Nearly two decades ago, Andrea Paz made a choice a mother should never have to make. She decided to leave her two young sons behind in her native Guatemala and flee to the U.S. in fear for her life.
“It was another planet here, but I felt afraid of the police at home,” the Chicago resident said.
Guatemalan government soldiers kidnapped and tortured Paz’s husband in 1984 and he was never seen again, she said. Paz fled to the U.S. that year and was reunited with her sons three years later.
A saving grace for Paz and countless others who have relocated to the U.S. is the Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center in Chicago. The center provides a treatment program devoted to the recovery and healing of individuals, families and communities affected by torture. At the Marjorie Kovler Center, 1331 West Albion Ave., clients receive mental health and medical care, forensic evaluation, body-based and occupational therapies, case management, interpretation services and legal referrals. But most importantly they become a part of an extended network of fellow torture survivors who have shared their horrific experiences.
“We offer a kind of transitional point where people can use our center to begin to feel safe again through the connections they’re starting to make with other people who understand and are sensitive to the situation and what their needs are,” said Marianne Joyce, the center’s social services manager.
There are many torture survivors in the Chicago area, Joyce said, although she said she is not sure exactly how many.
“The number of survivors here is more of a reflection of how many there are in the world,” she said. “Torture is such a prevailing practice in the world, and people end up coming to Chicago either randomly or because they have a relative or a friend here.”
There are at least 500,000 torture survivors in the U.S., according to data compiled by the Center for Victims of Torture in Minneapolis.
The same data reported 80 percent of victims suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, 90 percent from depression and 98 percent from anxiety. As reported in a Daily article earlier this month, the effects of PTSD can be irreversible and are extremely difficult to treat.
“Victims of torture suffer from a debilitating fear that they will face their attacker around every corner,” Joyce said. “We understand what that whole phenomenon is. Our center becomes the first place where people begin to feel safe and connect with other human beings. Little by little, one person by one person, they begin to engage in safe relationships.”
Common signs of PTSD in victims of torture include fear and anxiety in formal settings, sleeplessness and nightmares that result in diminished alertness and concentration during the day, forgetfulness and flashbacks. Survivors experience emotional trauma such as disorientation, shock, outbursts of anger, panic, isolation, detachment, guilt and expectation of doom in the future.
The Marjorie Kovler Center, located in Rogers Park, is the only local resource that offers a wide variety of services for victims of torture, serving the entire Chicago area, including Evanston. With a mostly volunteer staff, the center provides primary health care, psychiatry, psychotherapy and various group activities to survivors and their families. When clients first contact the center, staff members and volunteers work to provide food and shelter to survivors who have no other resources. This can be a challenge, as most survivors come to this country with no official status and are not considered refugees, Joyce said.
Those seeking political asylum do not have the same legal support as refugees, and unlike refugees, asylum seekers are detained in county prisons when they first arrive, sometimes for months or even years. The Center for Victims of Torture’s data compilation reported the U.S. received 40,000 asylum applications in 2009, with two-thirds of tortured asylum seekers suffering from PTSD.
Those seeking political asylum must prove to a judge they have a well-founded fear of persecution if they were to return to their native country, said Tara Tidwell Cullen, associate director of communications for the National Immigrant Justice Center. The persecution must be based on one of five categories: religion, political beliefs, race, nationality or membership in a social group, the Northwestern graduate said.
“Going through the process of showing you’ve faced persecution or will face persecution on your return can be very challenging for most people, especially if you take into account they’re new to the U.S. and the legal system here, don’t speak English and can suffer from PTSD,” said Tidwell Cullen, Medill ’02.
Asylum seekers go through a “critical fear interview” in which their case is assessed by an asylum office representative who will decide if their fear is credible. The issue for most asylum seekers is finding a legal representative to start the process of applying for asylum, Tidwell Cullen said.
Once asylum seekers finally do access an attorney, they must endure another psychological battle, that of retelling their story, often before they’re emotionally ready.
“The process of recounting your story before you’re ready, especially if you have PTSD, can be traumatizing,” Tidwell Cullen said. “It can be very difficult, but has to be done for them to show the judge they need asylum.”
Adding insult to injury is the lack of psychological resources available for asylum seekers in the prisons.
“The major concern with the immigration detention system is that jails aren’t prepared for the immigrant population and asylum seekers who suffer from PTSD,” Tidwell Cullen said. “Medical care there is pretty bad. The Chicago area is better than others, but still not as good as it should be.”
After her release, Paz found a safety net and supporting community at the Marjorie Kovler Center, which helped her move forward with a new life in the Chicago area.
Paz now works to help other Guatemalans who face the same situation she did 27 years ago.
“We are lucky because we found this help,” she said. “Now I just want to find justice for my husband.”
