 AMPUTEES FROM SIERRA LEONE FIGHT TO REMAIN IN US
Agroup of amputees from Sierra Leone who were brought to the US last year for medication treatment are fighting to remain in the US. The nine people, three adults and six children aged 4 to 15, were maimed by combatants in the country’s civil war, which has been going on since 1991. They were brought to the US by a New York manufacturer of prosthetic limbs and two area Rotary Clubs.
Since coming to the US, they have all received state of the art prosthetic devices and their general health has improved dramatically. They now want to seek asylum in the US, and many can understand why they do not want to return to Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world, where the civil war still rages. However, the INS wants to enforce their departure, which is scheduled for some time in March.
For one thing, the INS wants to avoid setting the precedent of allowing people to come to the US for medical treatment to stay, because it could lead to an increase in the denial rate for others seeking visas to come to the US for treatment. According to INS spokesperson Bill Strassberger, when “one group gets permission to stay . . . others try the same thing.” He also warns that whatever the final decision on the asylum applications, it will likely have an impact on other visa seekers from Sierra Leone.
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