Baby detained, dies in Honolulu airport

[U2Girl1978]

What the hell is wrong with people? This is just screwed up it makes me sick.

Child had been flown in for emergency heart surgery, official says

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa - American Samoa's delegate to the U.S. Congress is calling for an investigation into the death of a baby at Honolulu International Airport.

Delegate Eni Faleomavaega has asked the Department of Homeland Security to begin an investigation into death of 14-day-old Michael Tony Futi last Friday.

The baby had been flown to Honolulu for emergency heart surgery. He died while detained inside a customs' room at the Honolulu airport with his mother and a nurse.

A lawyer for the family announced plans to sue the federal government over the baby's death.

Faleomavaega called for the probe in a letter issued to Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23185937/

[JCOSTER]

Sickening.

[dazzlingamy]

thats horrible!

The mother probably had had a traffic violation in 1985 and didn't et the right visa to be allowed into the pure and innocent USA

poor lil thing

[CTU2fan]

OK where are the Bush apologists?

Let me give you some help, the term is "collateral damage".

Just disgusting...

[onebloodonelife]

Horrible, just horrible. A nurse was with them too...what kind of threat did they think the family posed??

[AchtungBono]

That is just heartbreaking.......

I'd like to read the whole story in order to know why they were detained - there must have been a reason. Although no reason could possibly justify this barbarism.

Has anyone seen the entire story online?

[martha]

http://starbulletin.com/2008/02/17/news/story06.html

[MadelynIris]

hmmmm... aren't there standard practices for medical emergencies like this?

[BVS]

I guess not for detainees...

[martha]

Originally posted by AchtungBono
That is just heartbreaking.......

I'd like to read the whole story in order to know why they were detained - there must have been a reason. Although no reason could possibly justify this barbarism.

It's funny you should say this. They were detained due to travel documentation issues. You're always the one insisting that governments should do whatever it takes to protect their citizens; that the innocent have no worries and that the guilty have no rights. How does this incident fit into your neat little fantasy?

[Dreadsox]

Originally posted by MadelynIris
hmmmm... aren't there standard practices for medical emergencies like this?

If what I have heard on the news about this is true, the hospital is somewhat responsible for NOT having someone at the airport to meet them. They have apparently done this in the past.

[AchtungBono]

Originally posted by martha


It's funny you should say this. They were detained due to travel documentation issues. You're always the one insisting that governments should do whatever it takes to protect their citizens; that the innocent have no worries and that the guilty have no rights. How does this incident fit into your neat little fantasy?

Fair question Martha, however my comment doesn't contradict my regular stand on security issues.

In my opinion, there's a big difference between randomly waving people into the United States without any documentation, and having a sick baby travelling with his parents and nurse being detained for lack of proper documentation. This was purely a humanitarian case and common sense and compassion should have prevailed instead of going strictly "by the book".

The customs authorities could have called the family doctor or the hospital waiting to treat the baby....they had a NURSE with them for goodness sake!

This was utterly deplorable and I hope they throw the book at the person responsible.

[martha]

Originally posted by AchtungBono
This was purely a humanitarian case and common sense and compassion should have prevailed instead of going strictly "by the book".

But that's the problem with absolutes, isn't it. Making exceptions can get troublesome.

[phillyfan26]

Originally posted by AchtungBono


Fair question Martha, however my comment doesn't contradict my regular stand on security issues.

In my opinion, there's a big difference between randomly waving people into the United States without any documentation, and having a sick baby travelling with his parents and nurse being detained for lack of proper documentation. This was purely a humanitarian case and common sense and compassion should have prevailed instead of going strictly "by the book".

The customs authorities could have called the family doctor or the hospital waiting to treat the baby....they had a NURSE with them for goodness sake!

This was utterly deplorable and I hope they throw the book at the person responsible.

You assume everything will work out with common sense. It doesn't.

[Infinity]

The amount of guilt that the person who detained them must be feeling...if I were him I would be suicidal.

[Infinity]

[Lila64]