Muslims Tortured Guantanamo Bay Prison
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba — I AM WRITING from the darkness of the U.S.
detention camp at Guantanamo in the hope that I can make our voices heard by the
world. My hand quivers as I hold the pen.
In January 2002, I was picked
up in Pakistan, blindfolded, shackled, drugged and loaded onto a plane flown to
Cuba. When we got off the plane in Guantanamo, we did not know where we were.
They took us to Camp X-Ray and locked us in cages with two buckets — one empty
and one filled with water. We were to urinate in one and wash in the other.
At Guantanamo, soldiers have assaulted me, placed me in solitary
confinement, threatened to kill me, threatened to kill my daughter and told me I
will stay in Cuba for the rest of my life. They have deprived me of sleep,
forced me to listen to extremely loud music and shined intense lights in my
face. They have placed me in cold rooms for hours without food, drink or the
ability to go to the bathroom or wash for prayers. They have wrapped me in the
Israeli flag and told me there is a holy war between the Cross and the Star of
David on one hand and the Crescent on the other. They have beaten me
unconscious.
What I write here is not what my imagination fancies or my
insanity dictates. These are verifiable facts witnessed by other detainees,
representatives of the Red Cross, interrogators and translators.
During
the first few years at Guantanamo, I was interrogated many times. My
interrogators told me that they wanted me to admit that I am from Al Qaeda and
that I was involved in the terrorist attacks on the United States. I told them
that I have no connection to what they described. I am not a member of Al Qaeda.
I did not encourage anyone to go fight for Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda and Osama bin
Laden have done nothing but kill and denigrate a religion. I never fought, and I
never carried a weapon. I like the United States, and I am not an enemy. I have
lived in the United States, and I wanted to become a citizen.
I know
that the soldiers who did bad things to me represent themselves, not the United
States. And I have to say that not all American soldiers stationed in Cuba
tortured us or mistreated us. There were soldiers who treated us very humanely.
Some even cried when they witnessed our dire conditions. Once, in Camp Delta, a
soldier apologized to me and offered me hot chocolate and cookies. When I
thanked him, he said, "I do not need you to thank me." I include this because I
do not want readers to think that I fault all Americans.
But, why, after
five years, is there no conclusion to the situation at Guantanamo? For how long
will fathers, mothers, wives, siblings and children cry for their imprisoned
loved ones? For how long will my daughter have to ask about my return? The
answers can only be found with the fair-minded people of America.
I would
rather die than stay here forever, and I have tried to commit suicide many
times. The purpose of Guantanamo is to destroy people, and I have been
destroyed. I am hopeless because our voices are not heard from the depths of the
detention center.
If I die, please remember that there was a human being
named Jumah at Guantanamo whose beliefs, dignity and humanity were abused.
Please remember that there are hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo suffering the
same misfortune. They have not been charged with any crimes. They have not been
accused of taking any action against the United States.
Show the world
the letters I gave you. Let the world read them. Let the world know the agony of
the detainees in Cuba.
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