sincerity, trust, and kindness. They are the pure souls behind the barb wired fences, the ones who overnight have forgotten the link to their own goodness and embraced the dark side as their only true remaining friend.

William, Terry, Cesar, Adam, Jesus didn't fail us; we failed them in helping them when it was most needed!

"You ever share your soul with a stranger

Only to realize he was a long lost friend?

Ever talk to a man like you talk to a woman

And share what you can't with other men?

Can you picture your love being given

To a criminal stuck in this hell?

Can you promise to hold off from judging

Until the day when you really know him well.

Can you close your eyes and imagine

If everything went right

The power of passion finally possessed

After all those sleepless nights.

I bet you think I am gaming you

Just like all the men in your past

Because all of them promised Heaven on Earth

But none of them seem to last.

After all, what can I offer you?

Besides lonely nights and sweet words

Promises of pleasure to come

And lines you have already heard

All I can say is have faith in me

And in time maybe you will come to SEE.

(Poem by Jesus Cardenas, student at Glenn Rockey High School, San Dimas)