Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - VI. Tangiers
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
TANGIERS 113
There is no chance of the prisoner’s ever getting out
unless a certain sum is paid for his dismissal, but this
sum has to be raised very quickly, since no one could
live very long in this place. Nor are such liberations
frequent. There is a little extension built on by the
side of the circular wall; in this lodge the guards sleep
on stone benches, surrounded by rifles and spears.
The sentinel opens the peep-hole, about one foot
square, and you may look into the prison. If the
stench in the hospital was intolerable, it is ten times
worse here; you hold your nose and draw back your
head every moment to get a breath of air. The floor
inside is a morass of manure and reeds; some of the
prisoners are lying down, others crouch; others slink
about in a circular orbit dictated by the length of their
chains. They are chained either to the circular wall
or to the pillar that supports the roof.
As soon as they discover me at the peep-hole, they
move slowly in my direction, as far as their chains will
permit them. Lean scraggy necks and long thin
trembling arms stretch out toward me; their eyes, their
open mouths, seem to voice a consuming demand.
They take hold of each other as a means of crawling
forward themselves, forgetting that it is the chain that
is holding them back. Matted beards and shaggy hair,
naked backs covered with a thick crust of human ex-
crement mingled with straw, a few rags swinging about
their loins loose and wet and slapping over their naked
legs whenever they tug at their chains to get closer to
me.
They are never allowed to go out in the open air;
they receive no water to wash with and obtain food
only when their relatives and friends bring them some.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
