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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"This boy seemed devastated--quiet and withdrawn."
The guardians didnt step more than two feet away from the kid. One of the four was an armed police officer. I thought, Does it take an army of adult men to take care of one elementary schooler? I walked over to the boy, crouched down, and asked him, in Spanish, How do you feel? Sad, he said.
The boy had been in custody for over a month. One of his guardians told me that he had been acting out and threatening to harm himself, by jumping from his bed. This man told me, Im his clinician, but he was definitely not a doctor. I dont know if hes a social worker, a medical assistant, a housekeeper. I have no clue. But he obviously had been granted some sort of authority in regard to assessing children and determining what their needs are. He wouldnt provide basic background. I couldnt find out any information because he would say, Im not at liberty to tell you that and You dont need to know that, even though a lot of my questions were relevant to taking care of the child. I was asking things like Where are his parents?
One of the men told me that the boy had crossed the border alone, but I didnt know if I was getting the true storyif he had been separated from his mother and father before or after he entered the country. The man who called himself a clinician also told me that they knew where his parents were, and one of them was in the United States. I didnt know if that meant in custody or not.
What bothers me is, if you know where this parent is, why can we not contact them for consent? They arent even made aware if their child has an injury, if their child is having a breakdown. These are people who were desperate for a better life and crossed the border. Why are their parental rights being taken away?
I asked the clinician, When is this child going to be reunited with his parents? He was evasive. First it was Oh, well, we dont know. And then it was Well, he wont be reunited with his parents unless he behaves. The lack of compassion was scary, and it didnt seem like there was really a plan.
This boy seemed devastatedquiet and withdrawn. He barely spoke. I asked if he needed a hug. I kneeled down in front of the recliner, and this kid just threw himself into my arms and didnt let go. He cried and I cried. And to think hes been in a facility for a month without a hug, away from his parents, and scared, and not knowing when hell see them again or if hell see them again. While I held him, I heard the men standing behind me muttering that I was rewarding his bad behavior. Thankfully, it was in English, so I dont think the boy understood what they were saying, but it just revealed their attitudes toward these kids.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/as-told-to/a-physician-in-south-texas-on-an-unnerving-encounter-with-an-eight-year-old-boy-in-immigration-detention?mbid=social_twitter
rzemanfl
(29,586 posts)Trek4Truth
(515 posts)rzemanfl
(29,586 posts)rzemanfl
(29,586 posts)Trek4Truth
(515 posts)madaboutharry
(40,248 posts)These poor innocent children are being abused.
Everyone involved in this must be brought to justice.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Why are they putting sociopaths in charge of children!? Is this what passes for childcare? Is this how they treat their own children? Gah!
Glimmer of Hope
(5,823 posts)secondwind
(16,903 posts)Response to RandySF (Original post)
secondwind This message was self-deleted by its author.
defacto7
(13,485 posts)I'd hate to think what kind of family these people grew up under or what kind of family they are raising themselves.
KT2000
(20,605 posts)places that have horrid discipline practices? This is not care of the child but punishment.
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,075 posts)It still damages the children, a lot.
Follow the money. Look at the no-bid contracts. See who is connected. $770 is a fat profit. That's way more than a luxury hotel. Why is that? Lots of useless overtime, lots of inflated cost of supplies. Gold plated hammers, anyone?
Trump is all about money. His regime is stuffed to the gills with grifters.
Follow the money.
calimary
(81,608 posts)Whoever this "clinician" is - he and his colleagues definitely belong in the "Special Place in Hell" Club.
pazzyanne
(6,560 posts)I worked with assessing, planning behavior plans, and implementing them for almost 30 years. NEVER did I or anyone I worked with use the techniques written about here! This is child abuse. OMG what evil is running the concentration camps for children. I am enraged as I read this, and never have I felt more helpless with the goal of bettering people's lives that I have had my entire life! Death would be too good a fate for this "clinitian".
peggysue2
(10,853 posts)an eight-year old is handled? Taken from his parent(s),untouched, no hugs. Because of his behavior.
Makes you wonder--with more than a little horror--how the babies and toddlers are being treated. Are they too judged on their 'behavior,' their unwillingness to comply/get with the program?
What a nightmare.
SunSeeker
(51,814 posts)diane in sf
(3,919 posts)MurrayDelph
(5,305 posts)appearing at a private event at the Peppermill.
I'm in Reno, but I haven't made my protest sign yet (I'm planning on protesting in LA this weekend).
Side 1:
My Dad didn't fight Nazis in Europe just to put them in charge here.
Side 2:
Trump wants a Final Solution.