by Caleb Fort
Daily Lobo
About 100 people gathered at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice on Tuesday in support of arrested UNM lecturer Chao Sio.
Sio, a Kenyan who taught Swahili, was arrested Sept. 14 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is being held for deportation.
Wanjala Sio, Chao's mother, said she is disappointed in the United States' treatment of her daughter.
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"The U.S.A. is seen as a measuring stick for liberty and justice," she said. "After all that has happened, I see that it is not."
Wanjala came from Kenya to visit her daughter after she found out Chao had been arrested.
Chao is in the Bernalillo County Detention Center awaiting deportation to her country.
Leticia Zamarripa, immigration enforcement spokeswoman, did not return calls Tuesday about when Chao would be deported.
Ann Githinji, Chao's friend, said Chao has a lawyer but declined further comment on her case.
Wanjala visited Chao on Saturday.
"I came here, and she is wearing a uniform and is behind bars," she said. "That's not how someone who hasn't been sentenced for a crime should be treated."
Jamal Martin, Chao's friend, agreed.
"We live in a system where there are great disparities," he said. "America's a good nation, not a great nation. If it were a great nation, we would not have seen this happen."
Chao is well-equipped to handle her arrest, he said.
"I admire her wit, her intelligence and her grace," he said. "She is going to have her grace-under-fire tested now more than she ever imagined."
The event was encouraging, Wanjala said.
"I can see there are a lot of good people here who are not inside the system," she said.
Chao came to the U.S. about seven years ago on a student visa. She applied for political asylum before the visa expired but was denied.
She appealed but was denied again.
Her lawyer was supposed to file another appeal but quit her law firm without telling Chao, Githinji said.
The attendees included Chao's friends and colleagues. They wrote messages to Chao in a book that Wanjala will take back to Kenya.
"Chao will be able to see all the people who cared about her and what happens to her," Wanjala said.
Chao was involved with several groups, including Women Can International and Fighting Aids in the Homeland.
Githinji said Chao's arrest may be a good thing.
"When she gets home, she can continue her work for AIDS," she said. "She wasn't exiled from Kenya. She belongs there."
Lungile Sinandile, Chao's friend, said he was surprised when he found out she had been arrested.
"I was shocked," he said. "It was like I was being beaten in the chest with a hammer."
Sinandile said he doesn't want Chao to be deported.
"It seems like it is a pretty bleak situation," he said. "It will take a miracle, but I am praying and praying."
Githinji said Chao's work with AIDS will not be halted by her deportation.
"It can be hindered," she said. "It can be delayed, but it can never be stopped."
