Demand for U.S. to Unveil Images of Guantanamo's Minor Detainees, Waterboarding Evidence, and Graphic Wall Stains from Prisoner Death Sites
Rewritten Article:
Over the last two decades, Guantanamo Bay has earned an unenviable reputation as a infamous prison, joining the ranks of Alcatraz and Robben Island in the hall of shame. Beyond being a symbol of torture, rendition, and indefinite detention without trial, for me it was home for 14 harrowing years. Every nook and cranny of the Camp is etched into my memory, branded by the bitter reality I lived there.
When a series of never-before-revealed pictures of the original detainees arriving at Guantanamo in 2002 were published, I couldn't help but take notice. The images, published by the New York Times on Sunday, depict men in shackles, blindfolds, and ear protectors on their arrival to the detention camp. Most of what transpired at Guantanamo remained hidden from public view, and the NYT points out that the only images ever leaked from the prison came from WikiLeaks in 2011. The photographs were purportedly taken to provide Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and other leaders in Washington with a glimpse of the early stages of wartime detention and interrogation.
I immediately shared the article with a WhatsApp group I share with former Guantanamo prisoners, asking if they could relate to the scenes in the photos. I knew it would be triggering, but I needed to know their thoughts. The reactions ranged from, "I wish I was treated like that," to "Is this some kind of sick joke?". We then discussed the truth of our experiences and how they were suppressed, "We kidnapped them, abused them, tortured them, set their lives on fire, released them without charge or trial. Now we're going to sugarcoat what we did to them and use photos to lie to the world," one former detainee said.
I've shared the stories of the men in this group of survivors - I lived, prayed, and suffered with them. We were all interconnected, like pieces of a cursed puzzle. Yet, I always yearn to hear their stories again, to understand the impact of those years on their lives today. It's a grim reality. We may be geographically distant from Guantanamo, but in many ways, we are still imprisoned. The conditions of our release and the suffocating restrictions on our lives mean we are all still enduring our own version of Guantanamo.
One brother reached out, having just read the article, "They can lie to the world here in this life, but a day will come where justice will be served in the Hereafter. And there, in a Divine Court, there will be no lying. It is not over yet."
Except, those of us who lived it know the truth of our experiences. Our stories are unified.
"My ribs were broken there, and I still live with the pain of it today" said one. "I still have the scars on my head and body, and I can't explain to my children why," said another.
Then one brother spoke up, "Thankfully I can't even look at the photos since - as you all know - I lost sight in one eye in Guantanamo while being tortured. The vision in my other eye is so weak that I am clinically blind."
Another took a more introspective approach, "It's one thing to destroy a man, his family, and his future... it's another to then release sanitized and misleading images to the world to cover up the evil of what you did."
For me, I have questions. Questions I'd like to ask the photographers, "How could they bear watching the horrors they photographed while they stood with a wide-angle lens? How could they position themselves to capture the perfect shot while human torture was taking place in front of them? How can they live with themselves?"
There are some images that will never make it to your screens. You won't see the images of the 60 children held in cages, including a three-month-old baby. A human zoo, if you will. You won't see the photograph of the 105-year-old prisoner who was beaten so mercilessly that blood poured down his frail and elderly frame. You won't see the force-feeding. You won't see prisoners held naked, cold, and hungry in metal cells for weeks and months in solitary confinement. You won't see the men who lost their lives and had their deaths classified as "suicides." You won't see the photos of the brothers who had vital organs extracted, their bodies desecrated from the inside out. You won't see the body bags shipped out of the facility, the remains of the men who were cruelly taken away from their families without explanation, with nothing more than an ISN barcode.
Americans torture and kill first, asking questions later, if at all. They even destroy thousands of photographs and videos that attest to the torture that has taken place at CIA black sites across the world.
Reference: Ex-Guantanamo detainee sues Canada over 14-year imprisonment and torture
Further Reading:- Guantanamo detainees faced significant hardships and legal challenges during their detention[5].- The conditions at Guantanamo have been criticized by human rights organizations[2][5].
- The infamous prison of Guantanamo Bay has been linked historically with Alcatraz and Robben Island, signifying a dark chapter in human rights.
- The New York Times recently published a series of photos showing detainees arriving at Guantanamo in 2002, depicting prisoners in shackles, blindfolds, and ear protectors.
- These pictures, according to the NYT, were intended for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other leaders to observe the early stages of wartime detention and interrogation.
- The revelation of these images, hidden from public view for nearly two decades, evoked a range of emotions among former Guantanamo prisoners when shared in a WhatsApp group, from disbelief to anger.
- One former detainee commented on the photos, lamenting the falsification of events wrapped in a sugarcoated narrative for the world.
- Stories from the ex-prisoners offer a harrowing account of their experiences, including broken ribs, severe scarring, and even blindness.
- Amidst the shared anguish, one brother looked towards a future of justice, asserting that truth would be served in the afterlife.
- As acknowledged by one detainee, those who lived through Guantanamo share a unified story of suffering and trauma.
- There are images that remain concealed, such as prisoners held in cages, the frail elderly being brutally beaten, force-feeding, and the cold, hungry men confined in solitary cells for months.
- News articles and human rights organizations have extensively covered the abusive practices and legal challenges confronted by detainees at Guantanamo [2][5].
- The lasting impact of Guantanamo continues to be felt, not only by the men who were imprisoned there but also those who remained silenced in the shadow of war, politics, and crime [general-news, war-and-conflicts, crime-and-justice].
