Thanks, @carolkean
You've summarized it neatly. When I first started to write, which I usually do without thinking too much about it, the first thing that came to my mind was extinguising a fire (sofocar un incendio), then, of course the physical torture, the human rights violations. Then, it hit me that because we are so focused on the water-boarding kind of torture, we forget that to deprive a child from a passport, for instance is some kind of human right violation, some kind of torture.
We have been waiting for 2 of our daughters' passports for over 2 years, after having paid obcenes amount of money and gone to the offices repeatedly and faced the humiliating smirk and comes after the you-have-to-be-patient. It's torture and they enjoy it. The travel permits, the court orders, and any paperwork that may help someone move on with their lives they have made it as difficult to get as a breath of fresh air.
After so much trouble and expenses, chances are that some national guard or airport official will decide that you or your child cannot travel because some photocopy does not look sharp enough or black-and-white enough.