I appreciate the opportunity to testify at today ' s hearing on U.S. policy toward victims of torture. Shockingly, torture victims come from around the world, but we are most aware of those who come from Kosovo, Bosnia, African nations, the Middle East and Central and South America. Today, you will hear from individuals who have been tortured, and they will speak more directly than I can about their experiences. However, through ORR ' s programs we have learned about and have become sensitized to the experiences of torture victims. For the purposes of our program, torture is the deliberate mental and physical damage caused by governments to individuals to destroy individual personality and terrorize society.
Torture results in physical disabilities, sometimes permanent.
It also results in psychological wounds such as extreme guilt, fear, and a persistent state of shock. Torture victims have been silenced by their torture. Once released, torture victims often attempt to flee to countries such as the United States to become invisible and safe, and to survive. They often cannot express themselves effectively in asylum interviews because they cannot speak articulately of their experiences and they feel vulnerable to all officials. They have learned to fear government and the police and they do not trust any government officials and authorities to help them.