Big congratulations to FECSKE!
Out of 275 applicants, the Support Network for Detainees and their Families was selected as the one of the 15 best and most innovative nominees and have won a jury prize of €2,000 at SozialMarie – Prize for Social Innovation yesterday.
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Váltás magyarra
We are grateful for the supportive presence and active participation of FECSKE’s diverse membership: formerly detained people, their family members, family members of currently detained people, NGOs, charities and prison experts working for a better, fair prison system in Hungary.
We are touched by the honour and recognition of receiving this prize. We strongly believe in a humane prison system where family contact is regarded as a right, not a privilege. Being awarded SozialMarie – Prize for Social Innovation besides all the other wonderful and innovative social projects provides us with invaluable feedback: our dedication to create a fair prison system does not only seem important to us but it is objectively important. This recognition will further energise us in continuing on our journey towards our goals. Thank you again for the honour, we could not be prouder to receive such an award!
We are committed to building our diverse community further! Family keeps track of their detained loved ones interests and rights. As family connections provide vital emotional and material support to detainees with rebuilding their lives upon release:
- We will carry on fighting for a decrease in telephone charges using the law and the power of the public.
- We will demand a new visitation system where family members can meet in circumstances resembling home.
- We will continue to speak out against all unnecessary and disproportionate restrictions on detainees’ family contact. If needed, we will initiate legal proceedings.
- We will continue our campaign titled “We are here for you!” in which family members of detainees speak about their experience, to show the wider public that operating a restrictive and non-transparent prison system punishes detainees’ families and puts a huge burden on them. Instead, supporting family life is not only a fundamental right of detainees and their family members but also the only sensible way of preparing for starting fresh before release.
Watch family members’ testimonies with English subtitles here!
Read FECSKEs research on detainees’ contact with the outside world!
Read more on the difficulty of detainees’ family contact in Hungary here!