Vigil for Sarjina Emy

Sarjina Emy is a 19 year old teenager who has been detained at the Broward Transitional Center for over seven months. Sarjina came to this country when she was four years old. Her parents have already been deported. The family's lawyer Dr. Petia Knowles has a case pending in Federal Court to keep Sarjina and her brothers here, but is asking ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to release them to their friends and family while their cases are pending. This vigil is to ensure that ICE knows how much Florida cares about Sarjina's family.

Before all this happened to me I had a good life, good people around me,and a good family, We never did anything to hurt anyone. But now I feel we have lost everything. My family is torn apart. I haven’t seen my mom in 7 months, since the day they took us and split us up. I can only see my brothers for an hour and a half every week, even though they are in the same facility. I spent my birthday and every holiday in jail (Broward Transitional Center).

Date:	Friday, February 22, 2008
Time:	12:00pm - 5:00pm
Location:	In front of Broward Transitional Center
Street:	3900 N. Powerline Rd.
City/Town:	Deerfield Beach, FL

Sarjina did nothing wrong yet she is being jailed for over 7 months for something she unwittingly did as a four year old. If Florida residents have any sense of justice, they will come out and support her.

If you would like to learn more about the conditions in detention facilities click here and here.

Her brothers Sam and Rumy were also brought here as children. Since their detention, Rumy is expecting his first child with his wife Solange, a US Citizen. Sam's wife, Munmun, a Legal Resident soon to become a citizen, has lost her home because she could no longer afford to live there due to her husband's detention.

Here is a statement from Sam's wife.

"All that I can say is I really want my family back. I have no support here. I didn't work before. My husband was the one that supported me. Since my husband has been detained I have been really sad and depressed. I can't sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night with bad panic attacks. I even had to go to the hospital and even saw a psychiatrist. I have to take sleeping pills to sleep. I work every day to support myself. Last month, we lost our home because we couldn't afford it. I feel like we have been left with nothing. I really hope my husband can come back home. I really wish we can all be a family again. "

Click here for a news story on Sarjina.