UNGUARDED - Transcript

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In Brazil, a prison sentence

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has two purposes:

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To punish...

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and to rehabilitate.

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Unfortunately, the state prison system

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only carries out the punishment

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and does not rehabilitate.

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Which is why recidivism rates
are about 80-85%.

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The big problem with the
state prison system

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is not inside the prisons.

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The big problem is on the outside,

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especially in society.

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Believing that only prison
solves the problem,

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forgetting that at the end,
after serving the sentence,

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that person who was abandoned
behind bars will come back much worse.

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In other words, society insists
on seeing the prisons

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as a space of revenge

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and not as a space for
the recovery of the prisoner.

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The law doesn't say we should
be cruel to inmates.

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It says to take away their freedom and
offer new possibilities for their future.

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I've been a judge for 21 years
in the state of Minas Gerais.

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When I arrived at the age of 28,

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I was introduced to the
state prison system.

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Since then, I've often been alarmed at the
conditions faced by inmates in my jurisdiction.

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I realized that I needed
to do something,

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because otherwise all the work
I was doing was meaningless.

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That's when I was told
I had to get to know APAC.

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Hey, what's going on?

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We're getting lunch ready.

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I'm coming to take a look.

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- Jairo, Jairo!
- Hey, Dr. Valdeci.

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You can't leave the gate open, Jairo!

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- It's alright.
- No way! What if someone escapes?

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Nobody wants to escape from here.

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Not before lunch anyway.
They're waiting for the food.

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- How are you?
- I'm fantastic, how about you?

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- You need to shave.
- Ok, I will.

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Oh Pereira,

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this girl is driving me crazy.

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Crazy…

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Oh Pereira,

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I want to kiss her again.

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Again…

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I fell in love,

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but she doesn't care at all.

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It was at a favela party

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that I met her.

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I was quite taken aback at first

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because I thought it might all be fake,
or staged. It seemed impossible.

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Over time, as I studied the methodology

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and spent time there, I was convinced

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that it was possible to find answers to the
questions that unsettled me as a judge.

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Personally, I've had to face
opposition from the justice system.

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Other colleagues didn't want to hear
about APAC under any circumstances,

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because they thought
it was something that

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made the life of those criminals easier.

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This is something I still see, not only
in Minas Gerais, but all over Brazil,

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which is the preconception,
the natural distrust

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that exists towards any new methodology

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that aims to change
the traditional prison system.

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Today is the Day of Solidarity.

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We get locked up in the morning and
spend the day in reflection on the regular system.

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- Who wants coffee?
- I do.

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- Who wants bread?
- I do.

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The regular system is very sad.
You're just locked up all the time.

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So today we remain in our cells in solidarity
with our friends who are in the regular system.

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We thank God for everything he has done
for us, by allowing us to be here at APAC.

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On the first Tuesday of each month,
we think about our brothers

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who are locked up in the regular system.

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We spend all day reflecting on where
we used to be, and where we are now.

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I discovered the APAC method

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in a book by Dr. Mário Ottoboni.

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As soon as I finished reading it,
I called him up

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and said I was impressed
by what I had read,

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but still didn't believe it was possible
to have a prison with no guards.

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A prison without guns.

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A prison without correctional officers.

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Where all the keys are in the
hands of the prisoners.

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When I visited that APAC
in São José dos Campos,

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I was astonished by what I saw.

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I saw human dignity, I saw respect.

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So I decided to bring
the APAC experience to Itaúna.

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Believe that no-one among us

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was born with super-powers.

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We build our own dreams

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by conquering our limits...

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My name is Bruno.

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I'm 36 years old.

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My sentence is 17 years,
10 months and 10 days.

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I've been at APAC
for 5 years and 7 months.

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I was a very rebellious person
out on the streets.

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I used to take drugs,
sell drugs, fight and steal,

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and during one of those crimes,

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I ended up arrested and convicted.

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I was in a state prison
for a year and 5 months,

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living in a cell that contained
10 beds, yet housed 30 inmates.

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It's a place where the
motto is: trust no one.

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I don't trust my cellmates, they don't trust me,
and nobody trusts the correctional officers.

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How was I supposed to believe in love

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when I had cellmates sleeping
in the bathroom?

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How was I supposed to believe
in love and recovery

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when I was served rotten food
almost every day?

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How was I supposed to
believe in recovery

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when every day the guards
pepper-sprayed us in our cells?

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We almost suffocated in there.

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We heard about APAC
in the conventional system.

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I wrote a letter to the district judge

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asking him for an opportunity
to do my time at APAC.

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He summoned me for a hearing,

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and explained APAC's method to me.

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After my sentence was finalized,

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which is one of the criteria
to serve time at APAC,

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I was able to come here
and start my treatment.

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It's a bit crazy when someone tells you,

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"I don't care what crime you committed".

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"I believe you can change".

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At APAC, it's not enough
to change one's behavior.

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Changing someone's behavior is easy.

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The state prison system
often achieves that.

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What is required is a
change in mentality.

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Which is a great challenge.

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In order to reach that goal,
we apply our own form of penal therapy,

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which consists of 12 essential elements.

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Recuperandos helping recuperando,

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Family, Human Valorization,
Legal Assistance, Healthcare,

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Merit, the Journey of Liberation,

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Education, Work, Spirituality...

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Volunteers.

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When these 12 elements are applied
harmoniously, they produce results.

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It's not easy to come from
a place like prison,

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arrive at APAC, and accept
the volunteer's hug,

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the welcoming from friends.

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So, the first days were
really complicated.

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Until I started to open my heart.

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From the moment I opened my heart,
things began to happen in my life.

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One time, they put me
in charge of reception.

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Something that really surprised me.

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I thought to myself:
"There people are crazy!"

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"How can they trust an inmate with a
17-year sentence with the front gate key?"

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But at the same time, I thought,

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"Somebody trusts me and
sees potential in me".

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I didn't want to lose that trust.

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There would be no APAC without

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the work of volunteers like me,

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the support of the legal system,
through public administration,

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and the recuperandos themselves
being willing to cooperate.

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Without any one of these three
elements, there would be no APAC.

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At APAC, we are the ones
who have to work.

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We the volunteers, and the recuperandos.

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If I wanted to build a new APAC and
I had to hire all the staff and educators,

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our costs would blow up
to 5 or 10 million.

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It wouldn't work.

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That's our main difference.
The volunteers.

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People ask how we manage to get by.
It's because everyone puts in their hard work.

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I was invited to work at APAC
as a volunteer.

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And I never left.

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My mother wouldn't allow me
to go, so I used to sneak out.

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My husband knew. He didn't like
the idea very much, but he let me go.

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I've worked at APAC my whole life,
because it is rejected by many.

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Many people reject APAC.

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So I took to defending the cause.

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My granddaughter is currently
doing time there.

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This book started off...
It's a silly little thing.

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"Poems In Confinement".

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There's some memories from my life.
Thoughts about my feelings...

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About my late husband...

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We can express a lot through writing.

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Feelings we carry inside.

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A piece of paper can sometimes
relieve our hearts.

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She was very rebellious.

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We'd tell her off.
He'd often chase after her.

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We'd hear from other people:
"Michele went to the waterfall".

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"She was on a motorcycle with a guy
and they went to the waterfall."

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I'd go after her, never knowing
who the biker was.

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And we'd never find out.
That's how it happens.

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They take our children away
and we don't even notice.

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Look at her cheeky little face.

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She was dressed up for Carnaval.

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At the age of 12, I left home
to seek my independence.

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I worked as a prostitute...
I sold drugs...

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I fell in love with a
powerful drug dealer,

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and I was arrested with 482 pieces
of crack, two guns, a box of ammunition

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and a lot of money.

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The worst moment of my life was getting
the phone call telling me Michele was in jail.

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My world just fell apart.

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I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat.
I wondered if she had enough to eat.

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It was very hard.

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In state prison, instead of
getting better, I got worse.

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I continued dealing drugs in prison.

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In fact, I made more money
on inside than I did before.

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Whenever I needed a supply of
drugs, a cop would bring it to me.

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It wasn't expensive. I'd give him a thousand
bucks and keep ten thousand for myself.

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It was a time when I suffered a lot,
but also brought a lot of suffering to others.

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I hired a lawyer, but he did nothing.

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Since my mother had many contacts
at APAC, I decided to ask her for help.

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My grandmother was able to speak to
the judge and the president of APAC,

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and they brought me here
on Christmas Eve.

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I don't think Michele's sentence
was too harsh.

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She's paying what she owes.

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She tells me, "Mom..."

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"This time I won't let you down".

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"There isn't a drug in the world
that'll take me away again".

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I believe her.

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I've always been my mother's
biggest disappointment.

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But now I'm sure that I'm
her greatest pride.

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Sometimes I lose myself
in the time I'm missing.

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I feel dead; powerless.

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I'm struggling to get back to life.

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Sometimes it seems difficult.

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But God... Oh... He proves
to me every day that I am strong.

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That I will be victorious.

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That these bars are what
I need to come back to life.

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To live without fear.

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I need to believe I am capable

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and that everything is
waiting for me beyond the walls

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which stop me from seeing
the light that shines for everyone.

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Work is a part of the methodology.
At APAC, recuperandos are required to work.

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Nobody is idle.
There is no idleness at APAC.

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Many of the recuperandos never worked
in their lives. Never had a profession.

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Many of them entered a life of crime
because they never had a chance to work.

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At APAC, they have the
opportunity to learn a trade.

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They tend to the garden,
work at the bakery or the wood shop,

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so that when they are released,
they have a fair chance in the job market,

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and are able to
reintegrate into society.

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This is one of the workshops of the
semi-open regime here at APAC Itaúna,

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where we have a partnership
with Magneti Marelli,

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which provides parts to car companies.

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They produce the parts and send
them for us to assemble.

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Today we're assembling air filters
for Fiat Uno air conditioners.

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In the closed regime,
work is a form of therapy.

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Work therapy reveals to the recuperando
aptitudes he may not have known he had.

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Working with crafts, or painting... work that
stimulates them to discover new values,

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to understand that the same hands
that caused harm can also do good.

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I've been in prison here at APAC
for just about 2 years.

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I work in the wood shop for work therapy,
mainly to keep myself busy.

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If you don't keep your mind active,
you go insane.

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My case is homicide.

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My family won't allow me
to see my children.

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It's very hard for me.

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If they were here today,
I would probably feel sick.

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It's just too emotional for me.

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I don't even like to look
at pictures of them.

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I miss them very much.

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Usually those who do evil don't know
the harm they have done.

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It's like you grabbing a stone
and throwing it into a pond.

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The stone sinks, it disappears,

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but it causes waves that
will reach the shore.

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So, crime is often like that.
The person commits a crime,

00:22:36.273 --> 00:22:38.484
and doesn't realize
the harm they have done,

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but it will cause a big impact.

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Through lectures on Human Valorization,
cell meetings and general assistance,

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we will help the inmate to
understand the harm they have caused.

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I'm going to ask you all a question.

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If you'd like to answer,
raise your hand and go ahead.

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Just let people finish.
Don't talk over each other, ok?

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So here's my question:

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-  If your son... What's his name?
- Davi.

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If Davi came up to you one day and said:

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“Daddy, I want to be like you
in every way”.

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What would you say?

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I'd need to improve a lot.

00:23:27.533 --> 00:23:30.577
I need to improve a lot before I can
have that conversation with him.

00:23:31.161 --> 00:23:33.455
Are you currently a good
role model for him?

00:23:33.497 --> 00:23:36.291
No. Definitely not.

00:23:36.375 --> 00:23:39.920
This is what we call Therapy of Reality.

00:23:40.337 --> 00:23:44.007
The idea is for them
to remove their masks

00:23:44.425 --> 00:23:49.179
and realize that they
did something wrong

00:23:49.346 --> 00:23:52.307
and that's why they've
lost their freedom.

00:23:52.433 --> 00:23:55.519
I'm sad because I'm apart from my son.

00:23:55.602 --> 00:23:58.939
I took his mother away,
and she was a great mother to him,

00:23:59.314 --> 00:24:01.608
and now I'm not
present in his life, either.

00:24:01.817 --> 00:24:04.111
- How old is he?
- Five.

00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:07.448
I was raised by my mother alone,

00:24:07.614 --> 00:24:10.159
and I'd go see my father in prison.

00:24:10.284 --> 00:24:14.913
I don't know exactly why, but I
started to get involved with crime.

00:24:14.955 --> 00:24:17.040
I did a lot of bad things.

00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:20.247
But that's not what I want for my son.

00:24:20.247 --> 00:24:23.547
When I get out of here, I want him
to go to school and graduate,

00:24:23.630 --> 00:24:26.508
so he can be somebody in life.
I'll teach him to do the right thing

00:24:26.550 --> 00:24:28.093
so he won't mess up like his old man.

00:24:28.260 --> 00:24:32.764
Because my own father made mistakes,
and instead of being different or better than him,

00:24:32.890 --> 00:24:35.476
I ended up being a little worse.

00:24:36.310 --> 00:24:42.733
Many arrive here extremely angry,
looking for somebody to blame.

00:24:42.941 --> 00:24:51.533
The judge, or society, or anything else.
However, after some time their rhetoric changes.

00:24:51.825 --> 00:24:54.369
If you could go back...
What's your name?

00:24:54.369 --> 00:24:55.787
- Deilon.
- Deilon?

00:24:55.829 --> 00:24:57.789
- Deilon.
- Deilon.

00:24:57.915 --> 00:24:59.791
Deilon, if you could go back...

00:25:00.209 --> 00:25:02.961
What would you do when you
found out your wife was cheating on you?

00:25:03.212 --> 00:25:07.174
What I should have done before:
left her and found another woman.

00:25:07.216 --> 00:25:09.176
Were you on drugs?

00:25:09.301 --> 00:25:11.428
Yes, but it was my medication
that made me confused,

00:25:11.470 --> 00:25:14.515
and one day I lost it and
grabbed her by the throat.

00:25:14.723 --> 00:25:17.768
But if I could go back,
I wouldn't do it again.

00:25:19.561 --> 00:25:21.980
I never tell them they are wrong.

00:25:22.064 --> 00:25:29.154
They say it themselves:
“Socorro, I made a mistake. I chose poorly".

00:25:29.238 --> 00:25:31.615
"It's my own fault I am here".

00:25:31.990 --> 00:25:36.286
If they don't want to talk about their crime,
they won't. But one day they will.

00:25:36.370 --> 00:25:38.372
And I will listen.

00:25:38.914 --> 00:25:40.666
Just listen.

00:25:41.124 --> 00:25:44.211
In my silence, they know I love them.

00:25:48.966 --> 00:25:51.593
My family are victims.

00:25:56.181 --> 00:25:59.685
I had a sister who was
murdered by her ex-husband

00:25:59.685 --> 00:26:01.979
leaving behind a river of sorrow.

00:26:03.605 --> 00:26:07.401
He's at APAC. He's being treated well.

00:26:08.860 --> 00:26:12.739
He's receiving psychological assistance.
He's being helped.

00:26:15.033 --> 00:26:18.161
There were many cases of femicide here.

00:26:18.287 --> 00:26:24.084
She was the fifth victim in a row.

00:26:24.585 --> 00:26:27.546
It was like a massacre of women.

00:26:29.047 --> 00:26:34.595
What about my nephews, the real victims,
the ones my sister left? Who is helping them?

00:26:39.308 --> 00:26:42.102
Some days it really weighs on me.

00:26:42.144 --> 00:26:45.522
It's like a movie
playing through my mind.

00:26:47.065 --> 00:26:52.571
It could have been avoided. You know?

00:26:53.030 --> 00:26:57.659
I still haven't been able
to forgive myself.

00:27:01.371 --> 00:27:06.835
I want to ask APAC why they
don't welcome all of us.

00:27:08.211 --> 00:27:11.214
I want a proper explanation.

00:27:11.423 --> 00:27:14.009
Not just me, but my whole family.

00:27:14.384 --> 00:27:21.725
I want to free the person I have
become since my sister's death.

00:27:26.229 --> 00:27:28.106
Dr. Mário wrote a book called

00:27:28.231 --> 00:27:30.484
"Be a Solution, Not a Victim".

00:27:30.901 --> 00:27:34.071
This book describes dozens of cases

00:27:34.571 --> 00:27:44.039
of reconciliation between
victims and offenders.

00:27:44.331 --> 00:27:49.044
I can say that in my
36 years of experience,

00:27:49.294 --> 00:27:53.632
the most beautiful moments
I've witnessed at APAC

00:27:53.715 --> 00:28:01.014
were those in which the victim and
the offender met and reconciled.

00:28:03.225 --> 00:28:06.895
APAC is home to forgiveness.

00:28:07.187 --> 00:28:10.315
APAC is home to reconciliation.

00:28:10.482 --> 00:28:13.360
APAC is home to mercy.

00:28:18.824 --> 00:28:24.162
I once had a cellmate whose wife
was a recuperanda at the female APAC.

00:28:24.830 --> 00:28:29.626
He asked if I was single, and if
I wanted to write to a friend of his wife's,

00:28:29.668 --> 00:28:32.838
who was also a recuperanda,
and I said yes.

00:28:35.090 --> 00:28:39.678
One day I received a letter from
Bruno, who was at the men's APAC.

00:28:39.886 --> 00:28:43.348
So we started writing
each other, as friends.

00:28:43.557 --> 00:28:47.561
I could see from our letters
that we had similar intentions.

00:28:47.811 --> 00:28:51.189
And that her plans for the
future were the same as mine.

00:28:51.231 --> 00:28:54.612
Once during a special event,
she was brought over

00:28:54.612 --> 00:28:57.612
from the women's APAC,
and we finally met in person.

00:28:58.405 --> 00:29:02.784
It was love at first sight.
So we started dating.

00:29:03.493 --> 00:29:10.041
See how things are, little bee? You were worried
I wouldn't like you because you are 'chubby',

00:29:10.125 --> 00:29:15.338
and I was afraid you'd find me ugly.
Thankfully it worked out.

00:29:15.505 --> 00:29:18.925
I had never experienced
such a lovely, smooth kiss.

00:29:19.050 --> 00:29:24.389
God must have been preparing this moment for
many years, as it was so sublime; so special.

00:29:24.514 --> 00:29:27.768
I already liked you before;
now I'm in love.

00:29:27.893 --> 00:29:31.271
From now on, I'm in your hands.

00:29:31.563 --> 00:29:33.398
Take care. And take care of me.

00:29:33.607 --> 00:29:36.610
A sweet kiss from your boyfriend, Bruno.

00:29:37.527 --> 00:29:42.199
And one fine day
he asked me to marry him.

00:29:44.743 --> 00:29:47.954
It wasn't really
the wedding of our dreams.

00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:53.877
We were both in handcuffs,
but love can overcome anything.

00:29:53.919 --> 00:29:57.130
The handcuffs didn't embarrass us,
nor could they stop us.

00:29:57.214 --> 00:30:00.509
On the contrary...
they made us stronger.

00:30:00.759 --> 00:30:04.346
This year is our
fifth wedding anniversary.

00:30:05.055 --> 00:30:08.600
I was released on parole in 2015.

00:30:08.934 --> 00:30:12.938
Then I came to Itaúna
and waited for him.

00:30:14.648 --> 00:30:19.444
God granted us a daughter,
who turned 1 year old in January 2019,

00:30:20.445 --> 00:30:27.369
and that's the main reason why I want
to turn my life around completely.

00:30:27.494 --> 00:30:35.544
I want to get out, find a job
and look after my wife and kids.

00:30:40.006 --> 00:30:41.925
Good evening!

00:30:45.846 --> 00:30:49.516
I got a job as a Security Inspector
at the female APAC.

00:30:54.104 --> 00:30:57.607
I inspect the building...

00:30:57.816 --> 00:31:00.819
I inquire if any recuperanda
needs my help...

00:31:01.486 --> 00:31:06.616
I check on everything to see if
there are any problems to solve.

00:31:06.825 --> 00:31:11.496
You have to listen. You have to
be a psychologist to them... A mother...

00:31:11.580 --> 00:31:14.124
A little of everything.

00:31:21.089 --> 00:31:25.302
I was born in the countryside,
with a midwife.

00:31:25.468 --> 00:31:29.347
My mother had to abandon the family
so my father wouldn't kill her.

00:31:29.598 --> 00:31:32.517
I was 1 year old.

00:31:33.018 --> 00:31:34.936
So my father raised us.

00:31:35.312 --> 00:31:37.898
When I was about 8 or 9, he got sick.

00:31:38.189 --> 00:31:40.150
Then he passed away.

00:31:40.483 --> 00:31:42.861
I was around 10 years old.

00:31:42.944 --> 00:31:48.867
That's when my siblings from his
first marriage took me to the city.

00:31:49.034 --> 00:31:52.954
I wanted to meet my mother very badly.

00:31:53.788 --> 00:31:56.666
She had a new family.

00:31:56.791 --> 00:32:01.296
And her husband tried to...

00:32:02.380 --> 00:32:04.549
He wanted to abuse me.

00:32:04.841 --> 00:32:09.429
When I told her, she said
that was between me and him.

00:32:10.180 --> 00:32:14.643
I spent that night out in the cold.

00:32:16.102 --> 00:32:23.944
One day, a man I had met
about 2 months before

00:32:24.069 --> 00:32:28.782
asked me to go with him
to the city of Pará de Minas.

00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:35.455
At the time I wasn't aware that the plan was
to throw drugs and cellphones into a prison.

00:32:36.164 --> 00:32:44.673
We had 27 cellphones with chargers
and SIM cards, as well as 4 kg of drugs.

00:32:45.090 --> 00:32:49.886
The guy made a run for it.
Then the police came, insulting and beating me.

00:32:49.886 --> 00:32:54.770
I couldn't speak because a cop
was stepping on my back.

00:32:54.770 --> 00:32:58.770
He was pressing hard.
I could barely breathe.

00:32:59.771 --> 00:33:03.191
I was sentenced to seven years.

00:33:04.192 --> 00:33:09.823
I was in state prison for a year
and seven months.

00:33:10.323 --> 00:33:14.456
One day I found out I was HIV positive.

00:33:14.456 --> 00:33:18.456
That was another serious blow.
I just wanted to die.

00:33:18.665 --> 00:33:21.292
I attempted suicide at the time.

00:33:21.710 --> 00:33:24.504
That's where I first heard about APAC.

00:33:26.423 --> 00:33:32.137
I have no words to express how
great APAC has been in my life.

00:33:54.284 --> 00:34:03.251
An ex-recuperando comes to my mind.
He served time at APAC more than once.

00:34:03.668 --> 00:34:08.214
He always felt fine at APAC, but whenever
he was released, he always relapsed.

00:34:08.381 --> 00:34:15.638
During one of his conditional releases
he was shot 3 times and killed.

00:34:15.722 --> 00:34:26.691
But I went to his wake,
and I felt like I had failed him.

00:34:26.816 --> 00:34:30.111
It was as if my love had failed.

00:34:31.154 --> 00:34:39.746
My love wasn't strong enough
to illuminate the dark corners

00:34:39.788 --> 00:34:45.085
and the solitude in
that young man's heart.

00:34:46.211 --> 00:34:53.259
Then I realized love could only have failed
if I had abandoned the cause, or given up.

00:34:54.177 --> 00:34:57.013
It certainly wasn't easy.

00:34:57.305 --> 00:35:01.309
In the first 8 years,
I was sued 17 times.

00:35:01.392 --> 00:35:05.230
I was accused of everything
you can imagine.

00:35:05.313 --> 00:35:08.858
I received death threats
for months on end.

00:35:09.317 --> 00:35:12.153
But nothing, absolutely nothing,

00:35:12.237 --> 00:35:16.491
could shake our unwavering belief

00:35:17.242 --> 00:35:19.119
in the recovery of the human being.

00:35:21.621 --> 00:35:26.918
APAC's methodology can be
implemented anywhere in the world,

00:35:27.418 --> 00:35:32.507
and that's because of a simple reason:
we are dealing with human beings.

00:35:33.049 --> 00:35:39.556
It's a method intended for people
who are deprived of their freedom,

00:35:39.722 --> 00:35:41.891
people who have
committed a criminal offense.

00:35:42.433 --> 00:35:49.357
And that exists anywhere in the world,
wheter in the US or Europe, anywhere.

00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:55.238
What the legislators want is for their
punishment to achieve its goal,

00:35:55.613 --> 00:35:59.617
which is retribution but more
importantly re-socializing,

00:36:00.994 --> 00:36:05.707
to allow that person
to coexist with others again.

00:36:05.874 --> 00:36:13.214
I can't think of anywhere
in the world where people don't want

00:36:13.381 --> 00:36:18.887
to see a criminal becoming
a person who's useful to society again.

00:36:36.988 --> 00:36:40.992
I'm aware that I've been on a journey.

00:36:42.535 --> 00:36:47.624
I learned a lot, and I use a lot
of what I've learned in my family life.

00:36:55.173 --> 00:37:00.261
My wife served 5 years, was released, then
'served' another 4 years waiting for me to get out.

00:37:00.595 --> 00:37:04.432
It's true, though. I think a lot of
recuperandos have no idea.

00:37:04.474 --> 00:37:10.396
Relatives often feel more imprisoned
than the inmates themselves.

00:37:11.147 --> 00:37:14.888
Because you're constantly
wondering if they're all right,

00:37:14.888 --> 00:37:18.488
how they're sleeping, or eating,
if they're healthy...

00:37:18.780 --> 00:37:22.742
Inmates rarely stop and wonder how
their relatives on the outside are doing,

00:37:22.825 --> 00:37:24.702
because we think freedom is everything.

00:37:25.703 --> 00:37:27.747
Now that I'm free
I can see that it's not.

00:37:27.747 --> 00:37:30.208
Life out here is very different.

00:37:30.208 --> 00:37:34.796
Life can be very hard when you're
trying to be honest and dignified.

00:37:34.963 --> 00:37:38.841
But it's gratifying to get home and see
that your wife has made some coffee,

00:37:38.841 --> 00:37:42.428
that your daughter wants to play,
that your son is healthy.

00:37:50.853 --> 00:37:54.190
I never experienced
this kind of family life,

00:37:54.315 --> 00:37:56.818
so now I want to enjoy every moment.

00:37:56.859 --> 00:38:00.488
I want to be there for them
like they were there for me.

00:38:01.239 --> 00:38:03.992
I want to return the
companionship they've shown me.

00:38:05.076 --> 00:38:09.872
I know it won't be easy to
regain everyone's trust.

00:38:12.583 --> 00:38:16.379
I learned that I won't regain
anyone's trust with words.

00:38:16.671 --> 00:38:18.589
It'll be with my attitude.

00:38:19.048 --> 00:38:21.050
By looking after my family,

00:38:21.634 --> 00:38:24.387
going to work, taking care of my home.

00:38:32.812 --> 00:38:35.440
Good morning, Marina!

00:38:41.237 --> 00:38:42.905
Bye!

00:38:46.326 --> 00:38:49.912
I want to be an inspiration
to other recuperandos,

00:38:49.912 --> 00:38:55.585
to people who are out on the streets, struggling
with drugs and alcohol, from broken families...

00:38:55.585 --> 00:38:57.712
I want to show them it's possible.

00:39:16.564 --> 00:39:19.734
I never worked before,
so I don't have a profession.

00:39:19.942 --> 00:39:23.905
I currently work as a laborer.
It's not my dream job,

00:39:23.988 --> 00:39:29.869
but I can help my wife to provide for
our home and we can live a happy life.

00:39:30.244 --> 00:39:35.708
My wages are low, but it's much more gratifying
to be able to walk proudly with my family

00:39:35.875 --> 00:39:37.835
anywhere we want to go.

00:39:51.808 --> 00:39:56.479
I have a strong desire in my heart
to become an APAC volunteer,

00:39:56.979 --> 00:39:59.565
and hopefully one day an employee,

00:39:59.649 --> 00:40:04.570
in order to show that recovery is an option
for everyone. It's not impossible.

00:40:05.113 --> 00:40:07.990
As bad as a crime committed
may have been,

00:40:08.157 --> 00:40:11.202
any person can change their
mentality and turn their life around

00:40:11.202 --> 00:40:15.039
and show society that they are valuable,

00:40:15.081 --> 00:40:18.418
that they can do more
for their neighbor.

00:40:23.297 --> 00:40:25.716
What distinguishes APAC,

00:40:25.842 --> 00:40:30.221
what makes it God's work...

00:40:30.638 --> 00:40:32.348
... is love.

00:40:33.391 --> 00:40:38.062
To experience love and being loved.

00:40:38.396 --> 00:40:40.982
But oftentimes, it just so happens

00:40:41.107 --> 00:40:46.946
instead of loving and being loved,
people experience rejection.

00:40:47.989 --> 00:40:50.032
Because what is crime?

00:40:50.741 --> 00:40:57.206
Crime is the experience of
rejection taken to the extreme.

00:40:58.416 --> 00:41:08.384
Crime is a cry for help from someone
who is saying, "I am here! See me!"

00:41:08.509 --> 00:41:10.928
"Love me! Take me in!"

00:41:12.180 --> 00:41:18.144
When a person experiences
rejection instead of love,

00:41:18.352 --> 00:41:22.565
they yearn for love
from the cradle to the grave.

00:41:24.484 --> 00:41:30.948
At APAC we help the inmates to
have this transcendent experience.

00:41:31.449 --> 00:41:37.121
APAC has taught me a more
dignified way to serve time,

00:41:37.246 --> 00:41:40.291
and that we shouldn't be
afraid to make mistakes.

00:41:40.750 --> 00:41:44.378
I will never give up on you!

00:41:47.507 --> 00:41:49.842
We change all the time!

00:41:50.301 --> 00:41:56.015
Why can't someone who is
serving time change too?

00:41:56.891 --> 00:42:00.520
When someone is interested
in changing their life

00:42:01.479 --> 00:42:06.526
and they are offered something
like what APAC can offer them,

00:42:06.567 --> 00:42:08.319
which is a change in their core values,

00:42:08.736 --> 00:42:10.571
I'm sure...

00:42:10.905 --> 00:42:12.698
that anyone can change.

00:42:13.282 --> 00:42:20.665
We have to believe in everything
the human being is capable of.

00:42:24.001 --> 00:42:30.383
God won't ask me
how many people I've recovered.

00:42:30.841 --> 00:42:34.095
God will ask me,
"Valdeci, did you love?"

00:42:34.345 --> 00:42:36.681
That will be the crucial question.

00:42:38.766 --> 00:42:41.352
To everyone at APAC, "Did you love?"

00:42:42.436 --> 00:42:47.942
If you remove love from the equation,
then APAC becomes just another NGO.

00:42:48.025 --> 00:42:50.361
Or a business.

00:42:50.778 --> 00:42:56.909
And love has to be nurtured,
otherwise it dies out.

00:43:04.125 --> 00:43:08.713
Today there are thousands
of men and women

00:43:08.838 --> 00:43:13.050
who arrived at APACs physically ill,

00:43:13.926 --> 00:43:16.512
psychologically damaged

00:43:16.554 --> 00:43:19.098
and spiritually dead.

00:43:19.640 --> 00:43:24.061
People who were considered
the garbage of society.

00:43:24.353 --> 00:43:27.773
Those who had no more
chances at recovery.

00:43:28.691 --> 00:43:31.068
But by the grace of God,

00:43:31.277 --> 00:43:35.781
and due to the volunteers' work
and the methodology,

00:43:36.157 --> 00:43:41.162
those people are today living in society

00:43:41.495 --> 00:43:45.875
all over cities where we have APACs.

00:43:46.584 --> 00:43:51.297
So, I'm totally convinced that

00:43:51.547 --> 00:43:53.215
APAC...

00:43:53.215 --> 00:43:54.634
is the temple

00:43:54.675 --> 00:43:58.804
for prisoners' recovery.