BY
EDWIDGE DANTICAT
www.progressive.org
A
year ago, my family lost its patriarch, a church in a very impoverished Haitian
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Edwidge Danticat
( photo credit New York Times |
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neighborhood lost its shepherd, and America lost an opportunity to live up to
its ideals.
A
year ago, my 81-year-old uncle, the Rev. Joseph Nozius Dantica, died while in
the custody of Miami's Krome Detention Center, which is overseen by the Department
of Homeland Security.
After
fleeing a violent gang in Haiti, which had ransacked his home and church and threatened
his life, my uncle ended up at Miami International Airport last Oct. 29 with everything
he owned packed in a briefcase. Among his few remaining possessions were medications
he was taking for hypertension and an inflamed prostate. He was also carrying
a passport with a valid visa.
He
asked for asylum.
My
uncle, who as a result of previous larynx cancer surgery used a voice box to speak,
was immediately taken into custody. The medications he had brought with him
from Haiti were confiscated. Three days later at Krome, he had a hearing to determine
whether he had a ''credible fear'' of persecution if he returned to Haiti.
When
he began vomiting at the hearing, he was accused of faking his illness. He was
then transported, in shackles, to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ward D, where prisoners
are held. Despite many calls to the ward, I was not allowed to speak to him, nor
would anyone -- either from the hospital or from Krome -- give me, or his lawyer,
any update on his condition. We were told we could not visit him for ''security
reasons.'' Twenty-four hours later he was dead.
On
the anniversary of my uncle's death, I tell and retell his story, as I have been
this
entire year, not only to honor him -- as is the duty of the living to the dead
-- but to demand justice. There must be disciplinary action against those who
contributed to his death, as well as specific policy changes that would prevent
other asylum seekers, particularly those who are elderly or infirm, from suffering
the same fate.
With
help from the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, my family filed a federal lawsuit
to obtain copies of my uncle's medical records from the Public Health Service
at Krome. It took public requests from several human-rights organizations, including
Amnesty International, as well as support from Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and
Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., to have his death investigated by the Office of the
Inspector General of the United States. All in the hope that some lessons could
be learned and some improvements made in the treatment -- at best neglectful and
at worst cruel -- that many asylum seekers, particularly Haitians, receive upon
their arrival in the United States.
A
year later, we finally have the results of the investigation. It absolves all
Department of Homeland Security personnel of any responsibility in my uncle's
unnecessary death. It makes no recommendations, as far as I can tell, on how a
situation like this could be avoided in the future.
Tragically,
this apparent unwillingness to reexamine and amend policies and procedures that
have such disastrous consequences can only lead to the loss of many more lives.
Edwidge
Danticat, a native of Haiti, is the author of several novels, including, most
recently, Anacaona, Golden Flower.
