I always wanted to share my experience. Whether it will be culinary in nature, being a chef - I always wanted to pass on my knowledge to the younger generation and the next generation. This is what chief Andre Tokev told FOCUS.
"When Zachary called me, the publisher of Ciela, who published the book, said, ``Hi Andre, I think you deserve to write a book.'' And I said to myself yes, I really want to tell my story and motivate people to not give up even in their most difficult situations or their most difficult time that they're going through because I've always been like that in the most difficult situations or the most difficult tasks, I always compare my life to tasks or an equation. And I wanted to show that there is always permission and you have to move on, that's why the book is called “I move on".
Because many people get frustrated in front of difficult tasks, do not want to move forward and stay in one place, at one level. And that's why I wanted to show that my life was not always successful, there were also many failures. But to me these are not failures, these are tasks that make you better and you become better and learn from them. And if you read the task correctly, you learn and become better", he commented.
How is it in the world of criminals that you seem to have understood and do not judge? And as if you were not afraid of them?
"I think that every person has both negative and positive traits. And when you behave normally and perceive him as a person and not as a criminal, then he perceives you too. We had quite normal conversations, that's important, we always judge people, for a number of reasons, and that's normal - when you commit a crime you get convicted. But when you're in prison, we're all equal there. And you see that for a number of reasons this person committed the crime, not that you justify him, but you accentuate him as a person.
And this is important - to give a second chance to people and to perceive them as such. Because as I said, and I described it in the book, I met people in prison who grew up like that from childhood, he didn't see anything. Some cannot read, write, he has no choice but to commit crimes for a living. And it is very difficult, and it is not only their fault, but the society we live in also makes them, challenges them to walk this path. And the prerequisites for some things challenge them.
Of course there are people who have reacted to extremes, I'm talking about more serious crimes then. I think that's where the intervention is... there should be both a psychologist and a psychiatrist © etc. to help. But I had contact with all kinds of people there and prisoners who had committed various crimes," Chief Tokev explained.
About awareness
"Really after already, it will be almost 40 years of work, 37 years of work in action, one does not realize, but he should have some rest and realize maybe what happened to him. And as I said in the fast-paced world, you always want to do this, and achieve this, and do that, and the next step, and the next step. And you think that being successful, what you think is the most successful for those around you. But it is not so. And that's when you really understand it, when such an incident happens and you are, let's say, in prison - it's like being locked up in a monastery and life ends.
And if you have the opportunity to become aware of yourself and see what is happening around you, you can learn good lessons and change your way of thinking and your life. But I always say - a person does not change radically differently, because there are also many successful things that have happened in my life. And I always say you have to build on what you've done. You exclude the negative ones, they are not negative, they are tasks that improve you and you become better if you solve them correctly", he was categorical.