ICRC detention visits: ex-detainees share their experiences

"The ICRC,
by bringing us mail and visitors,
changed our lives."

Lebanon - Soha Bechara

Soha Bechara, a 21 year old university student and militant against Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, was sent by a unit of the Lebanese Communist Party in 1988 to assassinate the head of the South Lebanese Army, (SLA), a pro-Israeli, predominantly Christian militia. The attempt failed and Bechara was arrested and imprisoned for ten years in Khiam prison in South Lebanon.

In her book, "Resistance" (pub. J-C Lattes, 2000) Bechara tells of her time in prison, including the role played by the ICRC in improving the way the authorities treated the prisoners.

The forbidding Khiam prison was created in 1985, explains Bechara, and, at that time no international organization, not even the ICRC, was allowed access. The prison regime was tough and apart from long periods of solitary confinement, Bechara recalls how inmates also had to fight against crushing boredom with no books, writing materials or mail permitted.

Step by step, she recounts how the ICRC won concessions from the detaining authorities, gaining the right to family visits, letters and the delivery of parcels containing food, soap and shampoo.

Later, ICRC staff, including medical delegates, began making regular visits to Khiam prison, eventually winning more concessions to make the prisoners lives more bearable.

Extracts from "Resistance"by Soha Bechara

Khiam, or hell with no name, with no existence. The Khiam prison, set up in an old military installation, was created in 1985....the prison was encircled by watchtowers and surrounded by a minefield....The occupation, condemned by the United Nations, made South Lebanon a zone with no judicial status, ruling out the possibility of missions by NGOs or international institutions. Even the International Committee of the Red Cross was not authorized to see the prisoners.

To not waste my time. This was the goal I set for myself when I arrived in prison. After my interrogations had ended, when I finally discovered the "normal" life of detainees, I quickly realized that it would be hard to put this program into practice. We were all in a state of extreme want. We had hardly any clothes, no books and of course no paper or pencil...we were cut off from the outside world, and the only activity left to us was to strain our ears trying to follow the movements of the guards and the prisoners from one cell to another, trying to guess who was going where.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had won a first, hard-fought victory. Through their stubborness, they had finally gained families the right to visit their detained relatives. The ICRC had also won an improvement in our living conditions. Until then, the prisoners were only allowed to receive a few articles of clothing, and only if their families lived in the occupied zone. Now all Lebanese families had the right to send packages of clothing and food. The family would bring a package to one of the ICRC offices scattered across Lebanon, and the ICRC would compile the packages and bring them over to Khiam. After inspection, they were handed over to the prisoners. The first packages were not of food, but of soap, tissues and shampoo. For us it was a revolution. Later on came cookies, sweets, sugar, coffee, dried fruit and the seeds that everyone snacks on in the Middle East.

For the first time, the detainees would be allowed to receive mail.....The guards gave me a letter, and told me to read it out loud. It was a standard ICRC form that only had room for a short message...I recognized my father's handwriting. I wanted to read it but the words caught in my throat. The guards gave me a pen, then left me in peace.

I only had a quarter of an hour to scribble out an answer. In a neighbouring cell, two of the three girls were illiterate, so a single letter was copied out three times, with only the names changed. It was the quickest way to respond in such a short time.

As 1995 began there was renewal in the air...the next morning they opened my cell...there was a welcoming committee a few feet in front of me...they flanked a group of four unknowns, each of whom sported the badge of the International Committee of the Red Cross. As he saw me, the leader of this little group exclaimed in French, "You must certainly be Soha!"

I quickly wrote out an answer, then reread my father's letter...it was a remarkable letter for me -- the first time I had ever written to my family.

From then on, the ICRC made regular visits to Khiam.....a member of the Swiss organization was given permission to enter the cells and talk with the prisoners...(The ICRC delegate) told me how happy they were, after all these years of trying to, and how they would do everything to improve our lot. She then asked me about the conditions under which I was held...Next I saw a doctor. I described in detail my arrest, the interrogation sessions and my stints in solitary. (The ICRC delegate) said they had no intention of stopping there, promising me books and materials so that we could keep ourselves busy.

The guards seemed anxious when these visits were over. They questioned us endlessly, prodding us to tell them what we had told the ICRC...Despite my fears, the visitors and the letters kept coming.

In December 1995, the promises made by the ICRC began to take shape. The guards finally handed out books to read...From then on, we were given a regular supply of books that we had to return to in exchange for new ones. Our "library" was quite diverse...It was a unique opportunity for me to learn what had been going on in my country and the region, during the years marked by the end of the civil war.

The ICRC, by bringing us mail and letters, changed our lives.

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