In France, prisons are overcrowded, and an association called “Lire Pour Sortir” (“Read to Get Out”) is working to help inmates cope with this reality by reading. The organization focuses on helping prisoners improve their vocabulary, which can help them reintegrate into society after serving their sentences and prevent crime.
The association believes that a good understanding of words not only helps in expressing oneself before judges but also helps prevent aggressiveness and impetuosity that can lead to criminal behavior. In addition, a lack of vocabulary is an important factor contributing to social inequality, since the broader a person’s vocabulary, the more opportunities he or she will have in life.
The association focuses on reading books and organizes discussion workshops to help prisoners understand the issues and improve their communication skills. One of the books frequently discussed is Albert Camus’ “The Foreigner,” which tells the story of a young man sentenced to death who finds himself in prison. Camus, born in Algeria, had difficulty communicating with his illiterate mother, which was a barrier between the two throughout his life.
Although, by law, French prisons must have a library, it does not include the obligation to have librarians who can guide prisoners in their reading and organize discussion workshops. “Lire Pour Sortir” is working to fill this gap and has plans to double its network of volunteers and reach 500 by 2024.
Although the association has been successful in most of the prisons where it operates, there is still a lot of work to be done. The association will only be present in 50 of France’s 187 prisons and believes it would be ideal if the book work were taken on by psychologists rather than volunteers. Psychologists can help prisoners put themselves in the place of others and learn to understand different perspectives.
In short, the organization “Lire Pour Sortir” is helping inmates in France cope with prison overcrowding through reading. The association focuses on improving the vocabulary of prisoners to help them reintegrate into society and prevent crime. Although there is still much work to be done, the organization has been successful in most of the prisons where it operates and plans to expand to reach more prisons.