Aman is the detainee I visited at Stewart yesterday afternoon.
This is not his real name. We were encouraged to change them if we wrote or
talked about our experiences, for the safety of the detainees. Aman means
"Peace" in his native Punjabi language.
I should also say that all of these stories are my best
recollections based on the notes I took after leaving the visiting area.
Visitors are not allowed to bring phones, cameras or any recording devices in
even to the waiting area. We also are not allowed pen and paper back to the
visiting area, even though we are in separate rooms divided by a block wall and
plexiglass. The only possible explanation for this is the ICE and CoreCivic, the private firm that runs the center, don't want detailed notes
about the detainees or the conditions being taken.
Still, a little contraband gets back there anyway, as I "fuck
this", among other things, scratched into the metal window frame and
"the system is unjust" written in Sharpie on one of the chairs.
Aman speaks very little English and I speak zero Punjabi, so we
did the best we could. What I learned is that he has been in ICE custody for
about 15 months; nine at another location and six here at Stewart. He thinks he
will be deported back to Punjab in about two months.
He arrived in the US via a flight from India to Quito, Ecuador. He
then traveled by foot, bus, and taxi to the US border. Look at a map to see
what his journey was. From Ecuador
through Columbia,
Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and finally the US. It's about 2,000 miles point to point in the air. Google can't calculate a driving time or distance and the terrain is extremely rough in some places.
Aman is a farmer back home. We were able talk a little about what
he grows: tomatoes,
potatoes,
onions. He came to America fleeing political violence. He tried to explain this
to me, talking a bit about two parties but we struggled with this due to the
language barrier. He showed me two large scars on his upper arm and chest. Aman
made a slashing motion indicating he was cut with a sword or machete. His
mother passed away and he teared up when he talked about this, which led me to
think she may have been killed in the violence (incidentally, I did Google some
of his when I got back in the car and found recent articles about violence in
the Punjab region of India and English editions of Indian newspapers).
Aman is in his 40's like me (well, almost), and has two sons back
home. They are staying in a Sikh temple right now and he feels they are safe.
Aman did not have much in the way of complaints about his situation
and he seemed resigned to his fate. He said the food and grounds are ok. He
only gets to go outside 1 – 2 times per week and no natural light gets in to
the detainee area of the complex. When I was there, for the better part of 4
hours, I did not see any detainees in any of the
yard areas. He also said they never turn off the lights in their rooms at
night. He asked for a Punjabi book, clothes for his trip back home, and to put
some money on his calling card account so he could call back home. He said "God bless you" and that he would pray for me and I told him the same
That's it for now. I'll share a bit about Stewart next time and
then continue on with the stories.
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