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

much thinking, too much time to sleep and get nightmares and the verystate of being detained together with people who have the same problem.Why did I ever leave my family for this?”Said one former detainee who was granted asylum, “Whenever I thinkabout detention, I become agitated and upset; nightmares and bad memoriescome back to me and make me depressed.” He called the detentionfacility staff “very good,” and said he appreciated that they were helpfulwith problems he had. However, he insisted on the detrimental effect ofdetention, despite the good conditions.When you escape from your country from persecution, then you cometo America and the same things happen to you again, you becomedepressed. Many (detainees) are really depressed.Another detainee, who later won asylum, said, “In my country I wasimprisoned and the conditions weren’t good. But here the conditions aregood, although I still can’t move around or leave.” Despite the comparativeimprovement in conditions, this detainee, who was tortured in hiscountry of origin because he refused his commander’s order to kill a prisoner,said INS detention caused nightmares and anxiety and worsened hisfeelings of despondency.Mental Health after DetentionDetention, like many of the traumas experienced by asylum seekers intheir countries of origin, was often a source of chronic suffering that persistedafter detainees’ release. Nevertheless, those released were faring significantlybetter than their detained counterparts in terms of mentalhealth, and attributed this improvement to their release. They gave examplesof their improved psychological states, as well as the symptoms thatlingered after release, such as weakness and a palpable sense of insecurity.After winning asylum and release, one former detainee reported that his“extreme” depression symptoms, such as poor appetite, crying easily,nightmares, and feeling alone had largely abated. But, “In detention I discoveredthat I was ‘psychologically weak.’” As a consequence, althoughhis fears had diminished with release, he reported that detention had lefthim with a more fragile state of mind.A young woman explained that her time in INS Detention had left herless able to cope with her past trauma. “I still cry about memories frommy country. Being in detention made me weak.”A 15-year-old detainee was eventually released and reunited with hermother. During a follow-up interview, she said. “I didn’t expect to be putin prison, arrested. I thought I had been abandoned and left alone.” Shebitterly explained the cause of her depression during detention: “I didnothing wrong. Why was I detained? How could they detain a child!” SheMENTAL HEALTH OF DETAINED ASYLUM SEEKERS 83