UK girls held in NYC orphanage after mother gets ill

The Guardian has a hard-to-believe story about a mother and her two daughters who traveled from the UK to New York for a vacation. The mother caught pneumonia and the teenaged girls were taken to a municipal orphanage, "where they were separated, strip-searched and questioned before being kept under lock and key for the next 30 hours."

The two sisters were made to shower in front of security staff and told to fill out a two-page form with questions including: "Have you ever been the victim of rape?" and "Do you have homicidal tendencies?"

One question asked "are you in a street gang?" to which Gemma replied: "I'm a member of Appledore library."

Their clothes, money and belongings were taken and they were issued with regulation white T-shirt and jeans. Katie said: "It was like being in a little cage. I tried to go to sleep, but every time I opened my eyes, someone was looking right at me."

Eventually Bray discharged herself, and — still dressed in hospital pyjamas — tracked down the girls.

When the family returned home, the US Administration for Children and Families mailed her a letter to let her now that she is now "under investigation."

Link (Thanks,
PeaceLove
!)