Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman who has been jailed in a U.S. immigration facility for nearly a year after participating in protests in New York City, recently experienced a seizure following a fainting spell. She attributes this health episode to the filthy and inhumane conditions in the privately-run Prairieland Detention Facility in Texas.
The 33-year-old spent three days hospitalized due to the seizure and has returned to the facility where she alleges she received poor treatment while shackled during her hospital stay. For three days in the emergency room, I felt like an animal, unable to call my family or meet with my lawyers, Kordia remarked in a statement through her legal representatives.
Kordia's health issues stem from inadequate nutrition and excessive stress, as detailed by her doctors, who noted that she has lost 49 pounds and was denied meals that adhere to her Islamic faith. The food is so bad it makes me sick, she stated in a recent interview.
Department of Homeland Security representatives claimed Kordia was not being mistreated and was receiving proper medical care. However, Kordia describes the facility as a place designed to break spirits and destroy hope. She cited her political activism after losing family in Gaza as the impetus behind her participation in the protests and her eventual arrest.
Kordia has not been charged with any crime and has seen two court orders for her release contested by the government, igniting a lengthy appeal process. Her lawyers argue that she incorrectly defaulted on her student visa while attempting to adjust her immigration status.
In a harrowing conclusion to her statement, Kordia declared, The best medicine for me and everyone else here is our freedom.\
