KLAS-TV, NV
Jan 26 2005
Teens Facing Deportation Talk With Eyewitness News
(Jan. 25) — They’ve spent twelve nights away from home in federal
custody fearing they’ll soon be taken out of the country. The Las
Vegas teens face deportation to Armenia.
Tuesday, while sitting in a holding cell in Los Angeles, the girls
placed a phone call to Eyewitness News Reporter Atle Erlingsson. He
spoke to the girls for about ten minutes.
The girls are scared. They don’t know what’s going on, or if they
will ever see their family again. They were raised here in America.
They are not citizens and the government wants them out. But their
dad and other sisters would stay here.
“It’s terrible. I hate it. I want to go home. I just want to go home.
I can’t take this anymore,” said 18-year-old Emma Sarkisian, drawn to
tears as she talks on the phone.
She and her 17-year-old sister, Mariam spend 13 hours a day sitting
in a federal holding cell. At night, Emma says they’re taken to a
hotel where a male guard watches over their every move — even when
they’re sleeping.
Elena Shulikova has known the girls for years. She’s a family friend
working to stop the deportation. “They’re treated like prisoners or
criminals. And they’re not. And I can only imagine what they’re going
through in there,” Shulikova said.
The two girls eat very little. Emma says, “We eat disgusting food —
jelly sandwiches. The food is terrible. You just have to starve
yourself.”
Shulikova says the prisoner lifestyle is difficult for Emma and
Mariam, two girls who have the same likes and dislikes as your
average teen. “Like a little of make-up. Music. Emma wanted to be a
singer. She had this silly dream of becoming a singer/actress. They
listen to Britney Spears. They love movies. They’re just average high
school kids.”
They’re two average girls who are admittedly scared of their future.
“Yes, of course,” says Mariam. “I know nothing about (Armenia). I
wouldn’t even survive there.”
And that, of course, is the concern of those who know the girls.
Wednesday, a federal judge is expected to reconsider whether or not
the girls should be released on bail until their deportation is
decided.
In the meantime, local politicians are starting to stir up the pot.
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and Senator Harry Reid are following
the case. They do have the ability to stop a deportation and keep the
girls here.