I have had a few very concerned Stewart Detention Center (SDC) officers ask me about the swine flu epidemic. Which is only natural I guess with all of the Swine Flu hype in the media. A few people have even gone so far as to ask me if they should wear a mask on the job at SDC. Evidently there is some concern regarding Swine Flu that the SDC administration is not adequately addressing.
It is my understanding that all of the intakes at SDC receive chest x-rays for TB. While I am far from a medical expert, it is my understanding that swine flu would also be detected through this test if it existed in the individual being checked for TB. Since apparently CCA/SDC administration is not answering your concerns regarding swine flu then I would instead consider checking with medical directly. I would hope that the medical authority in place at SDC would give you medically correct information if you asked them directly.
I do not think that staff at SDC really need to be overly concerned with Swine Flu. Just because you are around someone from Mexico does not mean that they have Swine Flu. That's just a silly way to think. Look at it this way, In New York City I understand that a large number of school students now have (and have spread) Swine Flu. It appears that they caught Swine Flu while on a school trip to Mexico. From what I have seen and read the majority of these Swine Flu carriers to the United States were Caucasian. Using the same type of logic that says "OMG Mexicans have swine flu! Run for your lives!" Would you therefore need to run in terror every time a white school aged child approached you in the North East? From what I have read New York City so far has way more Swine Flu cases than have been found in the rest of the US. So if it would be absurd to run from a teenager in New York then it would be equally absurd to prejudge a Mexican just based on his country of origin as being a swine flu carrier. Also keep in mind that many (if not most of the Mexicans) being held at the SDC have not been to Mexico for several years. Most of them were working and living in the United States since before this outbreak.
It is a shame that the Administration in place at SDC is either not adequately addressing staff concerns or just does not realise how concerned some SDC staff members are with this whole Swine Flu situation. Often it is more than a few crash gates that separate the administration from the line staff at SDC. While it appears that the staff morale situation has improved some since Warden Vance Laughlin (Good luck Adams County Correctional Center!) left SDC it also appears that it still has a way to go. It sounds to me very much like a failure of SDC management to address your concerns that has apparently created the fear and unknowing situation that seems to be in place with at least some SDC staff. I would like to encourage the leadership of SDC to make it a priority to alleviate the Swine FLu concerns of the SDC employees before it turns into something worse. The best way to do that might even be for some middle and upper level managers to not hide out behind a desk and make the rounds in the facility that they should be doing anyway. This would at least demonstrate to line staff that you are not scared of a phantom swine flu virus in intake or a housing unit.
Seems like we just might be learning something about ourselves out of this whole Swine Flu mess. Don't fall for the media hype. Swine flu is not a biblical plague sent from Mexico to kill us all. It is not Captain Trips/Project Blue. Don't panic and lets all treat each other well. If we do that then we should all get through this just fine.
Shining a light on Corrections Corporation of America's (CCA) Stewart Detention Center
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
From WTVM NEWS
WTVM News
Local soldier talks about his brother's wrongful deportation
By Chauncy Glover
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) - "Oh my God you're skinny. How long has it been since you've eaten."
A reunion filled with mixed emotions.
There was joy.
"I feel great to see my mom and be back in my country," says Marc Lyttle.
"I've had people looking. Phone calls to North Carolina and searching through the obituaries and calling hospitals," says Marc's mom, Jeanne Lyttle.
And there was anger.
"It was traumatize to me. It was a situation that should have never happened," says Marc.
"I'm outraged. This has got to stop. Just because you look at his color and he looks Caribbean, you don't ship someone out of the country. I don't understand how this could happen over and over again," she says.
31 year- old Marc Lyttle has a mental disorder and recalls to the best of his ability the story that kept him out of the United States for two years.
Family members say it all started in North Carolina-- 2007, when he served time in jail on a harassment charge.
When it came time for him to be released, Lyttle had no identification. He says he was then questioned by an agent with Immigration Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE.
"He stressed he had a mental condition and she still did not let him see his mother or a lawyer," says Neil Rambana, an immigration attorney
Two months later, Lyttle was sent to an Immigration Detention facility in Atlanta, where he went before an immigration judge.
"The judge says according to out records, prepared by the ICE agent, you are not a citizen. You're a Mexican. We are deporting you from the U.S.," says Rambana.
And that's when Lyttle's, big journey began.
December 9th, he flew from Texas to Mexico.
"This particular information is very disturbing. How in the hell did they get travel documents for him to go to Mexico? He's not a Mexican citizen. They basically put together paperwork and dumped in Mexico," says Neil.
While walking the streets of Mexico, Lyttle was picked up by Mexico City Immigration Enforcement and was kicked out of the country and sent to Honduras.
Marc says, "I had no money and no place to stay. I slept on the street. I was put in jail in Honduras for a month for no reason."
Lyttle says the conditions were harsh, while being in jail with other "big time" criminals as he calls them.
"I told them about my mental disorder and Sonya in Honduras, she told a guy in there to kill me because she didn't like American citizens," he adds.
After spending a month in jail, Lyttle was sent to Nicaragua and then sent to Guatemala. It was there when someone believed his story.
"He told them, he was looking for his brother who was in the U.S. military and somebody made that connection," says Marc's mother.
With the help of the U.S. Embassy, Lyttle's family paid for a new passport and a plane ticket to have him sent back to America.
When Marc Lyttle returned back to the United States, he flew into the Atlanta Airport, and once again he was black flagged because he had already been deported once.
"This kid was detained again. No one took the time to make any proper phone calls to family or other agencies to verify the story, instead they just treat this person with a mental disorder like a common criminal," says Neil.
"I lost it and I got on my knees and prayed and asked the lord to deal with everybody," says Jeanne Lyttle.
And Jeanne Lyttle's prayers were answered Friday morning, when ICE officials released Marc from the Atlanta Detention Center. When we contacted ICE officials they released a statement saying, "Immediately upon learning that Mr. Lyttle was claiming U.S. Citizenship and had been detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ICE conducted a thorough investigation and review of his file and all available information. Based upon the available information, ICE concluded that Mr. Lyttle is probably a U.S. citizen. ICE has initiated and will complete all the necessary actions to correct DHS databases."
And after a long two years of trying to get back into his family's arms, Marc Lyttle still has a smile, but also a statement for ICE as well.
"ICE needs to really know what they are doing. They just can't deport anybody and that's what they did to me," says Marc.
Local soldier talks about his brother's wrongful deportation
By Chauncy Glover
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) - "Oh my God you're skinny. How long has it been since you've eaten."
A reunion filled with mixed emotions.
There was joy.
"I feel great to see my mom and be back in my country," says Marc Lyttle.
"I've had people looking. Phone calls to North Carolina and searching through the obituaries and calling hospitals," says Marc's mom, Jeanne Lyttle.
And there was anger.
"It was traumatize to me. It was a situation that should have never happened," says Marc.
"I'm outraged. This has got to stop. Just because you look at his color and he looks Caribbean, you don't ship someone out of the country. I don't understand how this could happen over and over again," she says.
31 year- old Marc Lyttle has a mental disorder and recalls to the best of his ability the story that kept him out of the United States for two years.
Family members say it all started in North Carolina-- 2007, when he served time in jail on a harassment charge.
When it came time for him to be released, Lyttle had no identification. He says he was then questioned by an agent with Immigration Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE.
"He stressed he had a mental condition and she still did not let him see his mother or a lawyer," says Neil Rambana, an immigration attorney
Two months later, Lyttle was sent to an Immigration Detention facility in Atlanta, where he went before an immigration judge.
"The judge says according to out records, prepared by the ICE agent, you are not a citizen. You're a Mexican. We are deporting you from the U.S.," says Rambana.
And that's when Lyttle's, big journey began.
December 9th, he flew from Texas to Mexico.
"This particular information is very disturbing. How in the hell did they get travel documents for him to go to Mexico? He's not a Mexican citizen. They basically put together paperwork and dumped in Mexico," says Neil.
While walking the streets of Mexico, Lyttle was picked up by Mexico City Immigration Enforcement and was kicked out of the country and sent to Honduras.
Marc says, "I had no money and no place to stay. I slept on the street. I was put in jail in Honduras for a month for no reason."
Lyttle says the conditions were harsh, while being in jail with other "big time" criminals as he calls them.
"I told them about my mental disorder and Sonya in Honduras, she told a guy in there to kill me because she didn't like American citizens," he adds.
After spending a month in jail, Lyttle was sent to Nicaragua and then sent to Guatemala. It was there when someone believed his story.
"He told them, he was looking for his brother who was in the U.S. military and somebody made that connection," says Marc's mother.
With the help of the U.S. Embassy, Lyttle's family paid for a new passport and a plane ticket to have him sent back to America.
When Marc Lyttle returned back to the United States, he flew into the Atlanta Airport, and once again he was black flagged because he had already been deported once.
"This kid was detained again. No one took the time to make any proper phone calls to family or other agencies to verify the story, instead they just treat this person with a mental disorder like a common criminal," says Neil.
"I lost it and I got on my knees and prayed and asked the lord to deal with everybody," says Jeanne Lyttle.
And Jeanne Lyttle's prayers were answered Friday morning, when ICE officials released Marc from the Atlanta Detention Center. When we contacted ICE officials they released a statement saying, "Immediately upon learning that Mr. Lyttle was claiming U.S. Citizenship and had been detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ICE conducted a thorough investigation and review of his file and all available information. Based upon the available information, ICE concluded that Mr. Lyttle is probably a U.S. citizen. ICE has initiated and will complete all the necessary actions to correct DHS databases."
And after a long two years of trying to get back into his family's arms, Marc Lyttle still has a smile, but also a statement for ICE as well.
"ICE needs to really know what they are doing. They just can't deport anybody and that's what they did to me," says Marc.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The 270 View Music & Video Project
The 270 View is currently looking for music to put to it's message. You supply the music and we will add the message and promote the combined result. Music can not be copyrighted unless you hold the rights to it and grant The 270 View permission to use and promote it. Please read past blogs here to ensure that your music is a good fit for the 270 Views message. Bands can be from anywhere in the world and artists from outside of the United States are strongly encouraged to participate. Musical styles can reflect any genre although my own personal taste in music will somewhat cloud the selection process. Contact us at the270view@gmail.com if interested.
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