Merciful Justice

MERCIFULMERCIFUL JUSTICE JUSTICE Personal word for the English edition Retrospective We receive in order to pass on. Comments by Prison Fellowship and reflectionsInternational (PFI) colleagues around the world motivated Prison Fellowship The Netherlands (PFN) to present a translation of my book. on nearly 25This bookyears therefore of uses PFN instead of the Dutch name GevangenenzorgGevangenenzorg Nederland . It was difficult to translate the title. The Dutch title (‘Mens, waar zit je?) refers to God’s question to Adam in NederlandParadise. By using the word ‘zit’ the Dutch will understand with “a wink (Prisonand Fellowship a smile” the double meaning to ‘sit in prison’. I thank Ron Nikkel, PFI’s president emeritus, for editing the translation and his brilliant The Netherlands)suggestion to use what is most valuable to me - Merciful Justice. It took quite some years to formulate this handy statement. I hope PFI colleagues and others who read this will find some inspiration and suggestions for ‘visiting prisoners’. I also hope people will develop a greater awareness of the immense value of volunteer work as well of the importance of proper organisation. People, where are you? You will find it several time in this book. It refers to the Dutch title. I hope this book will stimulate you to begin or to continue serving prisoners and their families and in restoring justice. Hans Barendrecht February 2020 Hans Barendrecht and others God is the Almighty we may participate in His caring Laurens Barendrecht (1924 – 2008) Gevangenenzorg Nederland PO Box 5042 2701 GA Zoetermeer The Netherlands +31 (0)79-3310568 [email protected] www.gevangenenzorg.nl © 2020 Gevangenenzorg Nederland, Zoetermeer Cover photo: Anton Sinke Design: Anton Sinke, www.antonsinke.nl All rights reserved MERCIFUL JUSTICE Retrospective and reflections on nearly 25 years of Gevangenenzorg Nederland (Prison Fellowship The Netherlands). Hans Barendrecht and others Prison Fellowship The Netherlands Zoetermeer Table of Contents Foreword for the English edition Ronald Nikkel 6 Foreword Peter van der Sande 8 A Personal Word 10 1 Justice: Judge or Serve 13 2 The First Few Years 23 3 Justice and Politics 35 4 The Projects 51 5 The Proof That Volunteers are Invaluable 69 6 Inside the Organisation 75 7 The Final Word 89 Care, Meaning, Restoration: Volunteer Impact in a Judicial Setting Peter Nelissen 93 Commentaries and Responses An Introduction Joop de Goede 98 A Fair Trial Johan Bac 102 Life Sentence Willem Anker 105 Between Church and Dungeon Peter Baaijens 108 A New Year Peter van der Laan 111 To Judge Bram van de Beek 114 Taking Over Ine Voorham 117 A Blinkered Perspective Henk Abbink 120 Fuel Paul Baan 123 Gert Jan Connie 127 Calvinist John van Eck 130 Giving Back Arie Bax 133 Conscience Michiel van der Wolf 136 Church Punishment Dan Van Ness 139 Hands Willem den Hertog 143 Content Arie van den Hurk 147 Pardon Gert-Jan Segers 150 Justice Wouter Boogaard 153 Hot and Vengeful Kees van der Staaij 157 Heartbeat Willem 160 Solved Wies and Douwe van Urk 164 Longing Andries Knevel 168 Presence Alice Gaasbeek-Nentjes 171 In the Bud Ilse van der Hoven 174 Self-sufficient Marie-Anne de Groot 177 Royal Honour Obe Veldman 181 Facts and Figures 182 Foreword for the English edition Gevangenenzorg Nederland (Prison Fellowship The Nether- lands – PFN) is a name that says it all, but it also raises a question. Why in the world should anyone care about prisoners – especially in a country like the Netherlands where prisoners are treated decently and humanely? Un- like in many parts of the world they are not in prison because they are victims of injustice or extreme poverty or lack of educational opportunity. Why should anyone care – aren’t they just getting what they deserve!? Some years ago, I met with Ministry of Justice officials responsible for justice and prison administration in Costa Rica. The stone archway above the main entrance to the Ministry was inscribed “Ministerio de Justicia y Gracia” – Ministry of Justice and Grace. Could those words be true? I wondered, how could those two opposites exist in the same building? Which of the two is stronger – Justice or Grace? The reality, the truth I have discovered in more than 40 years work among prisoners around the world is that justice cannot be done with out grace, and grace apart from any sense of justice is meaningless. St. Thomas Aquinas observed that “justice without mercy is cruelty, and mercy without justice is the mother of dissol- ution.” Any society that expects justice to be accomplished simply through the punishment of offenders will have to face the reality of re-offending. Imprisonment alone will not change the values, attitudes and behaviours of people for good. Eventually, after having served their time in prison, offenders return to the community either better or worse for the experience. I have watched Prison Fellowship The Netherlands grow as an organization that recognizes the hearts and lives of those serving time in prison need to be touched by grace through human friendship, understanding, and care. They are fellow human beings with the same need for meaning and belonging and respect as any of us. When Hans Barendrecht, my esteemed colleague and friend left his career as a law- yer in the prestigious Court of Appeal to work in a small, struggling charity that cared 6 | merciful justice for prisoners, many people would have thought he was wasting his time and his life. But Hans saw something others didn’t see. He saw the possibility that people motivated by the love of God to show grace and mercy to prisoners could do more to change people for good than any court or prison in the land. Hans dared to serve Jesus by spending his time with those doing time in prison. It has been time well spent. While he is quick to deflect credit for the success and impact of Prison Fellowship The Netherlands, I know that when he started, Hans worked very much alone and often unsupported. What Prison Fellowship The Netherlands is today is a tribute to God’s faithfulness working through Hans’ vision and courage multiplied in co-workers, volunteers, supporters, and partners across the country. Back to the beginning …. – men and women are serving time in prison are real people – created by God with dignity and worth. They are in prison because our justice system found it necessary to place them in confinement as punishment for their offences. However, apart from caring people who graciously befriend, encourage, counsel, and spend time with them justice would not fully be accomplished. While the justice systems of society necessarily exclude people for their offences, God’s grace inevitably embraces every one of them, no matter what they have done – with the merciful possibility of re- demption and restoration. As the late Abraham Kuyper (former Prime Minister of the Netherlands) stated, “there is not one square inch of all Creation over which the Lord does not say ‘Mine’.” Wherever Justice and Mercy meet – God is present, and this is the inspiring story of Prison Fellowship The Netherlands. Ronald Nikkel, President Emeritus Prison Fellowship International foreword for the english edition | 7 Foreword It gives me great pleasure to introduce this book reflecting the 25 years of Prison Fellowship The Netherlands. It is an impressive de- scription of how a voluntary organization worked to attain its widely respected position within the world of the Dutch prison system. Based on my long-standing experience, both at home and abroad, I know how difficult it is to make people in our society aware of their responsibility in contributing to a safe society; a society we all like to live in. The realisation is that prisoners are our fellow citizens and, even though they have committed crimes, they retain the right to live acceptably within society and their community after having served time in prison. It requires the help of many people to make this possible, and our help as a society is indispensable. When I was appointed President of the ICPA (International Corrections and Prisons Association) in Singapore, I witnessed the beginning of a major initiative to involve society in the rehabilitation of former inmates. The project was called ‘Unlocking the Second Prison’. When society avoids them, released inmates often find themselves in a different kind of prison - including all the adverse effects ensuing from imprisonment. If we want to give inmates a second chance instead of a Second Prison, it is of paramount importance that society play an active role. Twenty-five years ago, PF The Netherlands recognized that, as part of society, they could play an important part in this reintegration process. During the past years, I came to greatly appreciate and admire the professionalism of their volunteers in carrying out their activities. I believe that the foundation for their professionalism lies in the careful selection and recruitment process of those volunteers before being allowed to do their work; and this is by no means easy or straightforward. The recruitment method is very similar to the way new prison staff are selected, and this is a comforting thought. Many years ago, I spoke with a highly educated former inmate, and asked him to advise me on a new detention programme that we (as the Justice Department) wanted to implement in our prison system. He was happy to respond, but warned me that inmates are greatly suspicious and mistrustful of anything offered to them by the Justice department. 8 | merciful justice His statement confirmed the essential need for people from society to make the connection between the Justice department and prison inmates; people who are ca- pable of building bridges between them.

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