CVT Speaker

    It is one thing to see the Hollywood version of torture, but when names and actual experiences are told, it does not take long for the stomach to tighten into a knot. I was very excited to hear what this speaker from the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) had to say about his experience at CVT. Skyler Dickson is a senior at Bethel University and came prepared with statistics, experiences, and different perspectives. I was very interested in hearing about the reasons why people get tortured in the first place. Those who are highly educated or hold influence are often tortured the most, as the government does not want them to take over. Torture is also used to pry information out of victims, which very seldom results in accurate information. A main reason why torture is used is to evoke fear in the citizens so that they will do whatever they are told. Dickson talked about the four different types of torture: physical, psychological, deprivation of human conditions, and sensory overload. This really expands how one in our American culture views torture. Dickson also spoke about his personal experience as befriending a client from CVT that was tortured. This is a very confidential process due to the fear of the individuals of being persecuted.

            This is related to the other speakers that we have had thus far in Honors, as far as the Hmong refugees go. The people that come to the CVT are refugees or are immigrants seeking asylum. These individuals have experienced not only horrible treatment from the people of their country, but do not have the familiarity of this new land. It has to be much harder for the victims of torture to try and start a new life in a strange country, knowing what awaits them back at their homes, but still not feeling at home here. Dickson talked about the struggles that many of the CVT clients have had as far as getting jobs, learning English, and the financial end of the spectrum. These struggles are very similar to the ones we heard about from Kao Kalia Yang, Ms Choua, and Mr. Yang. These are also very similar to the struggles of the immigrants and refugees whose stories were told in the book The Middle of Everywhere by Mary Pipher.

            My perspective on this topic has gone from a very narrowed way of thinking about torture to a very broadened way of thinking. It is so easy to see some sort of an act of torture portrayed on the television, but when the stories come alive and the different types of torture are explained I was appalled. This was a great experience to learn about this topic, as there was first hand statistics and experiences that made the acts of torture even more real. I no longer will look at acts of torture as something that does not really effect a person, but as ruining a human life.