Books for prisoners

Belarus
English PEN

"we were not allowed to bring or receive books from outside.

 My cell-mate Nastya suffered without the Bible and I was yearning to re-read Ibsen. When you are free you don’t have such a painful desire to read as you have in prison. You can get any book at home, in the shops or from the internet. In prison books become the air. Your body needs air to breathe. No books — you cannot breathe. And if you cannot breathe there is no life."

English PEN: "Books for Prisoners - Iryna Khalip" (read full text):
http://www.englishpen.org/books-for-prisoners-iryna-khalip/

Iryna Khalip/Andrei Sannikov







Foto: KL