澳彩开奖

Following a peaceful rally protesting the living conditions and abusive treatment at a rural, privately operated immigrant prison in southern Georgia, guards selected three Black men to punish, forcing them to spend a month in isolation.

The men were ordered to spend 32 days in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. One man 鈥� Garsumo Dorley, 34 鈥� was sentenced to an additional 22 days after asking to see his psychiatrist, leaving him in segregation for a total of 54 days.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like being an animal in a cage,鈥� said Dorley, a native of Liberia. 鈥淭hat didn鈥檛 sit right with me at all. What did I do to deserve this? What can I do in a cage? I don鈥檛 know; I鈥檝e been through a lot, but that鈥檚 at the top of it.鈥�

Locked up alone in a bright, concrete cell with a heavy metal door, Dorley had nothing to do. Fluorescent lighting shined most of the day, which made sleeping difficult.

While in segregation at Folkston ICE Processing Center 鈥� operated by the for-profit prison corporation The GEO Group 鈥� Dorley said he was also assaulted by a guard. He filed a grievance, but guards simply responded with threats like, 鈥淚t鈥檚 on.鈥�

Another man, Michael Dufay, suffered an asthma attack and was denied an inhaler, despite repeated pleas, when the men were locked out in the sun after the protest. Dufay鈥檚 name has been changed in this story to protect his identity.

Maura Finn, lead attorney for the 澳彩开奖鈥檚 Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI), which provides free legal service for immigrants detained in facilities controlled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said the treatment was nothing short of abuse.

鈥淭hese men 鈥� Black men 鈥� were dehumanized simply for asking to be treated and spoken to with respect,鈥� Finn said. 鈥淒orley and Dufay were punished in a way akin to torture, especially for those suffering from mental illness. ICE鈥檚 refusal to help Dufay or provide medical assistance was not only egregious but dangerous. Sadly, this alarming abuse of individuals in ICE custody is the rule rather than the exception.鈥�

In fact, another ICE facility in Georgia 鈥� Irwin County Detention Center, also privately operated 鈥� was closed in May 2021 after human rights groups medical abuse against migrant women and other abuses as well. And earlier this month, the 澳彩开奖 and other human rights organizations filed an administrative complaint against Stewart Detention Center, also in Georgia, alleging a pattern of sexual assault by a male nurse and retaliation against women who reported it.

Inhumane treatment

The protest at Folkston took place on April 1. Dorley and Dufay were among 15 men who sat in the yard while a peaceful rally took place outside the facility鈥檚 fences.

Afterward, the men seated on the lawn considered returning inside. Instead, they refused to leave after a guard with a reputation for demeaning immigrants began to insult them. Then they were locked out for nearly three hours in the hot sun and denied food and water.

On April 17, a five-person went to Dorley鈥檚 cell, even after he told the guards he would willingly go to solitary confinement. Dorley said the team entered his room, slammed the door and tackled him.

鈥淚 tried to tell them I would go with them, but they wouldn鈥檛 listen,鈥� 鈥淭hey twisted my arms, cuffed my wrists and ankles. Afterward, I was bruised all over, I couldn鈥檛 open my jaw.鈥�

A doctor later diagnosed Dorley with , a problem with the joint that connects the jawbone to the skull.

鈥業 could die鈥�

Dufay and Dorley suspect that anti-Black racism is at the heart of why they were singled out.

鈥淲hen [the guards] punish people, they punish people like me, a Black man,鈥� Dufay said. 鈥淓verybody talks to the officers, but if you鈥檙e Black, you get written up and taken to solitary, just like that.鈥�

For Dorley, it has been hard to cope with the constant barrage of racist insults that guards hurl at him.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if this is a Black thing or what, but the way people talk to you in here is disgusting,鈥� Dorley said. 鈥淲e should all treat each other with respect and care. But the guards talk to you any way they want.鈥�

The facility is also rife with threats to the safety of the people held there.

鈥淭he food they give us is spoiled,鈥� Dufay said. 鈥淭he milk is spoiled. The rice they serve, they often cover it in gravy to hide that it is spoiled. There is mold on the walls and in the air vents. There is no sanitation going on in there. If we have white officers, they talk to us like we are animals. They have the nastiest stuff to say to us, which is why we stayed in the yard.鈥�

Indeed, a recent report from the details how the immigrant prison didn鈥檛 meet standards for facility conditions, medical care, grievances and segregation, among other problems. In addition, Folkston has compromised the health, safety and rights of detained individuals by exposing them to unsanitary conditions, such as torn mattresses; water leaks; mold growth and water damage; mold and debris in the ventilation system; and inoperable toilets.

Further, the report notes that ICE inconsistently responds to requests and grievances. And when COVID-19 hit, Folkston didn鈥檛 begin administering vaccines until April 2021, months after the vaccine became available.

鈥淚f someone in there got COVID-19, I could die,鈥� Dufay said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no sanitizer, no bleach, nothing you can use to clean the place properly. It tells me that they don鈥檛 care about us or what we鈥檝e got going on.鈥�

The Golden Rule

Before he was detained, Dorley lived in Atlanta for 12 years doing event marketing. He loved his job, but he鈥檚 been locked up for 10 months.

Dorley and his parents fled Liberia in 2010, due to continuing violence following the country鈥檚 long . His 8-year-old son, his girlfriend, his six siblings and his parents all live in the U.S.

What keeps Dorley sane, he said, is his family. They know the real Dorley 鈥� the father, the son, the brother, the friend.

鈥淚 know none of this will define the person I am,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not a number. I鈥檓 a student. I go to church. I work. I鈥檓 an honest person. I pay my taxes. I鈥檓 not a bad person; I just want to live my life peacefully. I love people. I don鈥檛 want to hurt anyone, and I don鈥檛 want anyone to hurt me. Be around me for a little bit of time, and you鈥檒l know who I am.鈥�

The 澳彩开奖鈥檚 Maura Finn said that despite all he has been through, Dorley has managed to keep his head up, but his punishment was undeserved.

鈥淒orley continues to advocate for himself and others,鈥� Finn said. 鈥淗e deserves to live with dignity and respect 鈥� outside of a cage.鈥�

Dorley lives by the Golden Rule: 鈥淚f you believe in God, you treat people how they should treat you,鈥� he said.

The fact that he and two other Black men were held in solitary confinement simply for protesting 鈥� while non-Black asylum seekers who protested at the same time were not 鈥� proves that there is something 鈥渙ff鈥� regarding 鈥減rotocol鈥� at Folkston.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 treat people differently,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you want to make things fair, make an example out of everybody. But to punish only Black men? You鈥檙e showing what you are: a racist.鈥�

Top picture: Detained immigrants play soccer behind a barbed wire fence at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, on Feb. 20, 2018. The facility was closed in May 2021 after human rights groups exposed medical abuse against migrant women and other abuses. (Credit: Reuters)