Tourists held in US orphanage after mother falls ill

[Dartzap]

I bet it didnt mention that in the brochure

Holiday girls held in orphanage after mother fell ill


Martin Hodgson
Thursday January 24, 2008
The Guardian

A mother whose two teenage daughters were placed in an orphanage when she fell ill during a post-Christmas shopping trip to New York has been told she is under investigation because her children were taken into care.

Yvonne Bray, took her daughters Gemma, 15, and Katie, 13, to New York shortly after Christmas for a shopping trip but was taken into hospital when she fell ill with pneumonia during their visit.

The girls were then told they could not wait at the hospital and as minors would have to be taken into care.

Social workers took them to a municipal orphanage in downtown Manhattan, 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.

She said: "It is absolutely horrendous that two young girls were put through an ordeal like that. They were made to answer traumatic questions about things they don't really understand and spend over 24 hours under surveillance."

Since returning home, Bray has received a letter from the US Administration for Children and Families, notifying her that, because the children were admitted to the orphanage, she is now "under investigation."

Okay, quick question: what the bloody hell?

[Dartzap]

[url=urlhttp://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-234 ... article.do]With a few more details.....[/url]

Two British schoolgirls went on a dream trip to New York with their mum - and ended up in a tough inner-city orphanage.

Gemma and Katie Bray flew to the Big Apple with their mother Yvonne, 39, on a post-Christmas shopping trip.

But just 24 hours after touching down at JFK airport their four-day break of sight-seeing and shopping was cut short after Yvonne was rushed to hospital with pneumonia.Stunned sisters Gemma, 15, and Katie, 13, were suddenly whisked away from their sick mother's bedside and taken to a "hard-as-nails" orphanage.

Yvonne, of Appledore, Devon, said: "We still had the trip of a lifetime - just for all the wrong reasons."

She said she was too ill to wave goodbye to her shell-shocked daughters as they were taken away from her hospital bedside by two New York social workers.

Dehydrated, her arms full of IV drips after being knocked for six by a severe bout of pneumonia, the single mother could only watch as Gemma and Katie left the Queens Medical Centre hospital in Harlem.

"Have you any homicidal tendencies? What street gangs are you in?" were just two of the questions asked by security staff who frisked the girls at an orphanage in downtown Manhattan.

"I'm a member of Appledore library," said Gemma, who attends Bideford College with her sister.

Stripped of their belongings and clothes, the girls were given one-size plain white T-shirts and elasticated jeans - not quite the fashionable gear they had dreamed of picking up in Fifth Avenue's designer shops.

"They looked like prison outfits," said Gemma.

The sisters were spilt up, posed for mug-shots, given a medical examination and a wash pack and told to go and have a shower.

They were told they were not allowed to leave the orphanage and shown to a glass-walled dorm on a floor for 12-15-year-old girls.

"It was like being in a little cage," said Katie.

"It was scary as the staff were constantly looking in at us. I tried to go to sleep, but every time I opened my eyes, someone was looking right at me."

The girls bravely made the best of their plight and happily chatted to other kids at the home.

"They wanted to know all about England and whether we knew the Queen," said Gemma.

"Most of them were at the home because they had been taken away from their families for whatever reason.

"We were lucky to be able to leave after just one night.

"It was scary at first but everyone turned out to be friendly.

"It was a good experience - just not really what we had gone on holiday for."

Meanwhile, mum Yvonne had been told that she would need to stay in hospital for another two or three days.

Bed-ridden in a ward where every other patient seemed to be handcuffed to either their bed or a cop - the man in the next bed had been stabbed in the neck - she was already feeling a long way from sleepy Devon.

"It felt like I was in an episode of ER," she said. "I was frantic with worry. "The social workers from the Manhattan Child Services kept changing shifts so nobody knew what was happening.

They eventually managed to trace the girls for me, but said they wouldn't release them until I was well and back at the hotel.

"Although I had travel insurance, we were due to fly home the next evening so I decided I had to discharge myself to try and get them back."

Days earlier, Yvonne had been stretchered past a long queue of guests checking into the LaGuardia Marriot Hotel, wheeled through the lobby and into a waiting ambulance.

As a 911 emergency, she was sped through the notorious New York traffic in her pyjamas.

"After two nights, I marched out of the hospital through the front doors in the same vomit-stained pyjamas," she said.

"It was so embarrassing. I must have looked like a crazy mad woman as I stood there in the freezing cold, crying, and trying to hail down a cab."

After getting back to the sanctuary of her hotel - and convincing the staff that she was the same bedraggled woman that had been rushed to hospital two days earlier - tearful Yvonne was given a key to her room and got to work telephoning the orphanage for her kids.

"After a number of calls, I eventually got a call from a woman who said that she had the kids and was about half-an-hour from the hotel.

"I was so relieved. We'd only been apart for a matter of days but it seemed like forever.

"The girls had an interesting insight into the life of a 'removed' child in New York City.

"They also had some great fun tales of all the other girls that had met in the orphanage and said they were treated like mini celebrities from England.

"It was quite a relief to know that they hadn't been scarred for life."

Although not over her pneumonia, Yvonne was determined that the family would make the most of their last night in New York.

Just 30 minutes later, she and her daughters were in a cab to Broadway.

"We had already booked our tickets for Mary Poppins, and wanted to treat ourselves after everything that had happened," said Yvonne.

"We saw a fantastic show and then went out and had a lovely meal. We even managed to get a bit of shopping in as the shops stayed open late."

Armed with inhalers and antibiotics, Yvonne and the girls took a dash around Times Square in a cab the next day before boarding their flight back to Gatwick.

Arriving back in Devon was not the end of the story for Yvonne.

Not content with her adventure in New York, she was set to take part in a week-long charity expedition in the sub-zero wilderness of northern Sweden.

Yvonne had raised £1,500 and undergone specialist outdoor training to travel with 11 other north Devon adventurers taking part in the Exeter Leukaemia Fund Arctic Challenge 2008.

"My expedition leader said I needed a letter from my GP to confirm that I was fit enough to go," said Yvonne.

"As I was still on antibiotics, she refused to sign me fit as she said my condition in Arctic surroundings would be life-threatening.

"I was totally devastated, as I had booked to go on the expedition after a school friend of mine died of leukaemia last year.

"I want to thank everyone that has sponsored me and helped me to raise the money and let them know that it is safe and I hope to be going on the expedition in February next year instead."

[The Guid]

Part of the "what the bloody hell" includes questioning that ANY children are treated like this not just good old English kids.

[Shroom Man 777]

Well, that's enough adventure for her. As much as I'd like to go on and rant about how fucked up the system is for doing what they did, the first and most important thing is...she ought to have some rest. She was just sick, suffered from a load of emotional ordeal, had a bad stay in the hostipal and all that. She shouldn't be trying to push herself at all. Take a week off, woman, and get well.

[Alex Moon]

Part of the "what the bloody hell" includes questioning that ANY children are treated like this not just good old English kids.

Probably because many of the children in custody of the state are really screwed up. A lot come from homes with rampent drug use, violence, sexual abuse, and a whole list of other problems. Put them into a group environment with others who are in similar situations and that's a recipe for trouble.

I'm trying to be sympathetic, and I'm certainly glad that the girls are safe and at home. But I can't see how the hospital did anything wrong. The mother was in no condition to take care of the girls, and the hospital can't watch after them, and they certainly can't be left to their own devices. That leaves putting them in the custody of the state for a few days.

[Dartzap]

That leaves putting them in the custody of the state for a few days.

Considering they were there for only a few days, one would assume they could have been allowed stay in the hotel, which I imagine they had already paid for Just have a social worker pop in once a day to see if they were being good little limeys?

*shrugs* Perhaps thats just being daft, heh

[Alex Moon]

That leaves putting them in the custody of the state for a few days.

Considering they were there for only a few days, one would assume they could have been allowed stay in the hotel, which I imagine they had already paid for Just have a social worker pop in once a day to see if they were being good little limeys?

*shrugs* Perhaps thats just being daft, heh

Still too dangerous. Are you going to lock them in their rooms? What happens if one of them gets hurt? What happens if they trash the room?

[Dartzap]

That leaves putting them in the custody of the state for a few days.

Considering they were there for only a few days, one would assume they could have been allowed stay in the hotel, which I imagine they had already paid for Just have a social worker pop in once a day to see if they were being good little limeys?

*shrugs* Perhaps thats just being daft, heh

Still too dangerous. Are you going to lock them in their rooms? What happens if one of them gets hurt? What happens if they trash the room?

Considering the ages of the two girls, I don't think a comparison to Home Alone can be made. They were probably bloody scared it was, without social services dragging them to what sounds very similar to a juvenile prison.

Eh, maybe I'm just too naive about such things...

[Pelranius]

The hotel might refuse to let minors stay in on their own, with liability issues and such being so big in our country nowadays.

[Molyneux]

strip-searched?

One question: who is losing their fucking job over this? Who were the fucking social workers who took the girls? Why are their names not in the article, and what the hell is happening to them?

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Nobody is, because as far as the American officials are concerned, the system functioned normally. Ms. Bradley is strongly recommended not to travel to the United States ever again, either; that investigation comment is serious, and her children could be taken from her on landing. CPS in the United States is fucked six ways from sunday, and I am being quite serious. They were strip-searched because they might be carrying drugs or knives, or guns, of course.

[AniThyng]

Nobody is, because as far as the American officials are concerned, the system functioned normally. Ms. Bradley is strongly recommended not to travel to the United States ever again, either; that investigation comment is serious, and her children could be taken from her on landing. CPS in the United States is fucked six ways from sunday, and I am being quite serious. They were strip-searched because they might be carrying drugs or knives, or guns, of course.

So...let me get this straight - she is "under investigation" for having her kids put in a orphanage by the same agency who...put the kids in that orphanage? And even though the circumstances were such, she might actually get her children taken from her if they go back to the states? And this is America? How...well, sometimes you wonder who's the 3rd world country.

[Guardsman Bass]

That leaves putting them in the custody of the state for a few days.

Considering they were there for only a few days, one would assume they could have been allowed stay in the hotel, which I imagine they had already paid for Just have a social worker pop in once a day to see if they were being good little limeys?

*shrugs* Perhaps thats just being daft, heh

Still too dangerous. Are you going to lock them in their rooms? What happens if one of them gets hurt? What happens if they trash the room?

Actually, a better solution would have been to, you know, actually try to contact other family members. They probably could have worked something out to have the girls sent back home early to the UK and be picked up by family members or what not.

[Guardsman Bass]

I added that because as far as I can tell, the social workers didn't even bother trying to see if they could contact other members of the girls' family - like relatives or the like. They simply took them into custody.

[AniThyng]

I added that because as far as I can tell, the social workers didn't even bother trying to see if they could contact other members of the girls' family - like relatives or the like. They simply took them into custody.

Come to think of it, wouldn't it have been better to let British Embassy officials handle this? The article doesn't say anything but surely the embassy should have been involved somewhere?

[Psychic_Sandwich]

Nobody is, because as far as the American officials are concerned, the system functioned normally. Ms. Bradley is strongly recommended not to travel to the United States ever again, either; that investigation comment is serious, and her children could be taken from her on landing. CPS in the United States is fucked six ways from sunday, and I am being quite serious. They were strip-searched because they might be carrying drugs or knives, or guns, of course.

How would that even work? I mean, I get that they'd be able to take the children, but what would happen when the woman turns up at the British Embassy and tells them that US social services stole her children at the airport? I rather doubt the government would just ignore it; there was a fairly large production made here over a girl who chose to live in Pakistan with her father rather than in Britain with her mother, because it was initially thought she was forced to stay there, for example.

Not to mention the fact that, being foreign citizens, the system would presumably have some trouble with them.

Come to think of it, wouldn't it have been better to let British Embassy officials handle this? The article doesn't say anything but surely the embassy should have been involved somewhere?

I imagine they were just never told. The mother was in the hospital, and the first thing she did when she got out was try to find her children. Considering that social services didn't even try to contact relatives, I doubt they'd bother contacting the embassy. Needless to say, the girls probably weren't in any position to do so, if they even though of it in the first place.

[Adrian Laguna]

Ms. Bradley is strongly recommended not to travel to the United States ever again, either; that investigation comment is serious, and her children could be taken from her on landing. CPS in the United States is fucked six ways from sunday, and I am being quite serious.

It would appear CPS has a God complex. Where the hell did they get the idea that they have any authority over citizens of other countries who are merely visiting?

[ArmorPierce]

That leaves putting them in the custody of the state for a few days.

Considering they were there for only a few days, one would assume they could have been allowed stay in the hotel, which I imagine they had already paid for Just have a social worker pop in once a day to see if they were being good little limeys?

*shrugs* Perhaps thats just being daft, heh

Still too dangerous. Are you going to lock them in their rooms? What happens if one of them gets hurt? What happens if they trash the room?

Why would they have to be locked in their rooms? They are 13 and 15, high school age. You've never been home alone when you were 15? Hell most baby sitters are that age and it was only for a few days. Yes hotels will allow kids to stay in a hotel for a few days if someone else signed them in. I don't know if they would if they were infromed that their mother was in the hospital but I know plenty of cases of kids getting their own room while parents are gone for the night. It should have been up to the mother whether she wanted them to stay in the hotel room or in the orphanage.

[Siege]

You'd think someone would've thought "hey, these are foreign nationals, maybe their embassy would have a bright idea about how to proceed!" But nooo, let's just drop them off at the inner city orphanage and get on with our lunch breaks, that's obviously a vastly better idea.

Someone should get smacked over the head for this. I know it's not a situation these people are in every day, but how bloody difficult can it be to make a connection "foreign nationals - foreign embassy"? Seriously, aren't people at hospitals supposed to be at least reasonably intelligent?

[Dartzap]

Someone should get smacked over the head for this. I know it's not a situation these people are in every day, but how bloody difficult can it be to make a connection "foreign nationals - foreign embassy"? Seriously, aren't people at hospitals supposed to be at least reasonably intelligent?

It would appear to have been the public ward in a fairly nasty part of the city - some random foreigner isn't going to be ringing any bells in such a situation.

[Molyneux]

Nobody is, because as far as the American officials are concerned, the system functioned normally. Ms. Bradley is strongly recommended not to travel to the United States ever again, either; that investigation comment is serious, and her children could be taken from her on landing. CPS in the United States is fucked six ways from sunday, and I am being quite serious. They were strip-searched because they might be carrying drugs or knives, or guns, of course.

Three words: "Diplomatic fucking incident."

I would love to hear that the social workers involved in this get handed their asses over this. Keep those fuckers away from children.

[Adrian Laguna]

Nobody is, because as far as the American officials are concerned, the system functioned normally.

Three words: "Diplomatic fucking incident."

Well there is an implicit threat in all British passports, however I doubt the UK would be giving much of a shit over this incident. They usually reserve it for when their citizens get in trouble in some third world shithole.

[JME2]

Everytime I think there's still hope for this country, shit like this appears and convinces me that we've jumped the fucking shark. Somebody at CPS better get their ass handed to them.

[Keevan_Colton]

Nobody is, because as far as the American officials are concerned, the system functioned normally.

Three words: "Diplomatic fucking incident."

Well there is an implicit threat in all British passports, however I doubt the UK would be giving much of a shit over this incident. They usually reserve it for when their citizens get in trouble in some third world shithole.

Everyone with a British passport or even a minor argument towards one got out of gitmo...

[Winston Blake]

Social workers took them to a municipal orphanage in downtown Manhattan, 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?"

Can anyone explain to me how this shit is legal?

Further, by whatever logic supports what happened, wouldn't stuff like cavity searches also be legal?