Thanks to a translator who prefers to remain anonymous for providing the following:
In her blog entry of April 25, Zeng Jinyan discusses how on April 22 she went with their one-year-old child to visit her husband, activist Hu Jia, at the prison where he is being held on the outskirts of Beijing.
“After filling out some paperwork, I went to the waiting room. Hu Jia was already waiting. The police officer at his side changed. The electronic signboard on the wall said Hu Jia, window 4. We spoke by telephone at window 4. The sound wasn’t good and it was cut-off several times.
The window was very dirty and made for a fuzzy affect as if there were many, many layers of glass. I could see Hu Jia, but I couldn’t see him completely clearly. He had gotten a lot thinner, his face looked a bit pointy. He said he hadn’t been able to eat, so he got thinner. I asked him why he didn’t eat eggs. He replied he gets one or two eggs a week. He doesn’t eat with the other prisoners, the prison gives him vegetarian food. He can’t eat well and sleeps poorly. I asked him about the results of his physical, he said he doesn’t know and the prison personnel don’t know either. They said they will have to wait for the results from the hospital. But this is normal, not getting the results within a week!
I had to worry, thinking back to that first physical after he had disappeared for 41 days in 2006. The B sonogram showed signs of a hardening of the liver. Other test results can back within 4 – 5 days, showing everything was normal. That time I put too much confidence in the those test results that came back with some delay, thinking everything was fine. Who know that in April 2006, he gradually had less and less appetite, then couldn’t get out of bed. I thought he was too tired and sent him to the hospital for treatment, only to find out that he was in very serious condition and needed immediate medical treatment.
Now it is April and we have been waiting for the medical exam results for two months and his antiviral medicines have already stopped for three months. Now he can’t eat and is suddenly getting thinner. Could there be some physical problem? I believe that the prison is monitoring our conversations more and more tightly. His letters home have been returned twice for rewriting. All the books I have given him, except for some examination preparation books, have been rejected. Has Hu Jia been protesting to the prison officials? There is no hot water in the prison, has he caught a cold again?
There is so much to say, but I don’t know where to start. There are so many ears listening. It is hard to talk about family matters. The child went to see her father. The guards with Hu Jia this time weren’t as friendly as last time and she got scared. So she came back to me. We can’t go through that door but the innocent child sometimes go through to see her father.
The phone suddenly cut off. They said the half hour was up. The police officer told Hu Jia to go back. I was full of regrets since I hadn’t really said anything and the child didn’t really have a chance to get close to her father. Talking like this is like not talking at all, better to let father and daughter play for half an hour.
When I got back home, my mother-in-law asked me, he is getting so thin, what can we do?
What can we do? What can we do?
The next day, my mother-in-law called the Public Security Domestic Security Detachment (Guobao). I called the prison several times. The people in charge weren’t in, so we could only just keep on calling. Shouldn’t they have informed the person who had the physical and their family members long ago? Are they going to give Hu Jia his medicine? Should they not guarantee that they are going to promise to give Hu Jia nutritious food? Should they not guarantee freedom of communications for us? Should they be preventing his family members from sending him books and necessities for daily life? Shouldn’t the prison provide hot water as a basic humanitarian and health necessity?
了 了园
April 25, 2009 at 10:42 am · Filed under 杂谈
北京的四月，才是真正的春天。一夜冷雨，竟叫无数野花喷发，干巴巴的枝条，居然几天就绿得茂盛起来。春是升发的季节。如果胡佳在身边，他定会如此说。
4月22日，周三。像过节一般，早早起来，梳洗，给孩子穿上昨晚准备好的衣服，又脱下，怕午饭前弄脏了，带了一包的小衣服备用。对宝宝说：今天看爸 爸去！宝宝马上指墙上的照片，脸上笑眯眯。到了爷爷奶奶那儿，一说看爸爸，她就往墙上看，找照片。
中午一点，上了京开高速，和婆婆聊天，不小心错过了高速出口——去北京市监狱好多趟，第一次出这样的错误很不应该。到六环交界处下了高速往回走。
团河，清代是是皇族的行宫所在地，现在是北京市监狱所在地。
办完手续走进监狱会见室，胡佳已经在里面等了。他身边的警员又换了一个。墙上电子屏幕显示：胡嘉，4号。我们在4号窗口通过电话交谈。电话音效不 好，几次中断。
玻璃很脏，已经模糊，中空玻璃之间，似乎还有万重的迷雾，我能看见胡佳，却不能完全看清。他瘦了许多，短短一个月时间，脸似乎尖了。他说吃 不下东西，所以瘦了。我问能不能吃到鸡蛋，他说一个星期大概有一个或两个鸡蛋。他不和其他人一样吃饭，是监狱另给的素食。吃不下东西，睡觉也不好。我问他 知不知道3月份以来体检的结果，他不知道，我也不知道，问监狱的工作人员，也说不知道，说要等医院给了才知道。可是常规的情况，一周内就能得检查结果啊！
我免不了又担心，2006年他失踪41天，回来第一次做体检，当天拿的B超结果怀疑他肝硬化，其他生化化验结果，隔了四五天才拿到，显示 一切正常。我们当时大意了，太过相信这些迟到的体检报告，以为一切平安。谁知06年的4月份，渐渐地胡佳不吃东西，后来竟不愿意起床，我以为他太过疲劳， 送到医院才知道病重需马上住院治疗。
如今又是四月，两个月的检查结果我们都不知道，他的抗病毒药已经停用三个多月了，他突然吃不下东西，突然消瘦，会不会又是身体出了状况？ 监狱对我们的交流审查，我认为是越来越严，他的家信往往要几次退回重写，我给他带的书，除了考试教材，其他也都送不进去。胡佳是不是在监狱向他们抗议了？ 监狱没有热水洗澡，是不是他又感冒了？
千言万语，不知从何说起，那么多耳朵在听，时事不让说，家事不便说，孩子淘气，一会儿走到门口去看父亲。这次她父亲身边的警员不如上次的那人和善， 她又恐惧，一会儿跑回我的身边。那道门，我们相互无法跨越，只有孩子，天真无邪，偶尔穿过，亲近她的父亲。
突然电话断了，说是半个小时已经过去。警员催促胡佳回去。我心中万般懊悔，什么也没说，孩子也没有好好和父亲亲近，早知如此，不如不要说话了，让他 们父女俩好好玩半个小时。
回家婆婆问我：他这么消瘦，怎么办呢？
怎么办？怎么办？
隔日，婆婆告诉我她给国保打电话了，我给监狱几次去电话，管事的人都不在，只有继续打电话，胡佳的体检报告，是不是早该告知家属和他本人？ 是不是要给胡佳用药治疗？是不是该保障胡佳的饮食营养？是不是该保障我们的通信自由？是不是不该限制家属给他送书、文具和一些基本的生活用品？监狱是不是 该从人道及基本的卫生保健考虑，提供热水洗澡？
