If US first lady Melania Trump thought she could wear a jacket with the words "I Really Don't Care, Do U?" to a child detention centre and no one would react to it, she was clearly mistaken. Melania garnered widespread criticism for her attire, even though president Donald Trump defended her and said that it was a message for memers online.
People lashed out at the first lady for being insensitive at a time when hundreds of migrant families have been separated while crossing over to the US. It has been reported that children – toddlers and teens – have been taken away from their family and housed in detention centres in deplorable conditions.
But what now comes as a breath of fresh air is a jacket by a US-based women's apparel company Wildfang, which says: "I Really Do Care, Don't U?" The brand has taken the Zara jacket and repurposed it with the words in support of immigration rights.
Wildfang has a T-shirt, a black bomber and the olive green jacket with the words emblazoned on it, and 100 percent sale proceeds will be donated to RAICES, an organisation that provides legal counsel to immigrants. What adds to the cheer is the fact that people have made it evident that they care about the migrants and the attire was sold out hours after they were released.
The brand, in an Instagram post, revealed that the attires were flying off the racks and have raised $15,000 overnight. Wildfang is now restocking the pieces.
SOOOO what if we made our own version of Melania’s jacket and donated all the proceeds to @RAICESTEXAS. WHO’S IN? pic.twitter.com/vjpD8Ok7wT
— WILDFANG (@wearewildfang) June 22, 2018
The Trump admin's "zero tolerance" immigration policy has been slammed by people around the world and the president signed an executive order to end the separation of families under immense pressure. However, horrifying stories have come out about these detention facilities in the last few days.
Several immigrant children, some as young as 14, housed at a juvenile detention centre in Virginia have spoken of abuse and torture. In federal court filings, which comprise many sworn statements from Latino children, many of the detainees have spoken about how they were handcuffed, beaten and left nude in their cells. Some even said that the guards have often stripped them, strapped them to chairs and left with bags over their heads.
Whenever they used to restrain me and put me in the chair, they would handcuff me," the Associated Press quoted a Honduran immigrant as saying.
Strapped me down all the way, from your feet all the way to your chest, you couldn't really move. ... They have total control over you. They also put a bag over your head. It has little holes; you can see through it. But you feel suffocated with the bag on."
Another migrant teen, taken away from his mother, said that he tried to run away from one of the detention centres but was caught. After he started acting out and getting into fights, he was moved to another centre over "behavioural issues."
The facility even went on to say that he had been diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety and intermittent explosive disorder. But his defiance only let to more pain.
"They will grab my hands and put them behind my back so I can't move. Sometimes they will use pens to poke me in the ribs, sometimes they grab my jaw with their hands," he said in his declaration, reported CNN.
"They are bigger than me. Sometimes there will be three or four of them using force against me at the same time. The force used by staff has left bruises on my wrists, on my ribs, and on my shoulder. The doctor here gave me ibuprofen for the pain."
