Seeking Asylum from Torture: A Doctor's View

The woman had been kept as a sex slave for so long that it was difficult for her to understand that she was a free person, deserving of human compassion and dignity. She was raped, shackled, beaten, burned, forced to drink human blood and eat human flesh. I had many sleepless nights while I was documenting her story for a medical affidavit as part of her political asylum application. Because of her fragility, the attorney had asked special permission for me to attend the affirmative asylum interview. Sitting in the small, cramped room, she had to relive her horror one more time. The interpreter cried. The officer was visibly shaken. I sat with clenched hands, sweat dampening my dress. Her sense of linear time was nonexistent, and her answers to questions based in Western culture were sometimes confusing. The officer was compassionate and sensitive, and I believed she would grant asylum.

When the interview was finished, I felt a wave of relief. I saw …