Gupshup Goes to Prison by Arefa Tehsin

“Khalid’s cat Gupshup has run away to the grounds of a prison.

An open prison, it is called, but everyone knows that prisons are full of horrible people. Or are they? How on earth will Khalid get Gupshup home?” Usually, a prison is a place where criminals are locked up. This story is about an open prison where prisoners are not locked but free to move in and out.

The Pallekelle Open Prison Camp in Sri Lanka is one such open prison. It prepares prisoners for day-to-day existence in the community.

Over the years it has grown into a sprawling rural village, where there are no boundary walls or cells. Residents work and participate in leisure time activities. Many cultivate private plots of land and sell their produce.