16078: (Hermantin) Sun Sentinel-Refugees remain in detention (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Refugees remain in detention

By Tanya Weinberg
Staff Writer

July 4, 2003

More than 80 have been deported and more than 80 have been released, but
about 32 passengers from an Oct. 29 Haitian refugee boat remain in
immigration detention in South Florida.

Of those, two already won asylum claims in court. The government is
appealing the decisions, and almost five months later, the two men remain at
the Krome detention center west of Miami.

A psychologist who examined them Wednesday said both are suffering from
clinical depression, anxiety, and have symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder.

One of the men's physical health has noticeably declined. Rochenel Charles,
55, has been treated for coughing up blood, and says he continues to suffer
from chest pain and nausea.

"He's at that point of overwhelm. It's been too long; he's really
deteriorating at a rapid rate," said Teresa Descilo, executive director of
Victim Services Center in Miami.

"He's gotten so thin that his watch would probably fit around his wrist
twice," she said. "It's very sad."

Charles' pro-bono attorney, Candace Jean, of Catholic Charities, translated
a Wednesday telephone interview with him from Krome.

"The way I see things, I just need to get out," Charles said. "I was in
hiding, I was escaping, I was on the boat; I went through so many things."

Last month, Charles wound up in an isolation cell for two days after a guard
accused him of cursing her. Charles said he was sitting on the ground in the
cafeteria line because he felt too weak to stand. When a guard ordered him
to get up, he grasped her meaning although he does not speak English.

He says he responded with two of the only words he knows: "Thank you." The
guard thought he used a different, profane phrase.

For two days, Charles said he was kept in a cell alone with the light always
on, and only one thin blanket in the highly air-conditioned room.

"It was very bad," Charles said. "I couldn't eat; I couldn't sleep. It was
too cold in there."

Barbara Gonzalez, Miami spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, said she was not familiar with the details of the disciplinary
action against Charles. In general, she said a transfer to isolation follows
violation of rules or policies and is used to protect everybody's safety.

Ernesto Joseph, 18, also arrived on the Oct. 29 boat, and also remained
detained for four months after a judge granted his asylum request. Homeland
Security officials paroled him on humanitarian grounds on June 11 after
investigating Joseph's diagnosis of severe depression and Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder.

Since his release, Joseph, who would barely engage in a conversation while
at Krome, has rediscovered his smile and an outgoing personality.

The Bush administration has made it clear it intends to detain all adult
Haitian refugees who arrive by boat until their asylum cases are complete as
a means to deter mass migration from the island. Officials have approved
some exceptions on humanitarian grounds, including several pregnant women
and Joseph.

Tanya Weinberg can be reached at tweinberg@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5029.


Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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