“I cannot stand the idea of being denied freedom; not being allowed to go where you want and obliged to live in a very small space with others you do not know is something I do not bear. No one should be reduced to its errors only, humans are not only THE errors they did once, they have the right to continue to move along in building their lives with confidence and trust from others.”
When I asked Matthieu why he decided one day to be a volunteer in visiting prisoners, he added that having a Dad part of the French penitentiary administration, had probably influenced him as well. Unlike the prisoners he visits for three hours each week, Matthieu considers himself as very lucky in life, and giving of his time to prisoners is a way for Mathieu de give back a bit of that luck.
” At the end of the day I believe that helping prisoners to leave their incarceration with more of humanity is a way for me to protect my family, my community and the society; these guys deserve to be listened by others than only policemen, lawyers or judges”.
I was amazed by the high generosity of Matthieu in a world where money and individualism is too often presented as the only way to happiness. I wish we were all “Matthieu’s.”