The Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (ESMAT) reinforced its commitment to re-socialization through education by delivering 800 books collected during the second semester campaign of this year. Librarian Silvânia Olortegui conducted the symbolic handover on Thursday (November 24th) to the Unit of Regional Penal Treatment of Barra da Grota (UTPBG) in the District of Araguaína.
This action highlights the commitment of Esmat in helping to build a more inclusive future, regardless of the background of each individual. The books were obtained through the collaboration of magistrates and civil servers from the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins and the academic community.
The books will be used in the "Remission through Reading" project, which promotes socio-educational activities by encouraging discipline and awareness through reading and writing reviews, demonstrating the understanding of the content of the inmates.
The UTPBG currently has 515 inmates, and the remission through reading project involves 98 inmates. The Director of the Unit, Paulo de Sousa Freitas, expressed his gratitude for the donations and emphasized the transformative impact of the project on the lives of the inmates.
"This partnership with Esmat and the Court of Justice is very important to us. We at the unit are the ones who win, and especially the inmates, with socialization through reading, which we believe is a tool for transforming the lives of those who are part of the prison system of the State of Tocantins," said Paulo.
Some relevant data about the UTPBG was shared by the Director and the project team. With 52 inmates in the literacy phase and 71 registered in the Sonho de Liberdade (Liberty Dream) State School - which is responsible for teaching inmates - Leticia Guimarães Santos, a penal enforcement Analyst and one of the Pedagogues responsible for the Remission of Sentence for the Reading Project, emphasized the importance of reading and education for inmates, pointing out that "the most dangerous inmates are those who have never set foot on a school floor. You can see how education can bring about change, can't you?".
Walter Viana, a Teacher and Director of the Sonho de Liberdade (Liberty Dream) State School, emphasized the importance of education in prisons, saying that "reading books is fundamental for people to open up their consciousness, raise their awareness and also learn. Reading is fundamental for people to enter the world of imagination".
Later, some of the books collected will be distributed by the UTPBG team and sent to the Provisional Prison House of the District of Araguaína, consolidating the commitment of Esmat and the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins to access to education as an agent of positive transformation in the prison system.
The school Librarian, Silvânia, explained that, although the campaign is over, new donations can be delivered to the school library to contribute to future actions.
About Sentence Remission
Sentence remission for reading complies with the recommendation of the National Council of Justice (CNJ) in favor of convicts in a closed or semi-open regime. This practice allows for the remission of four days of sentence for each literary work read, with a limit of 12 works per year, totaling a maximum of 48 days of remission for reading every 12 months.
