Dec 24 2008

The human side of the petition

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

This will be a short essay. I just watched the first episode of the video Edger talks about in his essay: Torturing Democracy. I hope everyone will watch it. Its hard, but provides a powerful reminder of why this petition drive is so important.

While I was watching, I remembered that last year a book was published titled Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak. One of the poems by Jumah Al Dossari was reprinted in the Boston Globe. Here’s some information about the author.

Jumah al Dossari, a 33-year-old Bahraini national, is the father of a young daughter. He has been held at Guantánamo Bay for more than five years. Detained without charge or trial, Dossari has been subjected to a range of physical and psychological abuses, some of which are detailed in “Inside the Wire,” an account of the Guantánamo prison by former military intelligence soldier Erik Saar. He has been held in solitary confinement since the end of 2003 and, according to the US military, has tried to kill himself 12 times while in the prison. On one occasion, he was found by his lawyer, hanging by his neck and bleeding from a gash to his arm.

And now, here’s DEATH POEM:

Take my blood.

Take my death shroud and

The remnants of my body.

Take photographs of my corpse at the grave, lonely.

Send them to the world,

To the judges and

To the people of conscience,

Send them to the principled men and the fair-minded.

And let them bear the guilty burden, before the world,

Of this innocent soul.

Let them bear the burden, before their children and before history,

Of this wasted, sinless soul,

Of this soul which has suffered at the hands of the “protectors of peace.”

No more words…just keep working on that petition…for Jumah.

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  2. some google searching to learn a bit more about Dossari.

    He gave testimony to his lawyer about his treatment that is documented at Amnesty International.

    In July 2007, he was returned home to Saudi Arabia. Josh White from the Washington Post published an update from Dossari in an article from August 2008 titled I’m Home, but Still Haunted by Guantanamo. I’m still having a hard time grasping how he ended it, but here it is.

    On occasion, I was helped by compassionate guards. After the beating in Camp X-Ray, a young female guard appeared at my cage, looking to make sure that no other guards were watching. “I’m sorry for what happened to you,” she whispered to me. “You’re a human being just like us.” These words were a temporary balm for my bruises and loneliness. Ultimately, though, I believe it was God who did not allow me to die…

    In Guantanamo, I was very angry with the people who had decided to hold me thousands of miles from home without charging or trying me. I was very angry with the people who kept me in isolation even when I was at my most desperate. I was very angry about having no rights at all. I was not angry with Americans in general and I even drew comfort from some, such as my lawyers and the kind soldier. But I could scarcely comprehend how U.S. policy had allowed me to be treated as I had been.

    On the plane ride home, though, I decided that I would have to forgive to go on with my life. I also know that Sept. 11 was a great tragedy that caused some people to do dark things that they would not otherwise do. This knowledge helped me forget my miserable existence in Guantanamo and open my heart to life again, including to my recent re-marriage.

    When I was watching “United 93,” I thought of the soldier who had offered me compassion in Guantanamo. Her words reminded me that we all share common values, and only by holding on to them can we ensure that there is mercy and brotherhood in the world. After more than five years in Guantanamo, I can think of nothing more important.

    • Edger on December 24, 2008 at 20:51
    • #

    I can’t post since I’ve posted twice in 24 hours, but if you want a good video to write a post around this was just released this morning!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

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