Voice 1
Hello, I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby Jones. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
A large man sits quietly on a chair. There are marks of suffering on his face. Much of the skin on his arms and legs is covered with tattoos. These are pictures worked into the surface of the skin. The man will never be able to wash them off. Behind the man, on the wall, someone has painted a picture. It shows a dove – the bird of peace. It is flying through a circle of fire. But the fire does not harm the dove. It remains free to fly above the danger. The man loves this picture. For him, it tells the story of his life. He has experienced much danger. But now, with God’s help, he lives a life of peace. So who is this man? And what is his story?
Voice 2
The man’s name is Pedro Martin Nunez. His story is reported in the British newspaper ‘The Times’. The Times says that Pedro is now the leader of a church centre in Northern Mexico. He lives and works in one of the poorest areas of a city called Juarez. But Pedro was not always interested in God and religion. In fact, when he was a child, his home was very different – he lived in a prison!
Voice 1
Pedro’s mother was addicted to illegal drugs. She could not live without heroin. When Pedro was only a small boy, his mother killed his father. The authorities sentenced her to eight and a half years in prison. They sent her to El Cereso. This prison was famous for all the wrong reasons. Living conditions were very bad. Prisoners could easily buy illegal drugs there. And different groups of prisoners – gangs – fought each other. But Pedro’s mother was not alone going to El Cereso. Pedro went with her. He was only two and a half years old.
Voice 2
Pedro’s mother completed her sentence. And the authorities released her and Pedro when he was ten years old. Pedro’s time at El Cereso prison had influenced his behaviour. He had received an education – he had learned how to break the law! And he soon started making trouble. Pedro was in and out of children’s prisons until the age of sixteen. And even then, he continued to do wrong. By this time, the authorities believed that children’s prisons were not punishing Pedro enough. So they decided to treat Pedro more severely. Pedro explained what happened:
Voice 3
“The authorities thought that spending some time in an adult prison would frighten me and make me behave better... but it was like going back home. El Cereso was where I had grown up. My grandfather sold illegal drugs there. My mother and her brother had served prison sentences there. So, I knew a lot of people inside the prison. I asked people to paint tattoos on my skin. I took drugs. And I spent time with men who were serving very long sentences. It was a way to enter into the world of hardened criminals.”
Voice 1
Pedro soon joined one of the gangs in El Cereso. These groups of men often caused violence in the prison. And at age nineteen, Pedro killed for the first time. Pedro can never forget this day. He said:
Voice 3
“I broke seventeen building bricks on the man’s head. And I stabbed him with a knife seven times.”
Voice 2
The authorities wanted to give Pedro a long sentence for this act of violence – forty years. But, Pedro was only nineteen years old. And because of that, they reduced the sentence to fourteen years. After this, Pedro became a hero to the men in his gang. They appointed him as one of the leaders. And he continued with his life of crime inside the prison.
Voice 1
However, a tragic event caused Pedro’s life to change. By this time, Pedro depended on drugs – just like his mother. One day, he heard the news that his mother had died. She had injected too many drugs into her body at one time. This filled Pedro with great sadness. He felt that he had nothing to live for. And, he tried to kill himself several times. During the last attempt, he tried to hang himself with a blanket. Suddenly, he had a vision – like a living dream. In the vision, he saw himself bending over his mother’s coffin – the box containing her dead body. He saw himself circle the coffin with his arms and made a promise to his mother. He declared that he would take care of his brothers for her. All three of his brothers were also addicted to drugs.
Voice 2
About that time, something else happened. Pedro met another group of people in prison. These people followed the teachings of Jesus Christ – they were Christians. They also had a great effect on Pedro’s life. He explained:
Voice 3
“Their kindness greatly affected me. They gave me clothes and food. And they prayed for me. They taught me not to use bad language and not to smoke and take drugs. It was very difficult. But they told me to keep going. God had mercy on me. It was the start of big changes.”
Voice 1
Pedro believed that it was God who made the big changes in his life. And he began to talk to other prisoners about his experiences. Many of them listened to what he had to say. And their lives changed too. And in 1999, Pedro became leader of the prison church of El Cereso!
Voice 2
In 2003, the authorities released Pedro Nunez from prison early. His good behaviour influenced their decision. Now, Pedro is a family man. He is leader of a centre for men who have spent time in prison. They too want to experience God’s help in changing their lives. Pedro helps them to do this through prayer and studying the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, Pedro does not forget where he has come from. He says:
Voice 3
“I still cannot believe the change that has come over my life.”
Voice 2
But he knows that he is in the right place to help these former prisoners. He says:
Voice 3
“I have to show these men that I am as serious about religion as I was about violence...people give me a lot of respect. Once it was for killing, but now it is for changing lives.”
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