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Archive for the 'SET' Category
Charlie’s Table
Published May 2nd, 2006 General , Kevin Wallen , SET , berkmania , harvard , jamaica 0 Commentskevin needs help amplifying his message: dcs regroup
Published April 23rd, 2006 Kevin Wallen , SET , berkmania , jamaica , rhetorical space , trust 0 CommentsHere’s the code to display it:
angels, kevin needs our help. he is about to take his stand against the entrenched mindset of DCS. the credibility of SET and of our cyber school turns upon the outcome. please read his document hot off his keyboard still with need of cleanup punctuation. as backup for him we have the video of him speaking with the men at south camp. we have the journals of your visit. we have your testimony which needs to be given before the cameras of CCTV. our mission is to help kevin lead jamaica to gently but firmly regroup.
here is kevin’s message to me
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2006 18:58:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kevin Wallen
Reply-To: kdw at kevinwallen.com
Subject: more of my rambelings
To: Charles Nesson
hay charley i sat here thinking about the day i had and decided to write something and i wish to share it with you
another in the series of between you and I
I’ll be talking to you soon
Harvard Law School
Berkman Center for Internet & Society
Kevin D. Wallen
Fellow and Director of S=SET CyberSchool
Tel: 876 960 1715
cel: 876 371 4510
kdw at kevinwallen.com http://set.civiblog.org http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/CyberSchool
PS
Be the change you wish to see in the world
****
dcs regroup
Today is one of those days I call a learning experience
I woke up this morning with the intention to attend a meeting at the department of corrections head office. The meeting was scheduled for 9am. At 8:48am I received a phone call from Miss Sharp who wanted to remind about the meeting. I told her I remembered and that I was on my way. By the time I arrived at the head office it was 8:55am. I was ushered to the conference room where the meeting was to be held. 20mins later I was told that they would be with me shortly, then 10mins I was told again that they would be there in a few minutes. At 9:39am someone else came in to let me know that they were going to be 20mins later. at this point I was upset because if I was the one who invited someone to my office for a meeting I would at some point make an appearance to ensure that the guest was ok. At 10am Mrs. Sharp walked into the room to inform me that Mr. Campbell had a medical situation and that was the reason for the delay, Mr. Campbell walked into the room shortly after and confirmed the story. 7mins later Mrs. Stephens walked into the room and the meeting officially got on the way at 10:17am.
We opened with a prayer and went from there. I thought the meeting was called as a result of some concerns that I had voiced, but as it turned out it was about an interview that I had done with the breakfast club over a month ago. On the interview some statements were made by an ex-inmate (SET Member) about the fact rehabilitation doesn’t exist within the prison and also the fact that the prison is being run like a business. Some other things were said to which the department took offence and that was the basis of the meeting being called. The meeting was to inform me that there is a media policy, which had to be adhered to. What this means is that I am not supposed to conduct any interviews without first informing the department. I am also not allowed to speak the truth about what I see in the institutions or at least I must make It look better than it really is. They want me to contradict the men and women who come out of the system and speak of their experiences in a negative way.
Now in looking at this I see several tings one, how can I tell someone who have spent years in the prison and have seen and experience things not to talk about what they have seen or felt. And if they do talk about it they should do so from a level of good. well if I did that then I would not be students expressing truth would I?. If the department does not like the things the men are saying then maybe what they should do is set the record straight. Prove that what they are saying is wrong. If you have a location which is capable of doing something and you are not utilizing it you can’t talk about it as though something is really going on. That would be a lie. The fact is there is a lot more that the department should be doing rather than thinking about their image in the public’s eye. How about their integrity, perhaps that should be the main point.
Most inmates are dissatisfied with the system; many want to change but feel as though they are not given the opportunity to change. The people that are put in place to make the system work are not doing their job, because they are too busy thinking about their image. How can you fix problem when you refuse even acknowledge that there is one? Some of the people in the system seem to think that the only problem is the inmates and as a result see nothing else, and that is a major issue.
It is common knowledge that most of the contraband that is found in the prison is there as a result of people who work for the system and yet the bulk of the attention is still being placed on the inmate population. The public is not made aware of the fact that officers are a major part of the problem.
Some officers have a tendency to think that if something is being offered to the inmate population that it should be offered to the officers as well. The fact that you are an officer means that you have a job, you are required to do your job. The question is why are we trying to please the officers by putting in place programs for them because we are putting programs in place for the inmates. We are trying to rehabilitate the inmates; we are trying to do for someone who can’t do for him or herself. And each time we do something like this all it does is open to door to more of the kinds of thing that make this country as corrupt as it is.
The system needs to be sorted out, when you have an officer who refuses to perform his duty, a duty which he is being paid to perform because he wants to know what is in it for him, then we have a problem. What is in it for him is his paycheck that is what he signed up for. Listening to high-ranking officials speaks about rehabilitation and what it means to them makes me really worried. They have no idea. SET is one of the programs that is doing really well in the institution yet most persons at the head office really do not know how the program works. For the most part they think that it is a computer program. The director of rehabilitation sees no reason why he should come to a meeting with the SET group, a group which is doing as well as it is doing, and find out what the group is really about, get to know the men and women who are a part of the group and give them words of encouragement. They don’t do that because it is assumed that Kevin Wallen does that and therefore there is no need for them to do that. But when the men and women are released from the prison and speak of their situations and what they experienced they act like they have committed a crime. When in fact if the administration was more in touch with what was going on within the institution then they would not have been caught off guard.
Treat the people like human beings or else they are going to act like animals. If you don’t want them to act like animals then don’t treat them that way. If you want them to talk about all the wonderful programs that are being offered then you should make sure that they are being offered. The fact that there is a tailor shop that don’t mean that there is a tailor shop that is operational. That seems to be the major problem that the inmates are having, there is all this talk about all these activities which are happening in the institution. Though the facilities are there it is just not happening. Inmates are upset that the authority has never been in the room to take a look at what the inmates are doing yet they are in the media talking about all the things that are happening in those rooms. The inmates feel as though the authorities have no interest in rehabilitation and as a result they also feel that the authorities have no right to take credit for what the inmates have done.
I totally understand that we need to make sure that the image of the organization is in good standing.However we also need to make sure that we are Expressing Truth
SET is a good thing and many agree, yet there are many in the institution who are of the opinion that SET should be stopped and have gone to lengths to try and stop it. The people who have tried to stop it are not inmates but officers who for whatever reason don’t like to see the program strive. From its inception this group has always worked within the guidelines set forth by the institution. Yet we still continue to get a fight. There are officers who support the program but there are others who are adamant that this should be stopped. I am not here to make friends though I am also not here to make enemies, but if some one chooses to become either based on what I am doing then I welcome it. I have made no bones about it. I have complained to the relevant authorities what these people are doing to no avail. The individuals are still there and nothing has changed. Without perseverance we would have given up a long time ago.
I refuse to be a part of a lie. I became involved with this thing as a result of wanting to make a difference and made a promise to the men and women behind bars that I would be there with them to the end, and would love to be able to live up the expectation that they have.
It is obvious that there is a problem with the system and while others would take the stance that there is nothing that they can do about it we have decided to take a different stance, we have decided to stand up for that which is true. SET has challenged its students to express truth why would we not expect the same thing from the authorities.
If you keep on doing what you have been doing you will keep on getting what you have always gotten. Nothing will change, and, that my friends is not we signed up for.
—-
email with me may show up on my blog
unless privacy requested http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/eon
This thing is taking a turn, am i ready?
Published March 19th, 2006 General , Kevin Wallen , SET 0 CommentsKevin posts: The past few days have left me a little puzzled aboout what is going on in the country I love and plan to spend the rest of my days in. On friday I received a phone call fom a young lady telling me that she needed my help. It turned out that she borrowed 3 cd’s from a friend and accidently ruined them. Her friend wants her cd’s back. She is unemployed and unable to come up with the money to pay for the cd’s. The owner of the cd’s has all kinds of people calling her telling her that she better replace the cds or they are going to kill her. She got scared and went into a store and stole the 3 cds. As she was walking out the door she was stopped searched and the cds recovered, the police called and she was locked up. She called me to find out whether or not she could join the SET program when she goes to prison. Based on the crime i did not think they would send here to prison, however i told her that if that ended up being the case i would be happy to welcome here into the group. Later on that evening she call back to say that she got community service and a fine of $8,000.00. She still wants to know how she can get involved in the program and keep herself out of trouble in the future.
In a related story, after I finished with the Unchained program today I got a phone call from a young lady asking me it i run a support group to keep people from doing things that might land them in prison. I told her that i did not, however i would be more than happy to help her get the help that she needed. It turned out that she has a huge problem with controling her temper, so much so that she wanted to kill her boss and even planned how she was going to do it. She said she heard us on the Unchained program and that got her thinking. She decided against it, howeve she is still fearful because she knows she still has that anger inside. She does not want to hurt anyone but what is scary for her is that she knows that she is capable of doing it. She wants to know how SET can help her
What this means to me is that we have to add another dimension to SET. We need a support line whare folks thinking of comitting criminal acts can call and talk to a live person 24/7
your thoughts
Okay, i’m proud. Thank you Scooby. You are welcome.
Published January 24th, 2006 General , Jah Cure , Kevin Wallen , SET , harvard , jamaica , nessons evidence , rhetorical space , trust 0 Comments
What you read and link to below is from the wiki for my class about Evidence, from a student in my class, Scooby, still just a name to me. As i read it here on this blog-edit page meta to what you see i see a flowering of links that could be there, grounding each reference to the foundation of our class. How do we make the wiki live?
Scooby
From CyberlawWiki
Since the first Jah Cure discussion, and particularly since the first Wendy Murphy visit, I’ve been contributing rather long-winded discourse to the Wiki in the following sections: Nuremberg, Wendy Murphy, the Confrontation Clause, etc. Typically these contributions occured at 12-2 am, whenever I had finished my reading for the next day. They contain my thoughts outside of class and not while my nose was in a book. Short of discussing a few telephone conversations or bills, that was my day, each day, during the weeks of Evidence: shower, class, retype notes, read, write the Wiki, watch 30 minutes of TV, sleep, rinse and repeat.
Weekends were somewhat different. The first weekend back, I had about 10 people over for a huge prime rib and premium wine. I really miss having gatherings like that from my previous life. I also miss having 10 funny but mature drunk people in my house. I batted about 50% that night: five HLS’ers, my closest friends, were awesome guests. Five decided to wrestle, break glasses, have newspaper fights, and generally act like 5-year olds. I thought it was the wine.
It wasn’t the wine. Speaking of whine…the first day of class, I walked in and there, under a calm, low light, with soft reggae playing, was Professor Nesson. As the class filled, he led us in stretching exercises which about half the class joined. The first week of class was incredible. Big picture stuff. Why we have a jury. And then…”why aren’t we learning “Evidence?” (Evidence without a jury isn’t Evidence)…turn up the lights, speak louder/softer/sing/dance…what about the exam…the Exam…the EXAM!” I suppose I could have gotten a few better grades had I focused on exam banks and mastering how others have issue spotted in concise prose. Having focused on the class at hand and actually enjoying myself, however, I couldn’t believe how anxiety tore this class to shreds. Within one week, the smiles and relaxation were turned to nervousness and bickering. I contributed, don’t get me wrong: part of growing up in this course was to try (and per this paragraph, not completely succeed) to stop bitching about people bitching. But come on! Maybe it’s my previous career, or maybe it’s the way I was raised, but the insulting tone of the class toward Professor Nesson was embarassing.
[nesson here: no insult seen intended, no insult taken. Anxiety is real, so deal with it.]
* I know I should…deal with it that is. I spent many years in an alternative universe that frowned upon revealing weakness or questioning the system. The last hurdle for me has been this “why isn’t everyone else where i am” arrogance. It occurs to me more and more that it’s not “them” but me that needs to adapt.
But back to the weekends, which, as I have said, were my “free time.” The rest of weekend one was spent nursing a hangover and watching movies. But as always, reading kicked in on Sunday afternoon, and we were off to the races again.
The second weekend was our three-day MLK weekend. I was getting excited. Finish notes and stuff Friday afternoon and then smooth sailing…four days to go re: reading. This class went too fast. Then, our Fearless Reader announced on that Friday, The Takehome….now, I know that he is a good hearted man. He was only trying to make things less stressful. A complete non-takehome would be: 1) focused question(s) and 2) discuss a dispute real to you and whether you think the law’s architecture can handle it…you have 3 hours. But no, Nesson’s being nice and letting us peck at question 2 in advance. But announcing it on a Friday before a long weekend? I mean, I’m not that mellow. I knew what was in store from the class with this one. The Wiki proved it: worry, worry, read into the question, negotiate…whine. I approached the question like it was on an exam with a three-hour limit. But the Friday announcement ruined the weekend for me. Sort of a guilt reaction, I suppose. As in, others are going to work on papers and I know I’m not, and thus…emotional meltdown. I finished my notes on Friday afternoon after eating a long lunch with Phil and his girlfriend, and then watched TV. On Saturday, I didn’t get out of bed until 2pm. What was I to do? Too early to start a paper, and the Little Bitter Boy remnant in me was thinking, “my classmates are going to hone their papers to a fine edge, and I miss my secretary.” So moping set in; all of Saturday was wasted. Sunday I caught up on some reading and football. Monday was a blur.
Thursday night I attended the event featuring Courtney, Kevin and Hurricane. I have a picture of Hurrincane and me…I think of Solomon and the quarter in which hand: did he murder people or is he really innocent? The best way to look at it is does it really matter what the truth is, as long as his dispute has been resolved? I spoke with Kevin for 20 minutes after most had left. I wish I could work with him in Jamaica, or somewhere similar. These stories go beyond redemption but toward a deeper understanding and societal healing, and frankly, I’m tired of picking a side and fighting and insulting the other. Let’s try to figure all of this out, shall we?
I can’t help but wonder what I can do to change or redefine the law. It’s pretty clear that the Law Lord must fashion more of a friendship with the Media Lord. Right now, the two seem to be acquaintences but not friends. Law lets Media in, he trashes the joint, but he’s invited again and again because Law believes that turning on Media may destroy him. Maybe if Media could be convinced to help educate society about the resolution phase of disputes…what the final narrative is…rather than inflame things by taking sides. I think of Nancy Grace and how pissed off she looks, how sure she is of guilt, on Court TV. Nevermind the story, “those children are dead…D-E-A-D…dead!” Criminal cases would go much faster if Ms. Grace were allowed to roam the courthouses of America with her executioner’s axe. Who needs a trial when Ms. Grace has society pissed off and unable to see, unemotionally, both sides? I wonder if any of her audience regulars will serve on juries: God help that defendant.
The last week of class was sad. We finished Expertize and moved past the last reading hump: Privilege. It was downhill from there. This class was amazing. We were educated in history, policy, trial law, evidence rules, and strategy in three weeks. The only strain was reading (and I was going outside the box on that anyway). I looked forward to class every day. I will miss this class every day.
Yesterday I read through my notes. The course fits like a glove. I feel like Nesson has taken me behind the scenes and let me see why the law runs the way it does. From a traditional standpoint, the rules makes sense. Principled sense. Except for hearsay, which makes sense if you realize the principles are inconsistent and don’t always make sense(!). Oh, and except for 412, which should be relabeled 512…that’s where it belongs. And all hail Crawford and Blakely…say what you want about Scalia, but don’t knock my libertarian hero when it comes to the criminal justice system. I’ve watched two movies today: some ridiculous werewolf movie with Christina Ricci and Snow Falling on Cedars. I highly recommend the latter. I found myself thinking of Evidence while I watched the trial and presentation of evidence and testimony. I thought of Archie Cox and integrating narratives. It was painless, and it was beautiful. I’m not only ready for the exam, I’m ready to be a lawyer.
Internet tsunami coming - ride the wave
Published January 23rd, 2006 General , Kevin Wallen , SET , harvard , jamaica , nessons evidence 0 Comments[Kevin is in Toronto, 6:30 a.m. EST, staying a few days with Rubin, planning today to visit Nart at CitizensLab where Jamaicaexpress.net is hosted. "Marguerite" is Marguerite Orane, Growth Facilitators. "Rodney" is Rodney Davis, CEO of Jamaica Cable and Wireless. "Jermain" is a teammate who knows a lot about low power fm radio transmission. "Aubrey" knows computers.]
Kevin: hello charley
Kevin: are you there
eon: yes
eon: hi
Kevin: just sent you an email
Kevin: sitting in a coffee shop
eon: cool
Kevin: by the airport
eon: with wireless?
Kevin: yes sir
eon: not bad
eon: pretty amazing
Kevin: i have now become a internet junky
Kevin: can’t live without it
eon: reading your email
eon: do you need the address of citizen lab?
Kevin: yes
eon: looking for it
Kevin: what is the name of the project and do you have the address or website for it
eon: http://catchdaflava.com/
eon: http://focus.civiblog.org/blog
eon: http://www.citizenlab.org/
Kevin: ok
Kevin: is it still possible for nart to come to jamaica and work out of the office and help us to get things in order
eon: yes
Kevin: i think i would love to train jermain and have him do what we wanted aubrey to do\
Kevin: might work out cheaper in the long run
Kevin: as well it would be us using our guys
eon: good
eon: is aubrey now out of the picture?
Kevin: have not been able too get intouch with him in a while
Kevin: dont know why just have not beeen able too reach him on his phone
eon: people have busy lives
Kevin: ah
Kevin: that is why we have to be sure of our approach
Kevin: because life has a way of getting in the way sometimes
Kevin: with the crew that we have we should be ok
eon: ok
eon: start thinking about a board for SSET
Kevin: what do you have in mind
eon: marguerite could assemble a terrific crew, starting with rodney
Kevin: yes
Kevin: that is sure right
eon: an organization like yours needs the backing of a powerful board who are fans of the project
Kevin: rubin wants to be the director of public relations
eon: what’s his vision of the job?
Kevin: taking the SET message out into the world
eon: sounds great
Kevin: and raising funds for the organization
eon: we have the talent now, just need the event promoter
eon: you must know a lot about that from your motivational speaking days
Kevin: thats sounds right
Kevin: have some ideas
Kevin: need a project coordinator though
eon: C&W could be a big help
Kevin: that is exactly right
Kevin: i think it is coming to me what our approach should be to them
eon: come
Kevin: the idea of marketing a series of talks to jamaicans around the world
Kevin: not something they have to attend in person but something they can tune into on the web
eon: but built on a solid base at home with real programs working for students and staff
Kevin: driven by c&w technology
eon: yes yes
Kevin: sure you’re right
eon: with travelling stimuli to the major diaspora cities
Kevin: we need only to make sure that SET is
Kevin: producing products that can be seen on the web
eon: prophet for broadband to the developing world
Kevin: sounds exactly right to me
eon: lesson in how the developing world can use internet to heal itself and grow
Kevin: wow you are a champion this morning
eon: you are a prophet
Kevin: looks like some one got some good rest
Kevin: wow
eon: gotta go
eon: still finishing up my exam questions
Kevin: see ya
Kevin: i’ll look for you later
Hurricane Came
Published January 20th, 2006 Jah Cure , Kevin Wallen , SET , harvard , jamaica , nessons evidence 0 Comments
News
Carter Storms Law School
Former boxing champion bashes abuses
Published On 1/20/2006 1:20:26 AM
By PARAS D. BHAYANI
Crimson Staff Writer
Rubin Carter, know to many simply as “The Hurricane,” delivered a stirring speech to a crowd of 150 yesterday at Harvard Law School in which he lambasted the criminal justice systems in the U.S., Canada, and Jamaica for what he claimed was a high incidence of wrongful convictions and a system that is based more often on prejudice and “tunnel vision” than on evidence.
“Wake up!” he implored the crowd. “And learn that liberty and the pursuit of happiness are actually the same thing.”
Carter recounted the details of his conviction for triple murder in 1966 when he was at the height of his middleweight boxing career. He spoke of how he was saved from the electric chair only because of the quality of his legal representation, and how he still spent nearly twenty years in prison, ten of which were in the pitch dark of solitary confinement.
Carter also said that when a court granted his 1985 petition for a writ of habeas corpus—one of only three granted that year out of 8,500 filed nationwide—it effectively gave him back his freedom. In overturning Carter’s conviction, the court wrote that “the trial had been based completely on racism and not on legal evidence.” Carter, who still carries the original writ in his breast pocket, repeatedly referred to habeas corpus as “the great writ” and said that without it he would have “languished and died behind bars.”
Carter also lashed out at the criminal justice system, saying that capital punishment had turned the system into “assembly lines of death,” and pointing to the large numbers of incarcerated minorities—blacks in the U.S., Muslims in France, and Aborigines in Australia—as evidence of its shortcomings.
Carter ended with a plea for his new group, Innocence International, which he said will expose abuses and wrongful convictions in justice systems across the world.
Carter was joined at the event by Courtney Kazembe and Kevin Wallen, both of whom work in Jamaican prisons to promote “restorative justice,” and Charles R. Nesson, the Weld professor of law and the co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Kazembe and Wallen first spoke of their work in rehabilitating Jamaican prison inmates, and how after six years in operation, their program, Students Expressing Truth, has kept every one of its participants from becoming repeat offenders. Kazembe, who addressed the crowd first, outlined the theoretical contours of their program and how “transformation” can be used to reduce redicivism and to give people a “reason to live.”
“Our program makes people ask, ‘Why am I getting the results I’m getting in my life?,’” Kazembe said. “It’s a powerful realization where you cause people to step outside of themselves [and] take and accept responsibility.”
Immediately after Kazembe, Wallen began to fill in the details, starting with an extended anecdote about his path to becoming a teacher and motivational speaker. He told of his first meeting with Carter and how the two were invited to visit a Jamaican prison after inmates attended one of their events.
“The prison that was designed to hold 600 inmates was holding 1,800,” Wallen said. “The prisoners were in 8.5 by 5.5 by 11 foot cells, and there were a minimum of four and a maximum of nine people in each one. The inmates were locked down in their cells at 3 p.m. each day and not released until 9 a.m. the next morning.”
Wallen also spoke of the rampant homophobia in Jamaican prisons, saying that the prisons have sections labeled “Boy’s Towns” where homosexuals are isolated from the other inmates.
“If someone calls you gay and you don’t deny it, you have to go to ‘Boy’s Town,’” Wallen said. “If a cup hits the floor and you drink from it again, you’re gay. It sounds stupid and it is, but [it’s] something they have to live with.”
Of his own prison sentence, Carter said, “I sat in that cell feasting on hatred for ten years.”
—Staff writer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani at fas.harvard.edu.
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE — Hurricane Coming
Published January 16th, 2006 General , Kevin Wallen , SET , jamaica , nessons evidence 0 Comments
Kevin Wallen, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Courtney Kazembe
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE in JAMAICA7:30 p.m. Thursday Evening
January 19, 2006
Ames Courtroom and on the Web
Harvard Law School
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USAAll Invited — Admission Free
Come to the Ames Courtroom if you can. If not, watch and participate in the event through the Net. Email friends and family. Tune them in, where ever they may be.
The link for the webcast is here.
Here’s an email one of our students wrote friends in the Yukon.
Hello All,
On Thursday, January 19, Kevin Wallen, Rueben “Hurricane” Carter and Courtney Kazembe will be speaking at Harvard Law School about a restorative justice initiative in the prisons in Jamaica. They are working with the government of Jamaica to create a program of restorative justice that addresses the problems that often arises when inmates are paroled. Where old enmities are unresolved, new violence often breaks out when the parolee gets home. The program seeks to constructively bring unresolved enmities to the surface and deal with them before parole. Kevin Wallen heads this project and Courtney Kazembe represents a very controversial inmate who is their test case. Kevin Wallen also works with inmates on a program of personal restoration and rehabilitation for inmates that has seen some remarkable success, even with individuals who will never be paroled. Much of this process started when “Hurricane” Carter visited Jamaica and asked to visit the prisons to speak to inmates.
The talk is being sponsored by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, which was founded by my evidence professor, Charles Nesson. Prof. Nesson wanted us to think about how we could use the Internet to communicate this message and involve people outside of the room at Harvard Law School where the talk will happen. Prof. Nesson was very enthusiastic about my idea of webcasting the talk to a group of you in the Yukon. I will have my laptop with a wireless Internet connection and will be able to take questions from you by IM to put to the panel.
The talk will be at 7:30 (EST)/4:30 (PST).
[snip]
Yours truly,
Kimberly Eldred
Thank you Kimberly.
Kevin says: nesson says:
Published January 11th, 2006 Jah Cure , Kevin Wallen , SET , jamaica 0 CommentsKevin: hay
nesson: hi
Kevin: tried callling rubin not home at the moment
nesson: ok
Kevin: will try him later
nesson: ok
Kevin: i have not heard from c&w about the machine
Kevin: or anything else for that matter
nesson: they certainly don’t seem very eager to help
Kevin: we don’t seem to be c&w top priority
Kevin: are you there
nesson: yes, thinking
nesson: you are right
nesson: what does it take for them to see us as a priority?
nesson: it has to be a story that has some media muscle
nesson: so far we haven’t done an event that will bring us to notice
Kevin: we should organize a conference that takes place in the prison
nesson: you’ve done the event, the radio transcript of jah cure. you could announce that you will use your Unchained program to play it out in serial, with commentary.
Kevin: that they would sponsor?????
nesson: and do a press conference to announce it, with rubin
nesson: get the attention first
Kevin: that could work
nesson: once you have the audience the sponsors come
Kevin: yes
Kevin: i agree
Kevin: we need to do something that has not been done
Kevin: dialogue between men and women behind bars would work
nesson: start playing rubin’s book in serial as well
Kevin: that sounds good
Kevin: however there will be a lot of beeps
nesson: yes, but bleeps are great
nesson: they make radio exciting and stimulate interest in hearing the original, which you have to offer
Kevin: ah
nesson: we could also start talking about specific post prison employment projects that we want to start up, like the landscape business, which we could get going with a pledgebank of prospective customers who say they would use the landscape/lawn service when SET sets it up
Kevin: that would definitely work
nesson: we could do the same thing with the plan to invite AFRIKA UNITED and employ SET in setting up the tour, which could be linked with the work you will be doing in partnership with Bert.
Kevin: yes
nesson: The pledgebank is an idea you can really use. You have access to a potentially huge radio audience twice a week. You can be the guy who is urging Jamaica to go broadband, extolling its virtues with demonstration of how it can help a grass roots inmate driven program like SET, and help a nation. Make yourself irresistible to C&W as a spokesperson for broadband, and if not to them then to one of their competitors.
Kevin: that sounds good
Kevin: if they see something that looks to have national appeal then perhaps they will get excited about it
nesson: Yes, and it would surely be a great thing for Jamaica if the island and its Diaspora connected with broadband. This could be the primary goal of the Diaspora effort Douglas Orane is chairing.
Kevin: i think however that if we get a conversation with the ministry of national security to meet with the men of set and have discussions on crime and violence that will have the kind of national and international appeal tha will gram the nations attention
nesson: you have the invitational power to call that meeting and put it on the air
Kevin: it was only yesterday we discussed it with the men at SET
nesson: gotta go
Kevin: cool
***
AFRIKA CHINA JAMAICA UNITED -biggest of the big, smallest of the small
Published December 21st, 2005 China , Kevin Wallen , SET , jamaica , rhetorical space 1 Comment
When visiting Beijing last summer in company of Ben Walker I met Liang Lu and learned the story of Bokee, and how Chinese blogspace, sparked by interest in a woman’s stories, exploded with exponential growth . I met a Chinese blogger and an interpreter who showed me passion.
I met Jeremy Goldkorn and, watched the documentary that he and his partner had made, telling the story of an amateur football team comprised of African men who had come to Beijing for work and found connection playing football, AFRIKA UNITED.
In Jamaica in October for our CyberStrategy conference, sitting in the conference room at Growth Facilitators, the company that put the conference together, talking with Norman, friend and chairman of Growth Facilitators advisory board, I pitched the cyberstrategy to him of inviting AFRIKA UNITED and a Chinese team from their league to come to Jamaica on a goodwill tour mixing, football, music and community development in venues around the island, with bloggers along, telling the stories of the trip and generating media for a global Chinese and Jamaican audience. Norman liked it. Here’s audio, NormanConquest.mp3.
Next I discussed the idea with Moneyede Martin of SSET, who expressed willingness to coordinate such a tour on the ground in Jamaica along with Kevin Wallen of Destiny Productions.
I met Ken Shaw at the South Camp Quiz Competition, who contributes equipment for the inmates at South Camp to play ball. He thought SSET could field a competitive team.
Then, in London, at Berkman’s Global Voices 2005 London Summit, I met Kevin, who founded Bokee, and Nart, who will host the domain of our JamaicaExpress group blog, and learned about PledgeBank as a means for raising funds for interesting ventures.
What are the pieces still needed to fall into place in order to make this idea for internet development come true? Can we set a budget, set a date, see if there are Jamaican and Chinese companies who might lend support?
Reading this made me cry
Published December 3rd, 2005 General , Kevin Wallen , SET , jamaica , trust 0 Comments
I sat in my office with a couple of friends talking about life and what it really means to us, and for a moment i wondered where my life was going. I did not question if what i was doing was the right thing because i made a decision a long time ago to do something with my life that would result in me sharing the blessings that i was given. as we sat here and talked i logged on to the jamaica Observer web site and typed my name in the search area only to see a series of articles which feature the work i’m currently invloved with in the prison. one of them struck me so much so that reading it brought tears to my eyes, and so i thought i would share. if there was even the slightest thought in my mind about giving up, this article erased that thought completely. the power of love, what an amazing thing. Charley i thank you for this medium, what a wonderful way to express one’s self. here is a copy of the letter
Dear Editor,
I’m glad that the Observer has finally recognised the need to highlight the positive men and women of our society. Too often our cover stories glorify those who are heartless criminals among us. My story is about a man who has been working single-handedly to change the situation of our penile institutions. Today, as crime spirals out of control, everyone feels that it is their duty to prescribe remedies. Some argue that the police need more ammunition and improved tactics; the youths need employment; government needs to sever ties with gunmen; and the private sector needs to report extortionists. However, no one is speaking about the situation of our prisons. None of us seem to recognise that at least 80 per cent of those in prison will be released and on the streets again. We fail to understand that many of the hardened criminals that now ply our streets were made that way by their prison experience. So while we make recommendations, the problems will continue to persist if we do not take a stand.
Thankfully, one man has. Kevin Wallen - an entrepreneur - has done, and continues to do, tremendous work within the prisons. With his small but effective group called Students Expressing Truth (SET), he has implemented a rehabilitation process that introduces its members to a wide variety of courses, especially in the area of Information Technology.
This group can be credited for Spelling Bee, quiz and debating competitions, which are all being marvellously executed in the prisons. In addition, the group has done a wonderful Information Technology Expo, which truly attests to the power of reform.
Interestingly, these stories barely make the paper, but the frivolous demands of prisoners command the front page.
Kevin has invested millions of his personal funds, persisted despite criticism (from colleagues of the same private sector that is now clamouring for change) and has spent thousands of hours of his personal time in motivating and speaking with these offenders. He has even done the “unthinkable” and has employed those who are released in his business. It is heart-warming to watch him make himself selflessly available to these men who demand his attention, especially after being released. He often digs deep into his pockets without any complaint, providing ex-criminals with the funds necessary to make a start, and makes the trip to pick them up when released, and drives them home in dignity. It is no wonder that none of his members are recidivists. In fact, this proves that rehabilitation works. If we do nothing to help those in prison acquire a skill or make improvements in their personal lives, what is the use of building more prisons? It will be a waste of the country’s resources if plans are not made to rehabilitate prisoners, as they are to improve police tactics and ammunition. Both go hand in hand.
Kevin is really an excellent example of what it means to take action when we are unhappy with the situation around us. It is not enough to simply sit (stand) in the uptown park of New Kingston, demanding change. Kevin has the foresight and the good sense that many of us lack. He has set an example and I salute him as a powerful Jamaican whose work will not go unnoticed.
Lecia Gordon
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