An immigrant from whom the US authorities took the child for 50 days told how he returned
'03.08.2018'
Source: Mirror
Border patrols separated five-year-old Thiago from Ana's mom, Carolina Fernandez, in New Mexico on May 22 after they illegally entered the United States from Brazil. Before the boy was taken away from his mother, most of all he loved to play with cartoon figures. But now the child is playing a game of "search" and handcuffing relatives.
Thiago is one of nearly 3000 children forcibly separated from their parents under Donald Trump's new "zero tolerance" immigration policy, writes Mirror.
Some were literally torn away from adults with crying and pleading, others were taken away by deception - they were told that they were being taken away to play with other children. The day after the arrest of Ana and Thiago, the boy was told that he was being taken away. He sobbed that night until he fell asleep.
“When the officer came for Thiago, he had to carry him in his arms because he was sleepy,” says Ana. "Then he started crying."
Now, the son is finally reunited with his mom after 50 days - but Ana says her little boy has changed a lot.
When she noticed her son in the baggage claim area at the airport, the woman ran to him, but the boy just "stood there frozen." Later, the child asked his mother to breastfeed him, although he had not done so in years. According to the woman, now the child gets nervous when strangers arrive at their new home in Philadelphia - Thiago hides behind the sofa, and from time to time closes in the closet to avoid communication.
“My son was carefree - but now he is not. He doesn't want to talk to anyone, ”Ana admits.
Trump completed the 20 family reunification process in June, and over the past few weeks over 1 800 separated children returned to their parents. But for many, the trauma associated with separation from parents at such a young age resulted in anxiety, introversion, regression, and other mental health problems, said the parents and volunteers themselves, who are trying to help children.
One of them is Joanna Francini, coordinator of the national Together & Free network of volunteers working with migrant children and their parents.
“Our volunteers see significant and real losses that traumatized children endure after separation from their parents, even after reunification,” the woman says.
According to her, one of the three-year-old boys seems to imitate the actions that he observed while in custody in the immigration and customs service: in his games he “puts on handcuffs” and “vaccinates” others. Little brother and sister, says Joanna, burst into tears when they saw the police on the street.
The Trump administration has placed separated children in about 100 shelters, where for safety reasons children were not allowed to touch each other. About 10 percent of those taken away from their parents, including Thiago, were placed in foster care.
When asked if he was embraced in a foster family, Thiago shook his finger from side to side and said no. After that, the boy gently added: "I did not like them."
For the first few days after Thiago was taken away, Ana could not speak to her son while in federal prison. But then she was called and allowed to call. On the phone, an unfamiliar woman told her that Thiago had closed: the boy refused to eat and wash. He was called to the phone and, hearing his mother, the child began to sob involuntarily.
A few more weeks passed until they were able to talk again, and during that time Thiago was taken to Los Angeles and given to a foster family. When Anu finally released 10 Jun, she was given a toll free number to locate her son.
She moved in with relatives, and then she was going to hire a lawyer from Boston, Jesse Bless, to bring Thiago back.
From time to time, the mother says she sees the former Thiago, but fears that both of them have a long way to go. Now the woman plans to turn to a psychotherapist.
Johanna Beek, a professor of psychology at the University of Houston who studies adverse childhood experiences, says: “There is no greater threat to a child's emotional well-being than separation from the primary caregiver. Even if it does not last long, for a child it is eternity. The bad news is that the first few years of life are a sensitive period in brain development; what happens may manifest itself negatively in the future. The good news is that children are resilient and can benefit from early specialist care. ”
In June, the court vetoed Trump's order to separate immigrant children and their parents, and gave his administration 30 days to reunite separated families. Judge Dana Sabrau also ordered the government to return the children under the age of five to the parents for 14 days and to allow the children to talk with their families for 10 days.
