Eleventh Sunday in pretrial detention. A convicted offender since Monday. Sentenced “in the name of the people” to nine months in jail. That’s 274 days and nights. I’ve got 72 behind me. Still 202 to go.

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Waiting to be transferred to a real prison. They can take their time with that. Better to be a prisoner in “comfortable” pretrial detention than one of the “dirty dozen” in an overcrowded large cell.

That’s how “Blaschi,” my new buddy, whom they shoved into the dungeon with me yesterday, sees it. A friendly old gentleman from Stralsund who, like me, is here “voluntarily.” His crime: “endangering public order through antisocial behavior.”

How does that work? It’s quite simple. If you’re over 60, have worked your whole life, and don’t feel like it anymore in the final stretch.

He used to travel around the villages as a traveling scissors grinder. At some point, he was no longer allowed to be a self-employed craftsman and had to go into “production.”

Due to a lack of suitable qualifications, he had to do everything except sharpen knives or scissors. One day, he had had enough and simply stayed at home.

This is prohibited under Section 249 of the Criminal Code of the GDR. Anyone who “persistently shirks regular work, even though they are capable of working, shall be punished with imprisonment of up to two years.”

You don’t have to be an alcoholic, a bum, or a vagrant. It’s enough if the money you’ve saved is enough to live on and you simply don’t want to work anymore.

The first time, he “only” got six months. The second time, a year. This time, it’s two years.

Fortunately, “work education” has been abolished since 1977. These are work camps where people are treated harshly.

Prison doesn’t bother him anymore. If he ends up in a “quiet” prison like last time, everything will be fine. As soon as he’s out again, he’ll finally be a pensioner. He has enough money to move to the West.

This is one of the most shocking stories I have ever heard. Yet “Blaschi” does not seem old at all. He seems to know his way around and talks like a smart aleck.

Suddenly, I have a horror scenario in mind: What if they release me to the East after nine months and I can’t find a decent job until my next escape attempt?

Don’t panic! Plan A can still work (see Tuesday, January 17). I can activate Plan B in six weeks at the earliest. I’ll think about Plan C when the time comes.

I quietly start singing “We have all the time in the world ...” by Louis Armstrong. Let’s see how ‘Blaschi’ reacts to my “Sing a Song” tic (see Wednesday, February 1).

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