I really didn’t know much about Guantanamo Bay and it’s stories. First off, I am quite startled by what takes place at this US prison base in Cuba. I am disgusted to know that torture is legal, especially when about 50% of the prisoners are mainly innocent, not knowing why they were put there. I understand the worries of people increased after 9/11, as security did too. Yet, suspecting persons of committing crimes that they didn’t do, just makes me ill. The poem read by Vanessa Redgrave really spoke out to me. The words read aloud felt so real, as images popped into my head and gave me goosebumps. The man who’s legs were amputated and held together with duck tape sent shivers up and down my spine. How is that fair (or even bearable for that matter). Saying this, it really can be unjust for many of the persons kept here.
I feel that some of the prisoners who were captured and mysteriously flown over to the prison, were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The three Muslim boys from Britain are good examples of this. The Road to Guantanamo relives the story of these boys who were caught and falsely accused of being terrorists. At the beginning of the film you see why one of men were going to Pakistan in the first place- to find a wife. Something seemingly simple turns out to be disaster and chaos. I do feel that the men maybe should of thought more about traveling to Afghanistan (they wanted to explore these borders) seeing that there were dangers in America’s “War on Terrorism”. As they traveled deeper into Afghanistan, they found themselves deeper in trouble and eventually captured and brought to Guantanamo. It is just sad to see the innocent and somewhat clueless go through this “secret rendition”.
The film, The Road to Guantanamo, can be found on YouTube. A lot of the parts are actually posted up if anyone wants to take a look and watch further:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z5-YNmtB1w (this is part 1)
