Thread by @TornilloWitness

WITNESS ANNE BRIDGMAN posts-I left Homestead this AM. And I left part of my heart there w/the children & teens who R interred there. I arrived at prison shortly after 9, unlocked a stepladder, & carried it 2 R viewing area. 1/7

Over next hour, I watched as about 2 dozen groups of adolescent boys, anywhere from 8 to 20 youth per group & lined up single file, walked w/guards from one tent 2 another.
As on previous days, boys waved & made heart signs in air by joining their hands together.2/7

And they blew kisses my way. They look 4 us now. I heard singing from a nearby tent. Children singing songs in Spanish. From the field, a tall teenager dressed in a red jacket blew me an elaborate kiss &... 3/7

...sent it across space btwn us, then when I caught it & sent a kiss back, he caught mine, placing his hands on his chest & stepping back from imagined force of my blown kiss. Two boys turned toward each other &, using their arms, formed a giant heart pointed toward fence.4/7

A boy in field closest 2 me jumped up & down, calling out “Hi!” w/each jump. At regular intervals, a disembodied voice came over public address system saying, “Exercise, exercise, exercise. Command black at level 4. All sectors.”5/7

And noisy F16s streaked across sky at regular intervals. Against this backdrop, 1 boy called out 2 me in English, “Thank you!” And then others joined him. It was almost as if they knew it was my last day. And then 1 boy called 2 me, “Help me!”6/7

That’s when tears started flowing. And they lasted a long, long time.

I left Homestead this AM. And I left part of my heart there w/the children & teens who R interred there. #htt #WitnessTornillo #TargetHomestead #HomesInstead #FollowTheMoney #DCCapitalPartners 7/7