ArtsBeat: Berlin in Lights Festival

(Friday) August 3, 2007   •   The Web Guy

japan_post.jpgGrasping some pink checkered fabric, No. 303 unhurriedly started making a pair of knit slippers. Some seats away, No. 335 gently threaded gray envelopes with white string. Up front, No. 229 was gluing together corrugated cardboard pads, and his stack rose steadily, though slowly.

Not the hard prison labor you might expect, but at an average age of 74 — with the oldest at 88 — these were not typical inmates. Work was kept light, and if any felt ill, they could lie down nearby on a tatami mat. Prescription drugs, wheeled walkers and a stretcher were also kept on hand, as well as a box of “discreet, underwearlike” adult diapers.

“In our workshop for the elderly, we definitely receive preferential treatment,” said one 76-year-old, who works six hours a day, or two hours less than younger inmates with more strenuous jobs. “In general, you know, the conditions are much, much more severe.”

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