My Parent's Nightmare at Philadelphia

Dear Everyone,
My parents recently travelled to the United States with a valid passport and visa which was supposed to bevalid until 2004, but despite this they were arrested, humiliated and deported as soon as they touched down at Philadelphia.This is the article which I wrote based on my parent’s harrowing testimony.It is purely authentic with no exxagerations whatsoever
Please believe it.

Nightmare At Philadelphia

I am a mother of two, aged 55 and a General Practitioner.My
husband is a Professor of Medicine aged 63.My son studies at
the University of Malta.
We had, for a long while been planning a vacation to the United
States to visit our daughter who works as a doctor in Philadelphia.We had
been told repeatedly by her of the astonishing beauty of that part of the world
during this time of the year, and she was all but insistent on not taking no for
an answer.Understandably, therefore our trip to the US that we were planning
was accompanied by a deep sense of anticipation.
Our happiness was short-lived in September of this year,a tragedy
of horrifying magnitude befell the United States, which had deep reverberations
around the world and which shocked billions the world over, including our-
selves.That we had been to the US repeatedly in the past few years and partook
of the friendliness and courtesy of the people there only served to intensify the
sense of sorrow that we felt.Those of our acquaintances who had our best inter-
ests at heart spared no effort in convincing us of the necessity to abandon our
plans, but to no avail.We were intent on visiting our daughter in America and
that was that.After all, our presence there may have put us in a position to offer
our condolences and share the pain of a nation struck by unspeakable tragedy.
Moreover, were we to abandon America at this time of need, we would not
only be eschewing our duty to our American friends, but we would, in a sense
be achieving the very goals that the heartless terrorists had set for themselves.
The nation that valued liberty, freedom and human dignity, we reasoned, was
not capable of mistreating foreigners like us whose intentions were good.
It was with this sense of duty and determination that we set for
the US on the 21’st of September from Malta.We checked in early in the
morning on our flight to Heathrow, with the immigration officials at Malta
International Airport duly inspecting and approving our visas.It is relevant to
note at this point that I had visited the United States on a previous visa in 1997.
Two years later, I had, together with my husband and son applied for another
visa which was to be valid until 2004, and which I had used on three separate
occasions to visit the US, with absolutely no untoward incident whatsoever.
It was with this very visa, supposedly valid until 2004 that I checked in : it
must also be mentioned that had the visa been wanting in any respect, the
immigration regulations would have barred the Maltese authorities from
even leaving the island.We flew to London’s Heathrow airport, where we
had to stay for six hours in transit.Here too, the British immigration au-
thorities duly inspected and approved our American visas, which enabled us
to board the British Airways jet to Philadelphia.
After a seven hour journey from London, we arrived at
the immigration in Philadelphia’s International Airport.We were told that
unnamed officers wished to speak to us, and that we had to proceed
elsewhere.An immigration officer bombarded us with questions, both
routine as well as unusual, pertaining to our identity, background, and
past histories.The kept us waiting, then ushered us to the FBI office,
where we were politely asked a few questions.The next thing we knew,
the Immigration officer who suddenly appeared in the office bluntly told
my husband, a dermatologist of thirty odd years experience, with no
criminal record whatsoever in his sixty-three years, that he was, in their
eyes, a “threat to the security of the United States”, and that his name had
come up in “ the computer list of people who are connected to terror
groups”.Finally we were told, despite the fact that we had travelled to the US
on more than one occasion with the same passport visa, we lacked the proper
visa to enter US territory, and consequently, were to be treated as illegal
immigrants.Before we had time to fully come to terms with the ludicrous
nature of this assertion, we were told that we would be deported immediately
after having spent the night in a detention centre.
My prime desire in visiting the US was to see my
daughter, which is why I requested an audience, however shortlived.This
simple desire was summarily rejected.My hands were handcuffed, and I saw
my husband’s feet and legs being bound with heavy chains that reminded me of
films I used to watch depicting the horrors of slavery meted out to African
slaves.Prior to being sent to the detention centre, I was stripped of my personal
belongings, including jewellery, and money.Only the clothes I was wearing
were left.Being a diabetic and hypertensive, I asked them if I could take some
eatables from my purse which would prevent me from developing hypogly-
caemia at this time of stress. This too was callously refused.All I was told was
that I was to be fed at the detention centre, which, as I found later was not the
case.
At the Detention Centre, during the course of interro-
gation, we were stripped of our last vestiges of dignity.My husband was under
stress, and had to visit the toilet on more that one occasion, to which the
officers present mockingly told themselves that he must be up to something
while in the toilet.I was separated from my husband at this point, and taken to a
cell with two other ladies whose demeanour suggested to me that they may
have been common criminals.The cell was utterly filthy, stinking with no
toilet facilities save for a water closet in the corner ( perish the thought of
privacy ! ).We had a steel plank for a bed, with no mattresses or pillows.
Having just crossed the Atlantic, it was tantamount to nothing less than sleep
deprivation in that cold, clammy cell.
I had not eaten for several hours – the unholy alliance
of stress, sleep and food and water deprivation had taken it’s toll and I was
beginning to feel the symptoms of hypoglycaemia – dizziness, nausea,
shivering, palpitations and most of all, a deep sense of impending doom.I
asked a passing officer for a nurse – this request was denied repeatedly – the
only time this request was fulfilled was at a point when I was feeling
perilously close to altogether losing my consciousness.
The nurse who attended to me in her clinic was a won-
derful person – she took my blood pressure, gave me an aspirin and reassured
me in a way that no medication could have.Her warmth and demeanour was
the pole opposite of what I had experience until now, to the extent that I burst
into tears – a reflection of those in her own eyes, for the innocent deaths in
New York, while mine were a reflection of both the tragedy as well as our
own misfortunes. I was later returned to my cell.
The next morning, I was taken to the main entrance of
the detention centre, where I saw my husband ( handcuffs and footchains and
all ) being handled by the Detention Officers.Despite his slight build, he had
been burdened with chains so heavy that he could scarcely walk.We were
transported to the Airport once more in a Police vehicle and put in a tiny
cell together that was locked with no windows or ventilation.The only toilet
facilities were a tiny water closet in the corner ( again no question of privacy).
We beseeched the officers for food, pointing out that the last time that we had
eaten was when we were on the plane – this was refused repeatedly.Stuck as we
were in that claustrophobic cell for close to ten hours, all we could do was
pray for the British Airways plane to arrive sooner rather than later.We
realized that having travelled from afar to see our daughter, we would be dis-
appointed, we literally went on our knees to ask for just one audience,even
a brief one, but this too was refused.Finally, one hour prior to our departure,
we were given permission to speak to our daughter on the phone, but with the
proviso that we could speak only in English, that we had a mere five minutes
( fancy crossing the Atlantic for five minutes of a conversation with your loved
one – we might as well have stayed home).Also privacy was not on the agenda –
our conversation with our daughter was to be overheard by the officers in
charge. Within the limits of these conditions, we were taken to a phone were
we did our utmost to reassure our daughter that no harm had befallen us and
that we were prepared to leave voluntarily rather than be deported.We told
her that we were treated well even though we had not even been allowed a
drink of water by our captors.We tried to put her distraught nerves at rest,
our own self-obvious distress reflected, rather than mitigated by hers.During
the course of this pathetic half-excuse of a conversation that we were per-
mitted, the officer monitering our call abruptly cut off the line, leaving us
in a states of acute disappointment.
Immediately after the phone call was terminated, a
bundle of nerves that I was, only too mindful of my plummetting blood glucose
( my diabetes didnt exactly make this ordeal particularly easy) , I beseeched the
officer in charge for some food.He reluctantly handed us a sandwich each, but
only after having kept us waiting for close to an hour.
Close to ten hours after having been penned up in
that cell, we were released, and handed our belongings back.We were taken to
a room where the officers slowly handed back our belongings.We were given
our bags, my jewellery and my money back.It was at this point that I dis-
covered that something was wrong.During my packing of my belongings,
I distinctly remember packing in an envelope $ 9600.I briefly and hastily
counted the $100 notes that I was handed to by the officer, only to find
88 rather than 96.I reported this to the officer promptly, who turned around
and made a few, sharp enquiries.He said “ sorry ma’am I think you have made
a mistake – nobody has taken your money”.Desperate as I was to bring this
hellish ordeal to an end, I obliged and signed a document that was to certify
that my belongings had all been returned.
Later, I counted the $ 100 dollar notes repeatedly,
only to find to my bemusement and astonishment that there were indeed only
$ 8800, and not the $ 9600 that I was so certain I had packed. I was intent on
vindicating myself, so I returned to the officer whom I had spoken to earlier.
He responded to my pleas with a grin that could only have been described as
being perverse in it’s indifference – he said “how can we be sure you are not
lying, for all we know you may be hiding it on your person.Do you think we
are thieves? Besides, you have already signed the document that affirms we
returned all your belongings.” The price for reporting this loss eventually
turned out to be a strip search – a female officer was summoned to undress
me in a small room – whether this was done to reassure me or them is
something I have yet to figure out.
My husband and I were ushered to the waiting
lounge of the airport in Philadelphia, and were denied even the chance to
check in with the rest of the passengers.Instead we were hauled into the
departures lounge bereft of our boarding passes.When I rose to tell the
official that we were frequent fliers with British Airways and wished to earn
miles, all we were told was “ we don’t care about your air miles.’ By the time
we boarded the plane, the interior of the British Airways aircraft seemed
like a palace !
The harrowing experience that I have narrated per
se is not the only issue weighing down on our consciences.The fact of the
matter is that my husband and I were at the receiving end of treatment that the
US justice system reserves almost exclusively for the likes of criminals and
illegal immigrants.And what was our crime, may I ask. We are both middle
aged citizens who have spent the bulk of our lives serving humanity through
the avenues of our profession.We both lack criminal records.We scarcely
fit the stereotype associated with criminals.Even the scapegoat we were
provided for this treatment was scarcely convincing – we both have valid ]
visas which were issued by the American Embassy in Malta valid until
the December of 2004 which we had used twice, ( thrice in the case of my-
self) to enter the United States territory, through perfectly legitimate
avenues, and had not committed any offence whatsoever while on US soil.
Moreover, the accusation levelled against my husband and myself, that we
were threats to the security of the US simply because our names had app-
eared on a computer list of suspected terrorists richly deserves the con-
tempt it receives from our part, particularly when brought into perspective
with our absence of a criminal record.To vindicate our position even
further, I would like to point out that I visited the American embassy the
day after my arrival in Malta, only to be told in no uncertain terms that
the visa which we had been issued two years earlier was perfectly valid,
and to quote the Councillor General himself, he could see no reason for
what had just happened.Why, oh why, were we treated the way that we
were ?
The only logical explanation I can arrive at, or
shall I say compelled to arrive at, therefore, is that the stuggle against terror
in the world’s most powerful nation, despite the plethora of means at it’s
disposal, has degenerated into a witchhunt so bizarre that any individual,
despite his or her background, personality and personal opinions can be
denigrated, indeed defined as nothing more than a security risk simply at
the whims of officials.This is unfortunate not only because of the scars
it leaves in the hearts and minds of people like myself, but also this is
precisely the kind of behaviour that one would wish would die a natural
death in the aftermath of the terrible tragedy that has recently befallen
the United States.Needless to say, I have a right to expect better than this.

Dr Naseema A. Naqib