Prague, Feb 8 (CTK) – A total of 858 racers with yellow ribbons will take part in the Yellow Ribbon Run that will highlight the plight of the people with a criminal record when seeking jobs in a half-marathon in April, a marathon in May and a June relay race in Prague, organisers told journalists yesterday.
There will be current and former prisoners, prison wardens and a number of other racers.
Six current and one former prisoners have decided to take part in the whole of the marathon race, the organisers said.
This year, the project has been joined by 20 out of 35 Czech prisons.
The event will be held with the slogan “run away from the prejudices.”
Experts argue that prejudices put obstacles to former prisoners’ road towards honest life as there are few, if any employers giving opportunities to them in this respect.
“The people leaving the prisons served their sentences. Now they are on the starting line,” women’s prison governor Gabriela Slovakova said.
“Giving them a chance to work and a new start is often the only opportunity for them to start anew,” she added.
Slovakova said this time, some victims of crime who support the project will also join the run.
In the prison for women, 20 inmates and roughly the same number of the prison staff are getting ready for the relay run measuring 4 x 5 kilometres, she added.
Organisers have said last year alone, 10,271 people with a criminal record were released from prisons.
Most companies want the job seekers to present their criminal record and most of them reject those who do not have a clean one.
According to estimates, only one-third of former prisons who want to work stand a chance of getting a job.
