In late September, the US military declared the hunger strikes at Guantánamo Bay over. “At its peak,” writes Charlie Savage in The New York Times, “106 of the 166 prisoners … were listed as participants” in the strike. That number has now dropped to 19, they say, and they’re all being given “the appropriate level of care.” What exactly does that mean? You can get an idea from this animated video created by The Guardian. In 6 minutes, you’ll get introduced to the world of people who have spent years in prison. They’ve never been charged with a crime nor given access to the legal system. Despite being cleared for release, many remain stuck in limbo year after year. When they lose hope and go on hunger strike, they have tubes and food crammed down their noses. Poignant as it may be, the colorful animation may dull your reaction to what’s actually happening in Guantánamo. Perhaps it’s better to look at these color photos to fully appreciate the Kafkaesque system the government has put in place.
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It may also be worth pointing out that, as of Jan. 13, 2013, according to the Department of Defense, over one quarter of released detainees are suspected or confirmed to have reengaged in terrorist activities. (You can see the report here: https://www.fas.org/irp/dni/reengage-0313.pdf). Thus, the situation is not so simple, as the current Administration apparently discovered after taking office.
Detain anyone without reason for x many years and there’s a good chance they’ll resort to vengeance by any means possible. And anyone “1/4th of them might be bad guys” or “it’s convenient” is no justification for imprisonment without charge.
Which is of course good news. The US gov’t needs the (apparent) threat of terrorism to uphold inhumane practices like spying on every one of their citizens and illegal wars.
The majority of the people in Gitmo were repatriated or relocated to new host countries by 2010. The remaining prisoners are those for which an alternate host country can not be found or have a country for which repatriation would result in the death penalty (e.g. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). nnnThis is the reason why Gitmo is not closed despite Obama’s campaign promise to do so.
This is the reason why Gitmo is not closed despite Obama’s campaign promise to do so.