I was very interested to read Denis MacShane’s article about his experiences in prison (“Friend behind bars”, 15 February). I have just returned from a trip to Ethiopia with the Irish Church’s aid agency, Trocaire. The programme in Ethiopia is a joint one run by Cafod, Sciaf and Trocaire working together. Although not directly part of that programme, we visited the prison in Arba Minch in the south of the country where the local Catholic Mission is doing great work.There was a huge difference between the lives of the inmates in Arba Minch and those described by MacShane. The philosophy in Ethiopia is that loss of liberty is punishment enough and so they try to make life inside as near normal as possible. There are no cells and prisoners are free to move around the