ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 30, 1996 TAG: 9604300077
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Wearing a borrowed dress and a shy smile, a West African teen-ager said Monday she felt ``like a human being again.'' She was free after 16 months of detention in an immigration case that could set a precedent for women seeking U.S. asylum to escape genital mutilation.
``I came to the United States for protection, and instead I received punishment,'' said Fauziya Kasinga, 19, of Togo, who was released last week. ``If my suffering can help others, then it will not be for nothing.''
An immigration appeals board in Virginia is scheduled to hear Kasinga's case Thursday. A judge denied her asylum, saying he didn't believe her and didn't consider female genital mutilation a form of persecution.
Russ Bergeron, a spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, said the INS will recommend that the 12-member appeals board use the case to establish guidelines for immigration judges.
``The INS believes female genital mutilation should be considered for granting asylum under certain circumstances,'' Bergeron said. ``But this still needs to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.''
Richard Boswell, one of a half-dozen human rights attorneys and American University law students who helped gain Kasinga's release, said she was treated cruelly. The immigration system treats foreigners who enter the country illegally as criminals to be detained, often in jail or prison.
Kasinga fled Togo in 1994 after her aunt forced her to marry a 45-year-old man and told her she would have to undergo female genital mutilation, a tradition in some African and Middle Eastern cultures. Her mother and sister, who were against the practice, helped her escape.
On Aug. 25, 1995, she was given a hearing for political asylum. Philadelphia immigration Judge Donald V. Ferlise denied her application, saying he didn't believe her. He also said that even if her tribe did plan to ritualistically cut away parts of her genitalia, he couldn't consider her persecuted because she was ``not being singled out for circumcision.''
LENGTH: Short : 45 linesby CNB