PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Asylum Seeker on Shelter Conditions and Challenges
0:30:47
·
5 min
An asylum seeker, speaking through a Spanish interpreter, describes the challenging conditions and frequent transfers experienced in New York City shelters over the past 11 months. The testimony highlights issues with safety, cleanliness, food quality, and the impact on children's education and health.
- The speaker reports being transferred between hotels and shelters about 6 times, causing disruption to their children's education.
- Health concerns are raised, including respiratory infections due to cold temperatures in shelters and a urinary tract infection attributed to unsanitary bathrooms.
- The testimony emphasizes the stress of frequent moves, poor food quality, and the desire for a more stable living situation, especially for the well-being of the speaker's children.
UNKNOWN (via Spanish Interpreter)
0:30:47
In this 11 months, I have been living in the United States.
0:30:51
I was transferred to different hotels and to different shelters for around 6 times already.
0:30:56
And also, And they also sent me to Pablo Hotels as well.
0:31:17
In these hotels, we can see any kind of people.
0:31:20
Dangerous people and people who are okay or people who are very dangerous.
0:31:25
So we don't have safety in the hotel.
0:31:28
Another problem is that my children lost, 2 weeks of classes because we were transferring so many times from one hotel to another.
0:32:00
Those weeks that we're staying in that shelter, we noticed that those shelters were extremely cold.
0:32:06
The reason why they were so cold is because the air conditioner was was high temperature, and my children got very sick.
0:32:13
They got sick with respiratory infections, so similar diseases like this.
Christine Quinn
0:32:34
Uh-huh.
0:32:34
Mhmm.
UNKNOWN (via Spanish Interpreter)
0:32:35
Another problem is that the bathrooms of those shelters are very dirty.
0:32:40
They are so dirty that I got infected with a urinary tract infection because of how dirty those bathrooms were.
0:32:48
Also, the food in those shelters is very bad.
0:32:51
The food is so bad that my children don't want to eat that kind of food they're serving in that shelter.
UNKNOWN
0:33:01
Okay.
0:33:01
Okay.
UNKNOWN (via Spanish Interpreter)
0:33:15
Please don't misinterpret what I'm I'm saying.
0:33:19
I appreciate to all of you and to the government of New York that you're giving me a plate of food and also a place for me to live.
0:33:26
But please understand, it's very hard for me because of my children that my children are going to eat the bad food.
0:34:02
Moving from one place to another.
0:34:04
Let me give you an example.
0:34:05
We move from one shelter to another shelter located around 45 Street in Roosevelt, and this causes extra expenses for us to move.
0:34:36
Okay.
0:34:37
We also have very high stress in this tile shelters.
0:34:41
Let me give you an an example.
0:34:43
My husband develop a bad skin disease called Russia, where the skin becomes very bad and the reason was because of the high stress that he was facing in that shelter.
0:35:00
The doctor told me that that skin disease was caused because of stress.
0:35:21
I would like that you gave me I'm sorry.
0:35:24
You gave me the opportunity to change all these, that I can have a better quality of life to live in a better place because it's very hard for me to live with this.
0:35:33
Especially, I'm very concerned about my children.
0:35:36
My children need help and they don't have to follow anything.
0:35:50
I wanted to become I don't want to have stresses or pressure because of this.
0:35:55
I wanted to be in a place in peace.
0:36:12
Okay.
0:36:12
There are other there are other things I would like to say to you, but unfortunately I know we limit your time.
0:36:19
And my other em em mates here, they also need to say their own things.
0:36:23
So this is the only things I can say for now, but there are other things I would like to tell you as well.
0:36:31
Okay.
0:36:32
We belong to a group or undocumented women who live in the United States.
