Many Jamaican women are locked away for years, leaving their children to suffer.

HMP Halloway, Parkhurst Road, London N7 ONU. It's home to hundreds of Jamaican women who have been caught at Gatway and Heathrow International Airports with illegal drugs in their possession. And given the level of desperation that is running through the ghettoes from which the majority of these women come, it will be home to many more in the future.

Fat women. Skinny women. Smart women. Silly women. Old women. Young women.

Part of the wrenching agony of prison life is that communication with the outside world and is extremely limited.On foreign soils the pain is even deeper.

Women like the 33 year-old mother of six that calmly told the delegation of officials from the British Courts, Prisons and Customs that she would be attempting to smuggle some drugs into their country whenever the opportunity arose.

"I would just like to say that I will carry drugs," she said. No defiance, no bitterness, just a matter-of-a-fact.

Years of isolation and feelings of guilt can lead to mental illness behind bars

It was as if the previous hours of encouragement to stay away from the illegal trade meant absolutely nothing.

You would risk your life?

The question was asked by a disbelieving British official who had just outlined the dangers of trying to smuggle through the intestines by swallowing pellets of the illegal drug.

"They wrap it up safe, I won't die. I hear of people who carry it up," she replied.

"What about your children, when you are caught they'll be left alone, you'll come back to find them pregnant or in gangs," said Elroy Claxton, a Kitician barrister who practices in London.

"I have to try, that is the only way," her calm, stubborn insistence - a testimony to the level of persuasiveness of drug lords - was almost frightening.

"Sister they are lying, You will die, you are risking your life! The shriek came from a dismayed woman who had herself been caught and jailed for trying to smuggle cocaine into the Motherland six years ago.

As convincing as the words were they seemed to have little impact on the woman who by the way is literate.

In the end, it was a British policeman who cracked the riddle.

"What would it take to convince you not to do this?" he asked. She had two words for him. "A job". It was as simple as that.

The power of deterrence lay not in the long-winded remonstrations or frightening anecdotes or the plans to publicise the dangers of the illegal trade, but in employment.

But as influential a factor as employment is, it is not the only solution to the problem, as unemployment though popular, is not the only reason that drives women into this dangerous trade.

Other factors such as fear- coersion is becoming a popular means of recruitment, low self -esteem, a need for more money to fulfil a variety of needs and plain greed also contribute in varying degrees to each woman's decision to risk a seven to 10-year prison term.

No two stories are the same.

Some women will tell you that they expected to get caught, some say they half expected to get caught.

Others said they experienced varying levels of hopelessness. There is, however one common thread that connects all the stories. No matter how desperate the woman and her situation, she can testify to the unfailing support offered to her by Olga Heaven, director of the 15 year-old Female Prisoners Welfare Project (FPWP) which is run by Hibiscus, a British charity.

In this regard there are no differences in the levels of love and support that they experience from this woman.

Described as a woman with an eye for injustice, Heaven's role in the life of a netted drug mule starts almost as soon as an arrest is made.

"I remember her as a light at the end of a dark tunnel." It was the same woman who tried to persuade the stubborn 33 year-old not to make the same mistake she had.

And that really is the best way of describing her.

For when the type of loneliness that the drug mule described sets in after arrest, Heaven's unjudgemental, information giving presence is one of the most welcome sights.

Unlike many peripheral observers, Heaven is aware that most of the women who are caught are victims of their own ignorance, greed, whatever.

The degree of support she offers to the jailed drug mules is not affected by the merits of their cases or circumstances.

As soon as she gets wind of their plight she makes arrangements to visit. With the visits come hope.

Hope that there is life after the jail sentence. Hope that the lines of communication with loved ones, often those for whom the sacrifice had been made, will be kept open until the sentence has been served. When the sentence has been served, Heaven remains in touch, to ensure that the deportation process goes smoothly so that the prisoner does not serve extra time. It's a rewarding job in terms of the number of lives she has impacted.

However, ironically, is a job that she is working hard to lose.

"The ideal future for a charity like FPWP/HBSCUS is one in which there are no women in prison, making our continued existence unnecessary. Until that happy time we shall continue to do what little we can to make life more beareable for these women and those dependent on them," she said.

The fear factor

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS