📸 Photo

RESEARCHING THE HOUSING MARKET

‘I will come again next week when I know more about your case. We have also contacted a charity organisation in England called Prisoners Abroad. They should contact you in the near future. Legally, I cannot make representations on their behalf, but it is possible that they may be able to assist you financially. My sincerest apologies, Mr McFadden. I must leave you now.’ He stood and turned to leave.

‘Don’t go! Please.’ I grabbed his sleeve. There was no chance of convincing him that I was telling the truth, but I was desperate. It was my final chance.

‘Look. I’m getting some money, I promise. Can you lend me something?’ I begged him. ‘I’ll pay you back. I’m not lying. I promise.’

Mr Harris paused and I thought he was going to call me a liar to my face. Instead he reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet.

‘This is all I have on me,’ he said, handing me some notes. It was sixty bolivianos and it came from his own pocket.

‘Thank you so much. I will pay you back,’ I said, slipping the cash into my sock because one of the guards had seen him give me the money. ‘Thank you. You are very kind. Thank you.’

‘That’s fine, Mr McFadden. It is my pleasure. The embassy will be in contact. In the meantime, you have my card. Please take care of yourself.’

On my way back from the interview room, I was attacked again. Once more, it was an ambush. However, it was more serious this time.

As I rounded the corner into Pinos, I checked for anyone suspicious before climbing the stairway. When I got three-quarters of the way up, four prisoners appeared at the top. It was the same group of prisoners that had attacked me before. I spun around immediately and ran back the way I had come, leaping down three steps at a time, but another group appeared at the base of the stairwell. I was trapped between them.

There were only three men at the bottom of the steps and I was coming from above them. With the momentum I already had, I decided to keep running and try to get past them. I charged down the stairs at full speed, intending to push them out of the way until I saw something metallic. I stopped suddenly. One of the men had a knife.