No Hay Vida Sin Libertad: Testimonios of Resistance From the #Hutto27 Hunger Strikers

No hay vida sin libertad-"There is no life without freedom"-read a sign at a rally demanding the closure of the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas, in November 2015. The rally was held in support of 27 women imprisoned in the detention center who had launched an indefinite hu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women's studies in communication 2021-07, Vol.44 (3), p.259-277
Main Author: Husain, Amani
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affect
Detention centers
Feminism
Hunger strikes
immigrant detention
Reference (Semantic)
resistance
rhetorical agency
Semiotics
testimonio
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Summary:No hay vida sin libertad-"There is no life without freedom"-read a sign at a rally demanding the closure of the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas, in November 2015. The rally was held in support of 27 women imprisoned in the detention center who had launched an indefinite hunger strike. Fleeing state and intimate partner violence and persecution in their home countries, the women detained in the Hutto detention center were driven to strike after suffering months of abysmal living conditions and inhumane treatment at the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In this article, I analyze 11 letters composed by some of the #Hutto27 detainees. Conceptualizing the letters as testimonios that serve as powerful testaments to trauma, anguish, and, ultimately, solidarity through defiance, I argue that the letters construct a feminist archive of resistance-one which allows a glimpse into the affective life of detention.
ISSN:0749-1409
2152-999X
DOI:10.1080/07491409.2020.1781317