I Walked In The Shoes Of An Ex-Con

September is the month of the Yellow Ribbons, and over the weekend, the Yellow Ribbon Project set up shop at the main junction of Marina Square- an exhibition entitled "Crossroads".

 I didn't know about it and would have missed it had my friend not lug me there. And after viewing, or rather 'experiencing', it, my regret is not knowing about it earlier. I would have posted it here.

I guess the next best thing is to write a review. The exhibition allowed viewers to literally walk in three ex-offenders' footsteps, with a headset plugged in, through mock up sets representing various stages of their lives. The ex-offender, Ravi, Jeanie or Izwan, speaks to you throughout the process.

I walk in Jeanie's footsteps. She's a working mom with a husband who loves her and two young children- a boy and a girl. She's the average Singaporean.

Things fall apart when her husband is afflicted with desease and they have no money. "The only way," as Jeanie tells me, is to embezzle money from her company. Needless to say, she is apprehended and sent to jail.

I step into Jeanie's jail cell and have the chance to actually feel a prison mat where prisoners like her sleep. I read her diary where she expresses her fears that her husband will reject her, her loving letters to her son telling her to take care of his younger sister.

And it's not only the local accent that makes the slightly short of a tear-jerker experience authentic. The multi-sensory exhibition is clearly designed to milk your emotions. And for the most part, it works.

The exhibition is more suited in a museum where it's quieter and has a more reflective atmosphere, though. And the somewhat draggy audio clips that's supposed to evoke poignancy totally loses its effect in a cacophanous shopping centre.

But it was a meaningful experience nonetheless, and I'm proud to be part of a forgiving society that embraces people who've made mistakes and genuinely want to move on.

Though it's too late to catch the exhibition, their interactive website is still very much alive here. Don't miss it! And finally, as cheesy as it sounds, let's unlock the second prison.