Micaela Suárez is 29 years old and was deprived of liberty for four years; In confinement she studied and joined the foundation's rugby team; With educational and employment plans, recidivism can drop from the current 41% to 5%

August 5th, 2023

Ana Paula Quiroga
THE NATION

The first day out of jail was difficult for Micaela Suárez. Reuniting with her four children, her sister Daniela and her nephews was a moment that she dreamed of every day during the four years that she spent deprived of her freedom. However, she felt prepared: “What I learned in confinement gave me the push I needed to change and be able to move forward now that I am free,” she says.

Micaela is 29 years old and on July 13 she regained her freedom. In 2019, she had left her house in San Fernando to buy a juice when the Police stopped her: “She had a drug problem and they found me with drugs. Since I already had a record for minor crimes that I committed when I was a girl, I ended up in prison. I always say that my life before prison was not life,” she shares in dialogue with LA NACIÓN and reaffirms her change: “I am no longer that person. “I am now prepared to rule out any offer that could harm my family or me.”

Inside pavilion 3 of Penal Unit No. 47 of San Martín, Micaela became vice-captain of the Espartanas, the women's rugby team created by the Espartanos Foundation, an organization that seeks to transform the lives of people deprived of their liberty and prepare them for a effective social and labor integration. They do this through the practice of rugby, spirituality, education and connection with the world of work.

Now, Micaela is preparing for a great challenge, which in turn is her ultimate dream: getting her first formal job, something she never had. “The truth is that the type of job she gets is not the most important thing. I just want to have the opportunity to start working and be able to take good care of my family,” she admits and acknowledges that what she likes most is cooking. The Spartan Foundation is in charge of mediating between it and potential employers who apply.

The stage that Micaela is currently experiencing is fundamental for her to achieve that change for which she worked during the four years she was deprived of her freedom: in prison she finished primary school and took courses in coaching, writing, introduction to work, manicure and sewing, among others. His desire to change and the possibilities that Espartanos brought him were key to avoiding what generally happens in prisons, where nearly 80% of the almost 101 thousand people deprived of their liberty do not receive any type of job training, according to the latest data. of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Nation.

While preparing for that first job, Micaela applied for a three-month scholarship from Espartanos so that she can continue training the skills necessary to reintegrate socially and professionally. She is going to do internships in companies with the idea of ​​preparing her for the formal employment she aspires to. For her, it will be the first contact of her life with the business world. “In these years I was able to change my mentality. I'm sorry for what I did, but I think I went to jail for something. Thanks to what happened to me, today I am who I am,” she adds.

Before these years of confinement, she had never had contact with any sport. “In my previous life I was far from being an example for my children. I was lost in addictions, I was very young, I was practically alone and I wanted money. Now I look for help in another way,” she explains. When the foundation arrived at her ward, Micaela fell in love with “the values” she learned and “the adrenaline she felt” when she played rugby. “With sport I completely remade myself, rugby gave me another point of view.”

Like many people who were deprived of their freedom, Micaela left with absolutely nothing except a place to live: her children, who are between 5 and 13 years old, and her sister were waiting to receive her in the house that belonged to her parents, who They died.

When leaving prison, it is not only the past that makes the process difficult, but there are also many obstacles ahead: “The first part is very complicated, that is when the real game begins. Mica is very convinced that she can get ahead,” says Dolores Irigoin, executive director of the Foundation. Dolores does not forget the day she met Micaela, three years ago. “Her teammates were afraid to play, but Mica calmed them down,” she says and remembers hearing her tell them: “Girls, you're wrong, rugby doesn't hurt you, it heals all your wounds.”

In Argentina, of the 20.000 prisoners who are released each year, it is estimated that about half, between 7000 and 9000, commit crimes again, despite the fact that the State invests approximately $10.000 a year in each of them. . That is to say, recidivism is around 40%. The data comes from the report Recidivism in Argentina, an exhaustive x-ray of the problem that the Center for Latin American Studies on Insecurity and Violence, of the National University Tres de Febrero.

This work seeks to shed light on how, despite the worrying number of repeat offenders and the “very onerous system of punishment,” the State “disregards” people who, having served their sentence, regain their freedom, doing “very little.” to prevent them from returning to prisons.

In this context, organizations such as Fundación Espartanos emerged as projects to promote socio-labor inclusion among people who regain their freedom. Among the 356 former prisoners who obtained job opportunities through the organization, only 5% reoffended.

Three weeks ago, Micaela became an “expartan,” that is, a Spartan who was released. “I never imagined that I would be an example for anyone, but there I was, with girls who trusted me to guide them.” Until the last day, she, along with Sofía, the team captain, motivated her teammates.

Florencia Sequeira, coordinator of Red Creer, an initiative that since 2018 has been working for the socioeconomic inclusion of people deprived of liberty or already free, says that this type of support provided by the Espartanos Foundation: “It is very important for the people who went through prison do not repeat the crime.” “The fact of having gone through confinement makes the person carry that past forever, even though they have served their sentence and socio-labor opportunities are reduced almost to zero,” she continues.

“My children didn't understand much when I left. They knew that their mother had done bad things and now I know that too,” says Micaela. Narela, her eldest daughter, is the one who worried the most about her while she was away. “She is very protective. What I want most is to be a better person, not because of what others will say but for them,” she says and continues: “I want my children to study, to see them grow, to be with them and to be proud to say that I could. It is a whole process to say yes to good things.”

MORE INFORMATION

Fundación Espartanos is a non-profit organization that seeks to lower the rate of criminal recidivism through rugby, education, work and spirituality. If you are interested in helping, you can do so through donations, as a volunteer or, if you belong to a company, write to institutional@fundacionespartanos.org to find out how you can collaborate.

Ana Paula Quiroga