A group of inmates from the Torres Novas Prison, who usually work on a program dedicated to the integration of prisoners at the end of their sentences into society, in the Works Division of the Municipality of Almeirim, built in the last two weeks a Mural of Freedom, with which the Municipality marks the 50th anniversary of April 25th.
The construction took place at Escola EB2/3 Salgueiro Maia, in Fazendas de Almeirim and was inaugurated on the morning of this Wednesday, April 24th, in what is intended to be a “heartfelt tribute to those who gave us back our freedom in one of the most emblematic places of change regime… the school”, as stated by the Mayor of Almeirim, Pedro Ribeiro.
On his Facebook page, Filipe Torres, engineer in the Works Division of the Municipality of Almeirim, reports his surprise at the performance of the inmates who built this and other works in the municipality of Almeirim, considering that this program was “one of the best surprises since that I am here”, highlighting that the inmates who are part of the municipality’s operational teams “are an essential force in the teams.”
“Some worked in construction, others show a desire to learn, and, with rare exceptions, everyone is grateful for being treated with respect and in a certain way feeling useful”, highlights the municipality official.
Filipe Torres points to the Mural of Freedom, inaugurated this Wednesday “as an example” of the work carried out by inmates.
“Its location was decided less than two weeks before the opening. The task was difficult and responsible, but we took it on. In just over a week and a half, a team made up practically entirely of inmates built the wall, plastered it, laid the tiles and painted it.”, he highlights, adding that “everything was ready and covered yesterday, so that today the magnificent work of students from the Farms group.”
The person responsible for the Works Division of the Municipality of Almeirim also tells a curious story, “It happened, luckily, that this mural for Freedom was the last work that Mr. Manuel, or as I call him, Ronaldo dos Ladrilhos, did with us. It took just over a year, but it left its mark in several places across the county. He left today in Liberdade, back to Elvas.”
“I don’t know what he did to spend 14 years in prison, I never ask, but I know that the man I met had a place on our teams”, he says, concluding.
