In protest of inhumane conditions, close to 100 immigrant detainees at Etowah County Detention Center in Alabama went on hunger strike last week.  They rejected all the food they were being served, because it is "inedible, rotten, lacks nutritional value and the portions are smaller than child sized."  Some detainees are able to buy supplemental food at the commissary, but it is very expensive and many cannot afford it.

Throughout the hunger strike, which has since ended, detainees called the Families for Freedom hotline to detail the horrid conditions inside the facility. 

In the following audio clip you can hear one detainee Javian Lawrence speaking about the lockdown that the facility imposed to supress their hunger strike which made it impossible for Muslims to pray during the month of Ramadan and also made it difficult for people of other faiths to worship.

In this audio clip you will hear about a range of inhumane conditions ranging from the inadequate food to unsanitary facilities.

The Women's Refugee Commission issued the report Politicized Neglect about the human rights abuses within Etowah County Detention Center. You can download it here: