‘Grab him,’ Said one of the guards. The two men, standing just beside the doorway, shot forward. In an instant, they had a struggling boy in their arms; screaming as if the men’s hands were on fire and now burning his flesh.

After the guard’s signal, he was carried away from our sight.

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The men broke in our room that night, carrying the same boy; no longer struggling. Screams replaced by small whimpers, and an occasional deep breath.

‘Take him.’ They threw the boy on the ground, who had curled up on the floor, seemingly not affected by the impact.

Once the men left, we crowded around the boy and embraced him; to share the warmth of our bodies and the love of our touch. This was all we had, and all we could offer.

The night was spent on the floor with a blanket of warm bodies.