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Trump’s loyal foot-soldier was forced to admit the obvious, when challenged by Reporters on the conditions that imprisoned refugees and asylum-seekers are being forced to endure — under the ‘care and supervision’ of American officials ...
Pence: Border facility conditions are unacceptable
'Time for Congress to act'
Asked by CNN whether the conditions for the detained single adult immigrants were acceptable, Pence said no.
[...]
In McAllen, Pence did not engage directly with any of the men, but he did speak with some of the children and mothers in Donna, asking them if they were well cared for. They all nodded yes. Children told him their journey to the United States by foot took two and three months. In Donna, there were rooms filled with health supplies, snacks and changes of clothes for the migrants, many of whom had arrived at the facility with shoes and pants crusted in mud from the journey.
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'This isn't human'
The men in the sally port in McAllen told CNN they had been in Customs and Border Protection custody for more than 40 days. They said they hadn't had access to showers or toothbrushes. They yelled before reporters that they were hungry.
"This isn't human. I'm not a terrorist," one man said.
Here’s one more “report” that ‘fans of this Administration’ are not likely to have read. Let me summarize some of its key points …
III GENEVA CONVENTION — RELATIVE TO THE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR -- 12 AUGUST 1949
CHAPTER II – QUARTERS, FOOD AND CLOTHING OF PRISONERS OF WAR
Article 25 Quarters .................................. 102
Article 26 Food ...................................... 102
Article 27 Clothing ................................... 102
Article 28 Canteens .................................. 103
CHAPTER III – HYGIENE AN MEDICAL ATTENTION
Article 29 Hygiene ................................... 103
Article 30 Medical attention ...................... 103
Article 31 Medical inspections .................... 104
Article 32 Prisoners engaged on medical duties ... 104
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Quarters
ART. 25. — Prisoners of war shall be quartered under conditions as favourable as those for the forces of the Detaining Power who are billeted in the same area. The said conditions shall make allowance for the habits and customs of the prisoners and shall in no case be prejudicial to their health.
The foregoing provisions shall apply in particular to the dormitories of prisoners of war as regards both total surface and minimum cubic space, and the general installations, bedding and blankets.
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Food
ART. 26. — The basic daily food rations shall be sufficient in quantity, quality and variety to keep prisoners of war in good health and to prevent loss of weight or the development of nutritional deficiencies. Account shall also be taken of the habitual diet of the prisoners.
The Detaining Power shall supply prisoners of war who work with such additional rations as are necessary for the labour on which they are employed.
Sufficient drinking water shall be supplied to prisoners of war. The use of tobacco shall be permitted.
Prisoners of war shall, as far as possible, be associated with the preparation of their meals; they may be employed for that purpose in the kitchens. Furthermore, they shall be given the means of preparing, themselves, the additional food in their possession.
Adequate premises shall be provided for messing.
Collective disciplinary measures affecting food are prohibited.
Clothing
ART. 27. — Clothing, underwear and footwear shall be supplied to prisoners of war in sufficient quantities by the Detaining Power, which shall make allowance for the climate of the region where the prisoners are detained. Uniforms of enemy armed forces captured by the Detaining Power should, if suitable for the climate, be made available to clothe prisoners of war.
The regular replacement and repair of the above articles shall be assured by the Detaining Power. In addition, prisoners of war who work shall receive appropriate clothing, wherever the nature of the work demands.
Canteens
ART. 28. — Canteens shall be installed in all camps, where prisoners of war may procure foodstuffs, soap and tobacco and ordinary articles in daily use. The tariff shall never be in excess of local market prices.
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Hygiene
ART. 29. — The Detaining Power shall be bound to take all sanitary measures necessary to ensure the cleanliness and healthfulness of camps, and to prevent epidemics.
Prisoners of war shall have for their use, day and night, conveniences which conform to the rules of hygiene and are maintained in a constant state of cleanliness. In any camps in which women prisoners of war are accommodated, separate conveniences shall be provided for them.
Also, apart from the baths and showers with which the camps shall be furnished, prisoners of war shall be provided with sufficient water and soap for their personal toilet and for washing their personal laundry; the necessary installations, facilities and time shall be granted them for that purpose.
Medical attention
ART. 30. — Every camp shall have an adequate infirmary where prisoners of war may have the attention they require, as well as appropriate diet. [...]
Prisoners of war shall have the attention, preferably, of medical personnel of the Power on which they depend and, if possible, of their nationality.
Prisoners of war may not be prevented from presenting themselves to the medical authorities for examination. The detaining authorities shall, upon request, issue to every prisoner who has undergone treatment, an official certificate indicating the nature of his illness or injury, and the duration and kind of treatment received. A duplicate of this certificate shall be forwarded to the Central Prisoners of War Agency.
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Medical inspections
ART. 31. — Medical inspections of prisoners of war shall be held at least once a month. They shall include the checking and the recording of the weight of each prisoner of war. Their purpose shall be, in particular, to supervise the general state of health, nutrition and cleanliness of prisoners and to detect contagious diseases, especially tuberculosis, malaria and venereal disease. For this purpose the most efficient methods available shall be employed, e.g. periodic mass miniature radiography for the early detection of tuberculosis.
How is “minimum cubic space” determined?
It is not measured by how many sardines you can cram into a can.
It is not measured by how many travelers you can cram into the bus.
No. It is measured by this “yardstick” of humane conditions:
Prisoners of war shall be quartered under conditions as favourable as those for the forces of the Detaining Power who are billeted in the same area.
So check out the guards quarters on the grounds. And you have your “humane metric.”
Since refugees and asylum-seekers “are not terrorists” — they have not declared war against America — they should be afforded at the bare minimum, the same standards of treatment, that a terrorist detainee would get.
If there were any “humane” justice in world (in Trump’s America), refugees and asylum-seekers would at worst receive “ankle bracelets” and granted their freedom — with a signed agreement to return for their admittance application trial when their hearing date comes up.
— THAT would assure them — as prospective American workers — a humane amount of “minimum cubic space” as their cases are made.
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Short of that though, here’s another “rule of thumb” metric for determining “minimum cubic space”:
When a facility has a Maximum Capacity of 125 adults — jamming in 700, then 900 people into that space, rated for 125 — definitely qualifies as “inhumane” according to the Geneva Convention.
Or in the mumbling words of America’s current Vice president: “That is unacceptable.”
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Here is another US elected official who stated the case against this captive abuse, much more elegantly, with all the due outrage that this “unacceptable” Trump-Administration-created situation warrants:
If you aren’t mad — then you really aren’t paying attention.
These inhumane atrocities — being committed in our names — against freedom-seeking individuals are really something that cannot stand, in a country that once valued Freedom and Opportunity as its cornerstone values.
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What is Acceptable is: that refugees and asylum-seekers be given the opportunity to pursue their rightful cases, with same dignity and respect that prior generation of American-dream seekers received from our people-driven Government — at the barest of minimum.
Think of your Great-Grandparents; Think of how you would have wanted them treated. Then do the same unto others, currently walking in their shoes.
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