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

which asylum seekers discussed intimate and traumatic details of theirpast. Of even greater concern, most (66%) of the asylum seekers interviewedfor this study reported that they felt their right to asylum was notadequately explained to them at the airport. These finding supports concernspreviously raised by human rights organizations that asylum seekersare being denied entry without due process.Many asylum seekers reported being shouted at, called liars or generallytreated poorly by the INS officers interviewing or handling them.Twenty-seven (39%) reported experiencing verbal abuse while at the airport.Six individuals (9%) reported experiencing physical abuse while atthe airport.Several asylum seekers interviewed for this study reported that officialstried to deport them by forcing them back onto airplanes. One individual,a 30-year-old man, was repeatedly tortured in his country of origin as aresult of his democracy activism. Upon arrival in the United States, hedescribed the following:I made a statement which they wrote down, and they asked me tosign it. I said I could not. What I said was not what interpreter said... Abig man came in while I was handcuffed from behind and told me tosign. He physically forced me to make fingerprints from behind…When they forced my hand, my head knocked on the door handle andcut my head. It was bleeding a lot… When I saw the plane, I cry to theINS officer, if they send me back they will kill me… I held on to thesteps near the entrance of the terminal of the plane, so they took me ontop of them. There were 4. I moved and I fell down and hurt my shoulder.So then they took me back.”After two and a half years in INS detention he was granted asylum andreleased.Those fortunate enough to articulate fear of persecution or a desire forasylum and not to be deported immediately, often ended up in chains,strip-searched or otherwise being treated like a criminal. Nearly 70% ofindividuals reported being handcuffed/shackled upon arrival in the UnitedStates. This further heightened their anxiety and confusion, especiallybecause for some it was reminiscent of the persecution they suffered intheir homelands.One asylum seeker reported he was strip-searched, shackled to a chairfor 10 hours and not told where he was going when taken to an INSdetention center in New York City.In my country what we hear about America is that it’s number one inhuman rights…But to my surprise I found myself in handcuffs, going toprison.Despite the fact that most individuals were asked about traumatic,EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15