Alcatraz Island

I visited an island which was a prison, which stop functioning on 1963 because of difficulties in maintainability. Visit was heart touching. It is an island which is a mile and a quarter away from the SanFranciso Down Town.

"You Are Entitled To Food, Clothing, Shelter, And Medical Attention, Anything Else You Get Is A Privilege". This is one of the rules and regulations of the Alcatraz prison which started on 1934. The cells are made of cement walls and steel frames. Even though everyone has a separate cell, there is no privacy. The man in the cell across can see you sleep, shave and use the toilet.

Before I entered the prison, they gave me a audio device which has keypad to play, pause and change the volume. The audio tour guided me through the entire prison till the exit. It was such a great experience, I can remember the prison as if I was an inmate once. It has a lot to tell me about the escape attempts, fights and frustrations of the inmates during its 29 years of existence.

One escape attempt in 1962 by 3 men, out of that two were brothers. They made a hole on the wall with the spoon. It is estimated that it took almost 1 year of effort to dig the hole. They kept cardboard on that to hide the hole. And on the day of escape, dummy heads made of soap were left in their beds as if they were sleeping. They were never seen again.

There were total of 14 escape attempts happened and all the convicts were shot dead or captured back except two attempts. The escape was not going to be easy. The freezing water (14 degree Celsius) and strong current of Bay cause the inmate to reconsider escape attempts.

There is a library. But is not allowed for everyone. It is a privilege and not a right. It is assumed that some of the inmates read 70-100 books an year.

Man was never intended to be a caged animal. He will seek for the freedom. While coming back in the cruise i thought of the escaped inmates. Even though I know they are criminals, i want to be on their side and i like to believe that they might have reached the mainland safely.