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Roxanne Attie: The Day I Died!

Roxanne Attie married Ricardo Attie in 1998 in New Jersey, where he and his son Elias had fled from their native Lebanon. In 2002, while complying with the government's Special Registration program, Ricardo and Elias Attie were arrested. After remaining jailed for a year without being charged, they voluntarily returned to Lebanon. In 2006, they were granted U.S. residency and the family was reunited. Four years of separation and uncertainty, however has permanently damaged Roxanne Attie's health and destroyed the family's faith in the U.S. government.

My Story

Targets for Special Registration. We went on February 4th because our deadline was the 7th of February ... (1:30)
Deportation to Lebanon. I died the day they took them. February 4th, 2002 ... (1:13)
The Heartbreak of Waiting. I call him like maybe once every three months. I should call him more ... (0:51)

Themes

Corralled. In times of national crisis, whole groups of people have been corralled simply because of their ethnicity or political affiliation. Their activities or loyalties were presumed to be suspect and a potential threat to American society. Max Werkenthin, Art Shibayama, Jack O'Dell, Samina Sundas and Roxanne Attie found themselves caught up in such corralling.