"One of them handed Juan Giron a letter written by Kimberly, the trans woman he met when he was going to the bathroom and who called out to him, Hey, girl, pssst, hi. Now you might say that he and Kimberly are friends. He gave her a devotional scapular, and they get emotional when they see each other in the yard during the hour of sunlight they're allowed each day,"
"In the isolation cell where he's been detained for the past few days, Giron received the letter. I had surgery because the police officer who hit me broke two of my ribs and punctured my lung, Kimberly writes. She doesn't tell him much more and says goodbye: I'm still here, but it's very hard because the men treat you very badly. Sometimes I get very depressed, but I have to keep going, life goes on."
At Krome Detention Center in Miami, detainees encounter both abusive and compassionate guards. Juan Giron received a letter from Kimberly, a trans woman from Colombia who suffered police brutality requiring surgery that broke ribs and punctured a lung. Giron and Kimberly share a close, emotional companionship formed during limited yard time and through letters and small gifts. Giron has experienced persistent trauma: orphaned by his mother's death at 13 and later sexually assaulted by a gang member in Managua. Clinicians have prescribed antidepressants, provided a sleep arrangement to reduce nightmares, and allowed a notebook after he expressed suicidal thoughts.
Read at english.elpais.com
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