Odessites have been rather anxious over the fact that the government has decided to release over 10,000 inmates from local prisons this past week.
Turns out the government simply can't afford to keep so many people incarcerated and they want to ease prison overcrowding.
Activists, however, laud Ukraine's "progressive" stance on inmates. They have transitional programs for the people that are released and have programs for inmates that allow mothers to visit their children (living on-site) twice a day.
Still, people are being a bit more cautious walking around in the evenings. Some of the students at my school have been asking to shift their class times a bit earlier so they don't have to commute after the sun sets. It's been interesting hearing Ukrainian insights about social policy. Most Ukrainians seem so frustrated by their government, they simply tune-out the overarching policy-aspect of the decision and worry about how things affect them personally. And with regard to this new inmate-release, they are simply worried about their own safety. Who can blame them?
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