Scan barcode
A review by readingwithkt
Guantanamo Voices: An Anthology: True Accounts from the World's Most Infamous Prison by Sarah Mirk, Omar El Akkad
5.0
This is an absolutely phenomenal graphic novel. It tells the real-life stories of the people working and living in the prison at Guantanamo.
I learned about Guantanamo during my MA in Politics in 2012-16 and was instantly reminded of the camps that Nazi Germany operated during WWII. History repeats itself time upon time, as we watch certain religious, ethnic and racial groups profiled and their lives made a living hell. Today, Islamophobia is on the rise and it is something we each have a responsibility to squash within our communities. Guantanamo was established upon - and is maintained by - racism and Islamophobia.
When I read They Called Us Enemy by George Takei earlier this year, I was outraged about the way Japanese people living in America were treated during the Second World War. The truth is that the same, if not worse, is happening today.
The US and UK Government created a war with an ideology (the War on Terror) in order to invade countries in the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region, demonise an entire religion and systematically oppress and undermine their existence in the UK, US and (latterly) European countries. It is terrifying to watch history repeat itself in this way.
Guantanamo prison serves as a constant, physical reminder of the racism inherent in the US Government's policies and practices. To place it offshore was, simply put, an easy way to avoid abiding by US constitutional law. However, it was also a way for the US to dial down anti-Guantanamo activism. Had the prison been located on US soil, I (possibly naively) think more US citizens would be closely monitoring its activities and participating in active protests against its existence. As horrifying as it is, the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind.
Guantanamo Voices gives space for the stories of the people who lived and worked in the prison to be heard. For the prisoners who have been deeply dehumanised by US and UK media, Guantanamo Voices stands strong as a force of humanity and a rallying cry for the abolishment of the use of the base at Guantanamo as a site of imprisonment.
I hope their cry is heard and answered.
I think every American citizen should read this book. Every single one. Each individual has a duty to learn about what's going on in that offshore prison: about the way that the prisoners were captured, the US-sanctioned torture (paid for with their taxes), the illegal detainment of hundreds of people, the role of the military in upholding the prison and the continued imprisonment of people who have been deemed to pose no threat to the United States of America.
It is a deeply unsettling read, as it should be, but I have put some content warnings below. The torture scenes were extremely upsetting for me to read, as a strong human right advocate, but I'm glad that the brutality of what happens in the prison is not neglected from this narrative.
I cannot recommend Guantanamo Voices highly enough!
Content warnings: torture, nudity, war, violence, guns.
I learned about Guantanamo during my MA in Politics in 2012-16 and was instantly reminded of the camps that Nazi Germany operated during WWII. History repeats itself time upon time, as we watch certain religious, ethnic and racial groups profiled and their lives made a living hell. Today, Islamophobia is on the rise and it is something we each have a responsibility to squash within our communities. Guantanamo was established upon - and is maintained by - racism and Islamophobia.
When I read They Called Us Enemy by George Takei earlier this year, I was outraged about the way Japanese people living in America were treated during the Second World War. The truth is that the same, if not worse, is happening today.
The US and UK Government created a war with an ideology (the War on Terror) in order to invade countries in the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region, demonise an entire religion and systematically oppress and undermine their existence in the UK, US and (latterly) European countries. It is terrifying to watch history repeat itself in this way.
Guantanamo prison serves as a constant, physical reminder of the racism inherent in the US Government's policies and practices. To place it offshore was, simply put, an easy way to avoid abiding by US constitutional law. However, it was also a way for the US to dial down anti-Guantanamo activism. Had the prison been located on US soil, I (possibly naively) think more US citizens would be closely monitoring its activities and participating in active protests against its existence. As horrifying as it is, the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind.
Guantanamo Voices gives space for the stories of the people who lived and worked in the prison to be heard. For the prisoners who have been deeply dehumanised by US and UK media, Guantanamo Voices stands strong as a force of humanity and a rallying cry for the abolishment of the use of the base at Guantanamo as a site of imprisonment.
I hope their cry is heard and answered.
I think every American citizen should read this book. Every single one. Each individual has a duty to learn about what's going on in that offshore prison: about the way that the prisoners were captured, the US-sanctioned torture (paid for with their taxes), the illegal detainment of hundreds of people, the role of the military in upholding the prison and the continued imprisonment of people who have been deemed to pose no threat to the United States of America.
It is a deeply unsettling read, as it should be, but I have put some content warnings below. The torture scenes were extremely upsetting for me to read, as a strong human right advocate, but I'm glad that the brutality of what happens in the prison is not neglected from this narrative.
I cannot recommend Guantanamo Voices highly enough!
Content warnings: torture, nudity, war, violence, guns.