{"id":308356,"date":"2022-06-15T01:00:53","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T23:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/free-together-from-any-kind-of-prison\/"},"modified":"2024-05-15T20:43:30","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T18:43:30","slug":"free-together-from-any-kind-of-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/free-together-from-any-kind-of-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Free together from any kind of prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not something you can learn from books \u2013 the art of supporting each other. But helping someone with their studies and devoting time to them can be the right opportunity to discover wonders and reap unexpected rewards, even in a place like prison. That\u2019s what happened to Marta Veracini, giving her a new look on life.<\/em> Laughing out loud while a voice in the distance whispers not to disturb; exchanging ideas and opinions, attempting to concentrate and stay in the books. This scene repeats daily in study halls of universities, between coffee breaks and on the way to a new class. All this and much more happens to Marta Veracini, a young woman from Tuscany, Italy, every time she hears the armoured doors close behind her at Dogaia, the prison in Prato (near Florence). A law graduate with a master’s degree in criminology, Marta joined the University of Florence’s organised civil service project in 2019. In it volunteers assist inmates preparing for university exams. Since then, even after the year ended, she continued her service \u2013 there in a place that anyone would have a hard time calling \u2018beautiful\u2019. Yet in surprising and unexpected ways, it has become a space dedicated to care and mutual trust, a place where relationships are a \u2018welcoming home\u2019, and where everyone, inmate or not, can finally be themselves. \u2018I am always asked how it feels to bring comfort and help in a place like prison,\u2019 says Marta. \u2018The truth is that no one really understands how much you can receive, even in that context. \u2018Volunteering in prison changed my life. It allowed me to break down the barriers of my shyness, my insecurities and allows me today to show off a smile that I used to hide. It is I who have to thank the people I have met for all they have done for me and continue to do. \u2018I am truly free with them.\u2019 It is a real achievement. There are so many cells that can imprison us, in fact, that can hold back our dreams, our thoughts, our hopes. Marta’s experience, together with those of the inmates she has had the good fortune to meet and help with their studies over the years, are an example of how together it is still possible to take flight, to feel that you are worth something and \u2013 why not \u2013 think about the future. \u2018The university path is definitely tiring for everyone,\u2019 Marta says, \u2018but they work so hard, and it is good to see their grit and joy in passing an exam. These are great little milestones, where they face tough subjects. \u2018Many, for example, are studying law, and some have already graduated. There are young people as well as adults from various regions of Italy, or foreigners. It is good to see how they set no limits, spur each other on and become examples for each other. \u2018For those with long sentences, it means investing strength and time to achieve something that makes them proud, and makes their families outside proud. Those who are released have the opportunity to use what they have studied to be able to start over.\u2019 Hers is a look of hope that embraces and allows itself to be embraced. The stories of daily life within the walls of Dogaia, captured in the book Marta wrote during the pandemic, My guardian angel has a life sentence,<\/em> are a small drop in a great sea of indifference that divides the inside from the outside. Yet they are a testimony to how it is possible to break down barriers by generating beauty and putting unconditional love for one’s neighbour at the centre. \u2018I have never wanted to know why each of them is in prison,\u2019 Marta continues, \u2018but one thing is certain: I have never looked at them as \u201cmonsters\u201d \u2013 just people who, although with mistakes behind them, have the same needs, feelings and hope as others do to relate and share. \u2018They are people who have dignity like everyone else, and thanks to them, I also found mine. In short, true friends.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Maria Grazia Berretta<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

L\u2019arte di sostenersi a vicenda non si impara dai libri, ma aiutare qualcuno nello studio e dedicargli tempo, potrebbe essere l\u2019occasione giusta per scoprire meraviglie e raccogliere frutti inaspettati, anche in un luogo come il carcere. \u00c8 ci\u00f2 che \u00e8 accaduto a Marta Veracini, regalandone un nuovo sguardo sulla sua vita.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-308356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-categorizzato"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308356\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}