Bwebwenatoun Mour: Gideon Aron

Ewōr jilu neju ajri raar ḷotak America ṇe. Eḷap an kabūroṃōjṃōj menin bwe ipād Majōl in ak ajri ro neju repād ijōn, ijjab jeḷā wōn enaaj ḷōmṇak in lale er.

Ilo aō kar pād Lousiana ilo 2025 eo iaar fighti jaaj ko aō kōnke ña ejjeḷọk aō, aolepān jaaj ko aō im ṃōj aer jako ak ijjab meḷeḷe ta unin aer bōk iō.

Ilo aer treati kōm ilo Lousiana elukkun ejjab juon men eṃṃan. En kōm wōt menin mour.

Ālkin jejjo allōñ jān tōre eo iaar pād Lousiana, raar bōk iō. Im bōkḷọk iō joṃk ña ilo Cuba. Im iaar pād ilo Cuba im jikin kalbuuj en ilo Cuba eḷap an nana jān nana. Bulen ñe inaaj ba im ba ña, ña wōt ri-Majōl eṃōj aō pād ilo jikin kalbuuj rōt in im jekjek rōt in im ejjab jikin armej rōt in me eddik jaaj kan aer.

Ke iaar to ḷọk ilo Cuba, kilen aer kar ākitwe iō jān wa eo, raar kajiḷḷọk iō im kattōr iō im āte ña iloan juon bus. Ilo bus in eṃōj aer trash bag e aolepān tōrerein. Im bōkḷọk im lak jikin kalbuuj eo ilo Cuba, kōrooḷọk jakōl eo lak ṃōj in iuun ṃaan ḷọk ña, āinwōt ejjab kōj armej ilo jekjek rōt in.

Im ruo raan tokālik, iien aō loḷọk court, im iaar tal, im ke ij tal, judge eo eba ñan ña ke ij rool, ij aikuj rool bwe eṃōj aō jaini pepa eo ak iar jab jain, raar boj (force) e iō bwe in jaini pepa eo iiō ṇe me 2020 eo.

Jinoin tata an ICE eṃakūt ilo Arkansas. Raar jibadōk tok ṃweṃō kōn juon jekjek eo ejjeḷọk wōran (warrant), ejjeḷọk pepa, pepa eo reletok ñan ña pepa in wōran ejjeḷọk eta ie, ejjeḷọk atreej. Ejjab jain jān judge eo.

Im lo 2025 eo eaar jejjet iien an bar ICE bar ṃakūtkūt. 2025 ṇe ejjeḷọk aō jaaj. Aolep jaaj ko aō eṃōj aer jako. Im ña ijjab jeḷā etke ijaam maroñ rool tok ke ña ejjeḷọk aō jaaj, aolepān jaaj ko aō im ṃōj aer jako. Eṃōj aer kar jako ilo 2023 ñe ejiṃwe aō lale ḷọk.

Ako men kein iaar kōṃṃani kar iiō ko ḷọk, eṃōj aer jako jaaj jidik, men jidik. Im ij bwiloñ etke ijaam tōn maroñ kar tōpar ḷọk ijōkein.

Im ilak kajjitōk ḷọk ippān ICE eo ej ba ne Kien in an Majōl ejjab accept iō renaaj bōke iō im joḷọk ña ilo Africa ilo South Sudan.

Aolep jaaj ko aō im ṃōj aer jako, eṃōj aō joḷọk parole ko aō, eṃōj aer joḷọk, iaar complete i kilaaj ko aō, class in anger management im aolep kain. Eṃōj aer kar drop i jaaj ko aō. Eṃōj aō complete i aolep kain.

Im eñin ej bwebwenato eo ikijien aō kar toloñe ḷọk ijokani me ejjab jikid. Im wāwein an jar kani kar lukkun nana aer kar treat i iō.

Ebwe an kabūroṃōjṃōj im kōmetak. Ejjeḷọk naan en eḷap inaaj ba bwe Anij wōt emeḷeḷe kōn aolep kain.

Three of my children were born in America. It brings me great sadness that I am here in the Marshall Islands while my children are over there. I don’t know who is thinking about them or taking care of them.

When I was in Louisiana in 2025, I fought my charges because I didn’t have any remaining charges against me. All of my charges had already been dismissed. I don’t understand why they took me.

The way they treated us in Louisiana was not good at all. We are human beings.

About some months after I had been in Louisiana, they took me and deported me to Cuba. I was detained in a prison in Cuba, and the prison there was worse than terrible. As far as I know, I was the only Marshallese person who had ever been held in that prison. The conditions there were not fit for human beings, especially for people whose offenses were only minor.

When I arrived in Cuba, as soon as they took me off the plane, they handcuffed me, shackled me, and put me onto a bus. The entire floor of the bus was covered with trash bags. They transported me to the prison in Cuba. When we arrived, they lowered the gate in front of us like we were not even human beings.

Two days later I appeared in court. I spoke, and while I was speaking, the judge told me when I returned, I need to return because I had signed the paperwork. But I had not signed it, they forced my signature back in 2020.

This was at the beginning of ICE’s operations in Arkansas. They came to our house without a warrant. They had no paperwork. The paper they showed me as a warrant had nothing written on it—no address. It was not signed by a judge.

Then in 2025, when ICE began operating again, I had no charges against me. Every one of my charges had already been dismissed. I still do not understand why they were able to deport me when I had no charges left. All of my charges had already been dropped. They had been dismissed in 2023, if I remember correctly.

The things I had done years before were all minor offenses. I am confused about how I could still end up in this situation.

And when I asked ICE, they said that if the Marshall Islands did not accept me, they would take me and deport me to South Sudan in Africa.

All of my charges had been dismissed. My parole had already ended. I completed all of my required classes, including anger management and every other program they required. My charges had been dropped. I completed everything.

This is my story about what happened to me—something that should never have happened. The way they treated me was truly terrible.

What happened to me has caused deep sadness and pain. There is no more that I will say but that only God knows the truth of all things.