[pensive music playing]
[Raphael Rowe] Bangli Narkotika Prison. Bali, Indonesia.
[in Bahasa] Morning, morning, morning awesome!
[Rowe in English] The authorities here claim they are reforming drug offenders…
[in Bahasa] No drugs, yes achievement!
[bell tolling]
…with a new and compulsory rehab program.
If you don't follow all the rules here, they have consequences.
[inmate in Bahasa] My feeling today
is that I am still blessed abundantly by this prison.
[Rowe in English] But in a country where drug offenders
are heavily stigmatized…
Your government has the death penalty for drug trafficking.
Yeah. I know, I know.
[Rowe] When you were using drugs, were you a bad person?
Yes, I'm a bad person.
[Rowe] …can these prisoners ever be truly redeemed
in the eyes of society?
I'm going to spend a week locked up here to find out.
[hip-hop music playing]
But it's not my first time behind bars.
My name is Raphael Rowe.
I was convicted in the UK of a murder I didn't commit
and sentenced to life with no parole.
It took me 12 long years to clear my name.
Now, I'm traveling the globe
-to discover what life is like… -[barks]
…inside the world's toughest prisons.
[lock clicks]
[pensive music playing]
Bali in Indonesia.
Holidaymakers flock here from all over the world,
but behind the party island image,
ordinary Indonesians live in a very different world.
A largely conservative society
with a huge social stigma around drugs.
[pensive music playing]
[in Bahasa] We should compare the 15,000 of our youth who die from drugs
to how many drug dealers die every year.
We must once again declare a big war on drugs.
[Rowe in English] President Joko Widodo's controversial hard-line approach
means the death penalty for drug traffickers
and huge sentences for users.
Indonesia has some of the strictest drug laws in the world,
and as a result, many people get sent to prison.
Being caught with just a small quantity of weed
can get you sent to prison for many years.
And yet people are still prepared to take the risk.
[yelling in Bahasa]
[Rowe] As a result, Indonesia's prisons
are seriously overcrowded with drug offenders.
So the government has come up
with a radical approach to drug rehabilitation.
[tense music playing]
I'm now on my way to Lapas Narkotika Bangli Prison
in the eastern part of Bali.
It's a prison that holds only drug offenders.
I'm told that the rehabilitation program
is about reprogramming the minds of the prisoners.
Whether it works or not, I'll find out.
[Rowe] Bangli Narkotika Prison aims to cure drug addicts
and reformed drug dealers,
and I've heard their methods
are unlike anything we're used to in Western prisons.
This is probably one of the first times that they've allowed a foreigner like me
to get inside an Indonesian prison
because the government is very secretive
about how they treat Indonesian prisoners.
[dramatic music plays]
[pensive music playing]
Come on.
[guard 1] Sit.
-Raphael Rowe? -Yep.
[Rowe] I'm met by the head warden of the prison and his deputy.
Just follow what is the rule here.
As long as you're good,
I will give you a guarantee everything is okay.
What happens if a prisoner doesn't follow the rules?
[deputy] You must do it.
If you don't follow all the rules here, there are consequences.
[guard 2 in Bahasa] You will go through a thorough body check.
[in English] Stand up.
Take off your clothes and squat, please. Squat.
[in Bahasa] Next, you may pee into this container
for us to do the test.
[urinating]
[Rowe in English] You're testing my pee. What are you looking for?
[guard 3] Uh, weed, shabu-shabu, or ecstasy.
-[Rowe in English] And what is shabu? -[guard 3 in Bahasa] It's crystal meth.
[Rowe in English] Shabu-shabu is crystal meth.
Yes.
Is that one of the most popular drugs used?
Yes.
[tense music playing]
[Rowe] Prisoners at Bangli are held in four large cell blocks.
There's an exercise yard in the center,
flanked by spaces for prisoners to pray
and the prison's farm.
It was designed for 468 inmates,
but with so many drug offenders getting locked up,
it now holds over 1,000.
But for such an overcrowded prison,
it's extremely quiet.
[bird chirps]
-Hey. I'm Daus. -Hello. Daus. I'm Raphael.
Raphael, nice to meet you.
[Rowe] Daus is 38,
and he's been in prison for nearly six years.
-[Rowe] Yeah, okay. -You're gonna be in my, uh… in my cell.
-Okay, Daus. After you then. -[Daus] Yeah.
This is the C block.
[Rowe] Is that what it's called? Wisma Citra?
Yes. "C" is for Citra.
[in Bahasa] This is the new guy who is going to stay with us.
[in English] Hello.
Here's one space for you over here.
Right next to Rio.
-Aming. -Fito.
-David.
-Raphael. -Yeah.
-[inmates] Raphael. -[Rowe] Okay.
[Daus] Most of us are "tamping."
So we are workers here.
What's tamping? That means working?
[Daus] Yes, everybody here inside this room is a worker.
What we do as a tamping is to keep everything clean.
So, give me a little tour of this cell. What's in the corner over there?
-[Daus] Bathroom's over there. -[Rowe] So, you have some privacy.
[Daus] Yes, with the curtain.
[Rowe] Okay.
-There's 20 of us in this cell. -[Daus] Yes.
[Rowe] I can't imagine what it'd be like in here with 20 of us
at night, you know, all very close. But I'm not used to that.
[Daus] We arrange everything.
So you have a rotor of who does what. And everybody knows their responsibility.
Yes. So I will put you on the list as well.
Okay, so I will have my chores to do. You're smiling. You like the idea.
-[inmate 1] Yeah, I like it. -[Rowe] He likes the idea.
[Rowe] So do you want to take me outside and--
-Yes, I'll show you a bit about our block. -Okay.
[hip-hop music playing]
[Rowe] The prison is incredibly ordered and clean.
And the inmates appear passive and well-behaved.
So I'm already getting the impression this is a prison
where the authorities have complete control.
How would you describe this prison to a new prisoner like me?
-Uh-- -[Rowe] Honestly.
Yes. Actually, in this prison,
the main point is to follow the rule.
If you follow what the rule says,
then everything's gonna be easy for you, you know?
Uh--
-And is that because the consequences? -Yes, because the consequences.
The isolation cell is…
We are afraid of the isolation cell.
Have you done time in the isolation cell?
-[Daus] No, fortunately not. -You are good?
No, I will not. I don't want to have that experience.
[Rowe] No?
How long is your sentence?
My sentence is for 12 years for possession, essentially.
-Possession? -[Daus] Yes.
[Rowe] What's your drug of choice?
Uh, I used meth before, and ecstasy.
And how many grams did you have?
It's 13 or 14 packets I had.
[Rowe] People who are caught with drugs,
even if they're not proven dealers or traffickers,
can be jailed for up to 12 years.
-[Daus] This is my first offense. -And you got 12 years?
[Daus] I got 12 years.
That… That feels harsh to me.
I mean, in comparison to other countries where you have to be in possession
of kilos and kilos of cocaine to get that length of sentence.
That is… That is a very long sentence.
Right.
How… How have you coped in that time?
At first, it's a little bit hard, you know, with this sentence.
The first stage, denial,
and the second stage probably blaming someone, you know?
Try to blame someone,
and already in the third stage, then you start to accept.
Daus, he recognizes the wrong he did.
For me, 12 years seems harsh for being in possession of some meth,
and now he's just focused on getting to the end of his sentence
and getting out.
I'd heard that all the prisons here were overcrowded.
As I entered the prison, I was expecting
an avalanche of prisoners all over the place,
but it has an unbelievable calmness about it,
which is quite strange.
Maybe these guys feel threatened by the prison.
Um, I don't know.
There's still a long way to go, and I'm still finding out.
[dramatic sting]
[indistinct chatter]
[guard in Bahasa] You are all so slow.
[yells in Bahasa]
[Rowe in English] As I've just discovered,
drug rehab at Bangli Narkotika starts at 8:00 am sharp.
I'm lining up on the exercise yard
with 100 users, addicts, and dealers
who've been selected for the rehab program.
I'm told that this is all part of their drug rehabilitation program.
Every morning they come out here, and they do what I'm about to do,
and I have no idea what that is.
[guard in Bahasa] Parade, attention!
Prisoners Catur Dharma!
We, prisoners, promise to be virtuous people with Pancasila.
[Rowe in English] The inmates are pledging allegiance to Pancasila,
the founding philosophy of modern Indonesia.
[inmates in Bahasa] We, prisoners,
realize and fully regret
the actions we have done.
[Rowe in English] It promotes patriotism
and citizens working for the greater good of society.
[inmates in Bahasa] May Almighty God bless our dharma. Amen.
[guard] Parade, attention!
[inmates] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
[Rowe in English] After some vigorous calisthenics,
the head warden, Agus Pritiatno, steps in to address his prisoners.
[in Bahasa] Okay, get ready, yes! Morning spirit!
Morning awesome!
[Agus] How are you?
[inmates] Good, healthy, awesome!
Stay healthy.
No drugs, yes achievement!
[all clapping]
[Agus] So, I say thank you.
[guard] Over. Please return to your rooms.
[Rowe in English] How are you doing? Do you speak English?
-Yeah, but just a little bit. -[Rowe] Just a little bit.
What… What was all this about then? Should I… You have to go?
Yeah, I have to go.
[Rowe] The prisoner I'm trying to chat to
is being marched straight back to his cell,
and I'm not permitted to go with him.
But the head warden seems keen to talk.
-Good. How you doing? Good? -[speaks Bahasa]
So, all of the guys that were doing the exercise and chanting this morning…
-Yeah. -[Rowe] What were they chanting?
[Agus in Bahasa] The pledge includes five different promises.
It must be obeyed.
Comply, obey, and promise not to do anything wrong
while they’re going through the correctional program.
We, as prisoners,
understand this promise and that we will not do it again.
-[in English] And then-- -What's your name?
-Bona. Just call me Bona. -Bona.
Okay, Bona. So you're a prisoner.
You've been through the program, and now you're running the program.
[Bona] Yeah.
Is that a privilege or is that something you've been told to do?
[in Bahasa] He was a user.
After following rehab activities, he got so much better.
I chose him to become a peer educator through a decree.
[in English] Is it compulsory? Do they have to do this?
[in Bahasa] Yes, that is one of the goals.
It is important to rebuild their health first.
A strong mind in a healthy body.
[in English] What if when somebody's going through the program,
and then you do something wrong?
For example, if you go and punch anybody, then you have to go out of the program.
[Rowe] And you start again?
You have to go to the isolation first, and then you start again to rehab.
[in Bahasa] If someone goes into isolation,
they get scared and don't want to do it again.
[Rowe in English] The threat of the isolation block
seems key to maintaining discipline here.
[bell tolling]
And the prison runs like clockwork.
With all prisoners back in their cells at 12:45 on the dot.
[guard in Bahasa] Good afternoon, everyone!
-[inmates] Good afternoon. -[guard] We’re starting the count.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
[in English] He's doing a headcount. At least from what I can see.
[indistinct chatter]
[Rowe] Daus and the rest of my cellmates have prison jobs,
so they spend most of their day outside.
But if you don't work, life is a lot tougher.
The other guys, only during the open times they go out.
[Rowe] So they… That's 21 hours they're locked up?
[Daus] Uh, on certain days, but two days a week, they have five hours.
[Rowe] Right.
It's a long… It's a long day, 21 hours out of 24.
That's a long time to be banged up in a… in a space like this, isn't it?
[acoustic guitar playing]
[rooster crows]
This is the reality.
Twenty men to each cell.
Maybe a few more in others.
One thing I notice is that the prisoners are so compliant.
It could be a cultural thing. It could be a discipline thing.
It could be a control thing. I don't know. But there is this kind of,
when the guard steps out, they comply to anything.
[Rowe] Everything the inmates do here is monitored closely by the authorities,
but if you're a prisoner selected for drug rehab,
your life is even more regimented.
So I'm being told that there is a rehab guy coming to take me to go…
-[in Bahasa] Hello. Welcome. -[Rowe in English] Hello. Yes.
[in Bahasa] The rehabilitation activities have started.
We will go to class for educational rehabilitation.
[in English] Okay.
[indistinct chanting]
That's what prison is.
You lose control of your own ability to decide,
and right now, I've lost all the ability to decide.
[Rowe] The compulsory drug rehab includes group sessions
with a more psychological focus.
On the way in, I spot Ruli,
the guy I tried to talk to at the morning exercise.
So where have you been for the last few hours then?
-[Ruli] Nowhere. Just in the room. -So you've been in the cell?
So from the exercise this morning, you went straight back to the cell?
-[Ruli] Yeah. -And now you're coming here.
[Ruli] We have only three hours for this.
Ah.
[dog barks]
[Bona in Bahasa] Let’s make a circle! Make a circle!
-[in English] So, what's your name? -Raphael.
Raphael, nice to meet you. I'm Ruli.
[Rowe] Ruli.
[Rowe] Ruli is 25. He's from Western Indonesia.
And he's four weeks into the six-month rehab program.
-[in Bahasa] Okay, guys. Good morning! -[inmates] Morning!
[in English] This one, just follow.
[man in Bahasa] I'm here.
[inmates] I'm here.
[man] I won't be able to recognize myself.
[inmates] I won't be able to recognize myself.
-[man] It will be clear eventually. -[inmates] It will be clear eventually.
For myself and others.
[inmates] For myself and others.
[Bona] Okay, applause for us!
[all clapping]
Next, we will share our feelings.
Okay. Can one of you…
My name is Abraham Baron Gunawan.
[inmates] Hi, Baron.
[Baron] My feeling today
is that I am still blessed abundantly by this prison.
-Amen. -[inmates] Amen.
Amen. Thank you.
Thank you, Baron.
[all clapping]
[Bona] Let’s go again. Who’s next?
[in English] You’re afraid to share feelings?
[inmates speak Bahasa]
[in Bahasa] So I feel pretty happy.
-[in English] Do you share? -Yeah.
But only three to five people share feelings per day.
[in Bahasa] I hope all of you are given good health now and in the future.
Thank you.
[inmates] Thank you.
[all clapping]
[Bona] Okay, friends. Who else wants to share their feelings?
[in English] One more person.
Okay. My name is Raphael.
[inmates] Hi, Raphael.
Thank you for allowing me to come and share your space.
[inmates] Okay. Thank you.
Prison is in a building. It's not in your mind.
I know I wish you well in beating your drug habit
and getting your life back when you get out.
[inmates] Amen.
[all clapping]
[Ruli] Nice job.
[Bona] Thank you, Raph. Thank you for your shared feelings today.
Just like all these other guys,
I was told I had to come to the rehabilitation program,
and they don't have a choice, so they have to be here.
The interesting thing is they look engaged.
Maybe this is all part of the assessment.
Maybe they're being observed to see how engaged they are.
[inmate in Bahasa] We must empower our minds.
[Rowe in English] Having their choice taken away
is kind of questionable, you know.
Should they be able to choose
whether they want to decide not to take drugs?
It's open for debate, isn't it?
[in Bahasa] Amen.
[inmates clapping]
[Rowe in English] It seems the doctrine is for every prisoner to renounce drug use
as totally immoral and unacceptable.
This picture behind you has caught my eye.
Explain to me what this picture is.
[Rowe] I want to find out more about the philosophy behind the program
from Bona, the meth addict turned peer educator,
who I met with the prison warden.
[Bona] We can choose.
Do we want to be a good guy, or do we want to be a bad guy?
It's a measure between good and evil, isn't it?
Alcohol in this country is not illegal, right?
-[Bona] Not illegal. -Right.
Women, it's not illegal because, without women, we wouldn't be here, right?
So, um, money can sometimes indicate success.
[Bona] We need money, but…
[in Bahasa] …if you have excessive money…
[in English] …if you use the girls, night girls, it's extreme.
[Rowe] What'd you mean night girls? Prostitutes?
Yes, prostitutes.
You think… For someone like me, who's a Westerner, an outsider, right?
I get the feeling this is more about the moral values.
[Bona] In the East, uh…
[in Bahasa] …in this place,
if you do anything to excess, it’s bad.
-[in English] And was you a bad person? -Yes, I'm a bad person.
Because after I'm going to this prison,
after three years, my father didn't talk to me.
After that, he passed away.
And then I felt… I felt guilty.
I feel so guilty in here.
So that's why I feel, uh, that because of drugs, I'm in here.
[tender music playing]
[Bona in Bahasa] This program is to rehabilitate us
so we can function in society.
Because I guarantee that when we use drugs,
we tend to be individualistic.
[indistinct chatter]
[Rowe in English] Bona's passion for the program
is right in line with what I've heard about the social stigma
around drugs in Indonesian society.
It's impossible to know if all the prisoners
truly share Bona's belief,
but Ruli did look genuinely engaged in the session.
-[Rowe] Do you need the rehab program? -[Ruli] Yeah.
-You do? -[Ruli] Yeah, I do. So far.
But you have to do it, right?
I mean, it's not like you put your hand up and said,
"I want to go into the rehabilitation program."
[Ruli in Bahasa] Well, it is compulsory,
but there’s a part of me
that wants to do it voluntarily
because I have an intention to change.
That’s why…
I’m excited to be part of the rehab. Yeah.
[Rowe in English] And why are you in prison?
I used, uh, marijuana.
Just for consume.
-Really? -Yeah.
How much?
Only 15 grams.
-Fifteen grams? -Yeah.
How long have you been sent to prison for?
-Eight. Eight years. -Eight years?
-Just for smoking weed. -Just for smoking. Yeah.
Which is legal in America and many other places.
Yeah.
Yeah, eight years.
Because the police catch my scale
and the police say I am a dealer for that.
What did you use it for?
Uh, I work in a coffee shop,
and that is my full experience to make coffee every day.
How do you feel about that?
I was surprised about that.
Because I already have a family and now,
my wife divorced me about this case.
-Because you ended up coming to prison? -[Ruli] Yeah. Yeah.
It makes it hard to stay here because my daughter always asks me,
"Daddy, where are you? When are you back home?"
-She doesn't know you're here? -No. I say I'm working.
When… When are you gonna tell her the truth?
[in Bahasa] I don’t have the courage to tell her. I don’t have it.
-[in English] I'm too scared. -What are you scared of?
I think the habit.
[in Bahasa] I think the society in my hometown, because in my opinion,
if you’ve been to prison, it’s a bad thing, you know?
[in English] If you… To be a prisoner is a "bad" thing.
Right, okay. It's more of a cultural stigma.
Yeah, stigma. Yeah, stigma. I am scared.
My daughter.
[Rowe] I don't know whether Ruli was dealing or just using drugs,
but he's certainly paying a heavy price.
[Rowe] In society, you are deemed to be weak
and evil if you consume drugs.
So individuals like Ruli,
it's as if they almost accept their fate
because society is deemed them to be bad guys.
Compulsory drug rehabilitation is tough,
don't underestimate that,
but that's what prison is supposed to be about.
It's supposed to be about rehabilitation.
How you achieve that differs in different prisons.
And this prison has its own way.
[pensive music playing]
[dramatic swell]
[tense music playing]
[bell ringing]
[Rowe] Tamping workers like my cellmates
start their shift at 8:00 am.
-We gotta clean the area now. -Around here?
[Rowe] Daus looks after the communal area outside the cell blocks.
[Rowe] So you do it when? In the morning and--
In the morning and the afternoon, before they close the block.
[Rowe] Yeah.
-We make sure everything is proper. -[Rowe] Right. Okay.
Do you get paid for doing this work?
No, it helps me to have my parole.
[Rowe] Right. Right. So there is a benefit.
It's not just a job to get you out of your cell.
Have you known anyone to have it taken away as a punishment?
[Daus] Yes, yes, of course.
Sometimes they make physical contact, like fighting,
and if they’re tamping, they will lose their job.
[Rowe] Everybody tells me how scared they are to go to isolation,
but that's one of the weapons they have to keep you under control.
You know, if you don't behave, if you don't do what you're told.
Yeah. Like reward and punishment.
[Rowe] I'm just curious to know whether, outside of the rules,
there are other ways of keeping you under control.
Stopping you to speak freely.
Are you scared of criticizing this prison?
-[Daus] Like what, for example? -[Rowe] I don't know.
It might be that you sort of say, you know, keeping me locked up
and everybody else locked up 21 hours a day is… is cruel.
I already realized that this is what it is here, so…
For me, I'm only concentrating now on how to get my parole.
[pensive music playing]
[Rowe] Only about one in every six prisoners here
have tamping jobs.
It's easy to understand why you'd knuckle down
and accept the tamping regime.
It's a key stepping stone to getting early parole.
Tamping prisoners can work producing food on the prison farm,
in the kitchen, or pursue more creative activities.
[Daus] So, this is the workshop.
[Rowe] What kind of workshop is it?
[Daus] Well, this box is very useful in Bali to carry offerings.
[Rowe] Keben are traditional Balinese boxes.
[Rowe] Is this paper as well?
-[Daus] Yes. -[Rowe] Made out of paper. Very skillful.
[Rowe] Ingeniously, inmates build them from rolled-up newspaper
before they're decorated and sold to the public.
And it's a pretty serious production line.
[Daus] They can work here from Monday to Friday.
-Where am I sitting? Here? -[Daus] Yep.
From eight o'clock in the morning, after all the body count is finished,
the officer here will get workers from the block to come.
[Rowe] And can they take this skill outside?
I mean, you could start your own little business outside doing this.
[Daus] Some of my friends that are already released from here,
they try to be the distributor for the line here.
But it's difficult without any support outside,
and even to… to find a job for us.
[Rowe] Because society, I suppose, in this country,
they see drug users or people that are doing drugs as bad people.
-Not people that are in need of help. -Yes, most of us…
Most of them still have this negative stigma.
[Rowe] Mm-hmm.
-This one? -[Daus] Yes.
This one, we continue to put it up.
[Rowe] Ah, right. Okay.
The negative stigma that's in society.
That's already in the society's mind,
so everybody coming out from prison is not really a good person.
[Rowe] Many of the men in here
are having a tough time coming to terms with the fact
that they now have this stigma.
So despite the… the positive work that's being done here
to reduce their drug-taking,
they do need society to support them once they're released from here.
If that doesn't exist, then the cycle of crime for them,
the cycle of coming back to prison, for many, will be inevitable.
[bell ringing]
[Rowe] To help drug offenders keep on the straight and narrow,
the prison also encourages various forms
of religious worship inside the jail.
[all chanting]
[Rowe] But I'm beginning to see that reforming prisoners
isn't the whole battle.
Being able to prove to Indonesian people outside prison
that drug offenders are ready to rejoin their communities
is just as important.
[man praying on speakers]
[upbeat music playing]
[guard in Bahasa] How are you?
Good, healthy, awesome!
[Rowe in English] So far,
I've only met prisoners who have been locked up
for possession or low-level dealing,
but I know there are guys locked up here
for much more serious offenses.
[Rowe] I've just been asked to go to their canteen,
where the prisoners can buy bits and pieces,
cigarettes and chocolate bars and things like that,
and I'm gonna, I think, help out. I don't know. I'll find out in a minute.
Tolle!
-[Tolle] Yes! -I'm looking-- Hi, Tolle.
[Tolle] Yeah, Raphael.
Raphael. I'm told I've got to come here and help this morning.
-Okay. No problem. Yes, come in. -Yeah? I can come in? Okay.
[Rowe] Canteen worker, Tolle, is 35,
and I've heard he's from much higher up in the drug-dealing food chain.
-[Rowe] What is what? -[Tolle] This is the noodles.
Coffee, and here's the water.
Okay. How did they pay you for it?
[Tolle] You top-up the Brizzi.
-This is the Brizzi. -Okay.
-You put the money from-- Yes! -Like a credit card.
-So you're ready to help customers? -Yes.
Yes. I'm ready, yes.
I'm not ready. He asked me if I'm ready, but I'm not ready.
Roti Sisir.
-Roti Sisir. -[Rowe] This one?
-[indistinct chatter] -[scanner beeps]
-This noodle? -[Tolle] Yeah.
[register beeps]
-[Tolle] Beng-Beng. -[Rowe] Beng-Beng? What's that?
-Top one? This one? -Beng-Beng. Beng-Beng.
-[Rowe] This one? -Yes.
Come on! Come on! [claps]
-Yeah. -[Rowe] Why are you rushing me, man?
-You must quick, like-- -[Rowe exhales]
-Take it. What do you want? This. Take it. -Yeah.
Yeah, but you know where everything is. I'm a beginner. I don't know…
[dramatic music playing]
How long is your sentence?
Uh, like, 14 years.
-Fourteen years? -Yes.
Methamphetamine. Shabu.
Oh, shabu-shabu.
Yeah, because, uh, I got caught by the police from the airport.
What quantity?
-Three kilos. -Three kilos?
-Yes. -That's a lot.
[man] Three cookies.
-[Tolle] This one. Yes. -[Rowe] This one?
[indistinct chatter]
[Rowe] Why did you do it?
I don't have mother and father. Already gone, dead.
Then I wanna give it to my young sister for school.
How old is your young sister?
Uh, now 20. Before, like 15.
So, you did what you did to support your family.
-To help your family. -Yeah. Yeah.
[pensive music playing]
[Rowe] Tolle claims he just wanted to provide for his younger sister.
Have some chocolate before it melts. Open it.
Okay. Thank you very much.
[Rowe] But he's been in drug gangs for many years,
and trying to import kilos of meth
is high-level drug trafficking.
Here in Indonesia,
he's lucky his punishment wasn't even more severe.
When… When you were involved in the organized crime gang,
and you were trafficking drugs,
did you know that, you know, your government here
have the death penalty for drug trafficking?
Yeah, I know, I know.
So you… you were not scared or deterred?
[Tolle] I had the gang before.
How old were you? 19? 18?
Uh, like 14. Yeah.
-Still… Yeah, still young. -Fourteen?
-What drugs were you selling? -[Tolle] Everything.
Coke, heroin, marijuana.
Uh, shabu-shabu.
How did you traffic the drugs?
How did you bring the drugs into Indonesia?
So scarce. In airport.
Right.
And then the police attacked me, and then they said,
"Oh my God. You're from a cartel. Indonesian cartel."
-Oh, really? -I say, "What the hell? Oh, come on!"
Was your boss part of a big organized crime gang?
-Yes. A big one. -Yes.
I'm only a trafficker.
What happened to your boss?
I don't know.
[Rowe] You don't know.
[Tolle] If you're caught, don't tell them about the boss.
If you talk about the boss, your family is dead. Something like that.
This is the gang.
[tense music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
Tolle is the other end of the kind of narcotics prisoner.
The trafficker working for an Indonesian drugs cartel.
People who have been caught for trafficking drugs in this country
have faced the death penalty,
and so, one day, he's gonna be reintegrating back into society…
[both laugh]
…and it'll be a big challenge for him.
[dramatic music playing]
[Agus in Bahasa] Prepare!
[Rowe in English] I've seen just how strict the regime is here,
and the head warden, Agus Pritiatno,
is managing a thousand prisoners
with just 83 guards.
[guards chanting in Bahasa]
Many inmates spend all day locked up
in overcrowded conditions,
but I haven't seen any real signs of trouble.
[Agus in Bahasa] This is the center of activities.
[Rowe in English] I want to find out why the head warden feels the need
to police the lives of his prisoners so strictly.
[Agus in Bahasa] All the inmates can do video calls.
We listen to their conversation with their family.
If they say anything inappropriate, we cut the call.
[Rowe in English] And why is that necessary?
[Agus in Bahasa] About a year ago, there were some provocateurs.
They formed a gang here.
That was definitely a security threat here.
[in English] Some of the prisoners spend up to 21 hours in their cells.
What's the policy behind that? What's the reasoning behind that?
[in Bahasa] It’s true that after the three hours they’re given,
they’re put back in their cells.
If we let them all out at the same time, it's going to end in chaos.
A lot of problems will happen.
[Rowe in English] Do you think it's fair?
[in Bahasa] Being sentenced means losing their freedom,
so they need to obey the rules.
[in English] I've noticed in the time that I have been here
that the relationship between the prisoners
and the guards is quite healthy.
How important is that for the smooth running of the prison?
[in Bahasa] By having that emotional relationship,
that’s similar to what children have with their parents or siblings.
That’s what we want to build here.
Before, the prison was just prison.
And we could just assume that it was filled with violence.
Now it's not like that anymore. Before, if someone made a mistake,
we could just beat them senselessly. That’s not how it is now.
[in English] But, you know, lots of the prisoners
have mentioned to me that they are scared to go to isolation.
Um, that it is a good preventative measure.
[Agus in Bahasa] What scares them here, Raph,
is that if they’re only wearing shorts, it’s cold here.
So cold!
[in English] What's the longest that a prisoner can be held in isolation?
[in Bahasa] There was one. He was a major dealer, a major one.
He arrived here, and he was high risk.
We put him
in isolation for three months.
Here, no one can act tough or arrogant.
[in English] How many people are in isolation at the moment?
[in Bahasa] None. None at the moment.
[Rowe in English] Can I see the isolation?
[Agus] Uh…
[in Bahasa] It’s no longer allowed to go inside.
It’s a secret.
But you can see it from here.
[Rowe in English] The warden's willingness to use the isolation block
as a punishment feels authoritarian,
but he clearly also has a softer side,
which inmates seem to appreciate
and which perhaps contributes to the sense of harmony in this prison.
-How are you doing? You okay? -[Ruli] Good, how are you?
[Rowe] It's a big moment in the week for Ruli.
-[Rowe] What are you doing now? -I'm calling my family.
Who… Who are you gonna speak to?
Mom. And we have ten minutes for a call.
-Ten minutes? -Yeah. Ten minutes.
Let's go.
[Rowe] Ruli's family lives hundreds of miles away
and can't afford to visit him.
But, like all prisoners, he gets two video calls home per week.
[Rowe] It's not very private, but I suppose it's better than nothing.
[Ruli in Bahasa] Assalamu alaikum, Aunty.
[indistinct chatter]
I hope Aunty and Mom are healthy.
Please continue to support Ruli here
so that Ruli can be better than before.
[indistinct chatter]
[in English] They seem very happy.
You know, it's a relief for his mom to see him smiling,
in good spirits
because I'm sure they worry about how they're coping and getting on.
[Ruli in Bahasa] It’s a bit hard to live here, Aunty.
That’s why we need to learn to think positively here.
How to keep thinking positively.
[gentle music playing]
Raphael!
[Rowe] I'm here with Ruli. [laughs]
[Ruli] Hello!
[in Bahasa] This one, Mom,
uh, he was sentenced to life in prison in England.
But after 12 years of undergoing the process,
he was proven innocent.
[Rowe in English] I'll let you get on with your call. Nice to meet you.
[indistinct chatter]
To me, it just feels wrong that he's serving this amount of time
for just being in possession of a little bit of marijuana.
The whole kind of consequence of what's happened to him
has broken his relationship with his wife
and, more importantly, his daughter.
So I'm gonna go outside and give him some privacy.
[indistinct chatter]
[Ruli in Bahasa] Keep my heart strong!
[in English] I love you!
I love you! Bye-bye!
Assalamu alaikum.
[kisses]
[pensive music playing]
[dramatic swell]
[Indonesian folk music playing]
[Rowe] It's my last day at Bangli Narkotika Prison.
I've been told that today will be a bit of a surprise.
A rock concert inside the prison.
[strumming guitar]
Prisoners are using music to get the message out to the public
that they're not a lost cause,
and their initiative is being supported by the head warden himself.
-So the warden is a bit of a music fan… -[rock music playing]
…and so he encourages the prisoners to play instruments.
Daus is one of those prisoners who I've met,
and he's formed a band, The Injexxis, and, um…
they're performing for all the prisoners today,
so let's see how good they are.
[mic feedback]
So, we listen now and going now.
One, two, three, go!
[rock music playing]
[inmate] ♪ In the end, I will show you ♪
♪ I’m not a walking dead man ♪
[guttural roars]
[rock music continues playing]
[Rowe] It's great to see the head warden is getting fully behind them.
♪ I'm not a fucking dead man ♪
Thank you.
[inmates clapping, cheering]
[thunder rumbling]
[Rowe] You bring out the rain, man.
-[singer laughs] -You rocked God.
[inmate] Thank you.
[Rowe] Daus' band is making music with a real purpose.
-What message are you trying to convey? -People in prison is always the bad guy.
So we want to prove that we’re not totally walking dead men.
And after we’re released, we want to prove it.
[Rowe] How do people see that though?
Uh, they have kind of prison festivals. We can perform our music.
You were taken outside the prison to perform?
Yes, outside to perform and perform online.
So we shoot the video and record the song.
Now, we can upload our music content on YouTube.
So they are allowing us to do that but under their supervision.
Right. Keep performing those kind of songs, okay?
-[Daus] Thank you very much. -[Rowe] Right.
[Rowe] The prison is helping to get a positive message
out to the Indonesian public to dispel the stigma of prison,
but the rehab program here is still a very new initiative.
It's too early to know how successful it will be.
To some people, the compulsory drug rehabilitation programs
that they run here may seem controversial.
And in my opinion, the sentences handed down
to drug offenders here in Indonesia are harsh.
But from what I've seen in this prison,
I think the authorities have a genuine desire
to help the men locked up here break the cycle of drug-related crime.
[percussive music playing]
[music fades]