Bridgewater-Raritan High School junior Vamsi Vaidyula recently published a book called Humans of Immigration Detention: Fighting for Freedom Behind Steel Bars and Concrete Walls. The book hopes to spread awareness of the injustices in the U.S. Immigration Detention system.
In terms of the inspirations for the content of the book, Vaidyula looked to his experiences working with immigrant and refugee families to free them from detention centers and reunite them with their families.
He comments on his experiences thus far.
“I have been able to both see and experience the psychological trauma and abuse that these individuals have gone through when unjustly detained,” Vaidyula said.
By writing this book, Vaidyula wants to reach high school students across the country in hopes of inspiring them to take part in the fight for migrant rights and equality for immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers. Though he has been able to see the pain and suffering faced by immigrants, many have not. Being exposed to these stories and experiences can make students more informed about issues in our country.
Vaidyula also brings up that, in the modern day, most kids are preoccupied with social media and while they may know about the injustices within the U.S. Immigration Detention system, they do not act on this knowledge. To make it more appealing to the youth, each page in the book is formatted to represent an Instagram graphic to encourage everyone to take part in understanding and fighting against these injustices.
The book follows the journey of four immigrants as they face numerous struggles when unjustly locked behind bars in detention facilities. It details the abuse and isolation they felt while detained. Although many of these migrants come to America to escape violence, they are often faced with more violence when thrown into poorly maintained detention facilities. They are also forced to endure both physical and emotional abuse from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and have no guarantee of a safe life in America or with their loved ones.
Vaidyula’s urge to spread knowledge of this topic is not only limited to his book. He also runs a club at the high school called STAR, which stands for Students Together Assisting Refugees. The club has been able to educate by “creating book clubs, organizing refugee-audio-visual tent exhibitions, and making resource projects,” he said. The club’s Google Classroom code is bwuhurz.
He leaves readers with the final thought to #FreeThemAll because if the current generation is unwilling to fight for immigrants’ rights, then no one is, he said.
To read Humans of Immigration Detention: Fighting for Freedom Behind Steel Bars and Concrete Walls, the book can be found on Amazon. According to Vaidyula, all proceeds from book sales will be donated to resettlement agencies across New Jersey.
