From Persecution to Prison - Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of ...

even though many reported having experienced a variety of indignities,notably verbal abuse, segregation or the threat of segregation.This may be because in between incidents reported, detainees felt generallylike they were treated well. Alternatively this may be a result of aminority of detention center staff being responsible for such behaviors.Another possibility is that this may reflect the fact that many individualsinterviewed for this study reported having been subjected, before fleeingtheir countries of origin, to extreme brutality, including torture, and thusmay have a greater tolerance for what constitutes good or neutral behavior(i.e. as long as they are not being physically mistreated).NARRATIVESPrison-Like EnvironmentDetainees found the prison environment of INS detention extremelystressful. One man, who had been tortured in his country of originbecause of his family’s political associations, stated,If I had known that I would be trapped in such unbelievable circumstances,I would never have come here. If someone had told me thatsuch a place existed in America when I was in my country, I wouldnever believe that, because America is supposed to have human rights.An asylum seeker, who had seen his father killed in front of him, saidthe following:When I came I never expected to be put in jail. They don’t call it jail,they call it detention. But it is jail. I thought I would be free when I gotto America. I came here to find peace and be able to live in peace.Another detainee described feeling like a prisoner: “It’s like I fled oneprison only to be placed in another.” Watching television one day he sawcriminals “wearing the same thing I wear: prison garb. It would be muchbetter if at least on our backs there was something that said, ‘Asylumseekers.’’’After being detained for over three years and transferred four timesamong three different facilities, one frustrated detainee described himselfas “a tourist of American prisons.”The distinction between jails and detention centers seems unclear notonly for asylum seekers, but also for airport officers and other officials.One detainee who was taken from the airport to an INS detention centerreported: “They told me they were taking me to jail. They did not saywhy.” Discussions with guards by PHR-Bellevue/NYU researchers at severaldetention facilities and county jails also revealed that many did notknow the detained asylum seekers were not criminals.108 FROM PERSECUTION TO PRISON