سجن غوانتانامو

by Mahvish Rukhsana Khan, مايفيتش رخسانا خان

Who exactly has America detained all these years at Guantanamo? The Worst of the Worst? Or the Wretched of the Earth?

Mahvish Khan is an American lawyer, born to immigrant Afghan parents in Michigan. Outraged that her country was illegally imprisoning people at Guantanamo, she volunteered to translate for the prisoners. She spoke their language, understood their customs, and brought them Starbucks chai, the closest available drink to the kind of tea they would drink at home. And they quickly befriended her, offering fatherly advice as well as a uniquely personal insight into their plight, and that of their families thousands of miles away.

For Mahvish Khan the experience was a validation of her Afghan heritage--as well as her American freedoms, which allowed her to intervene at Guantanamo purely out of her sense that it was the right thing to do. Mahvish Khan's story is a challenging, brave, and essential test of who she is--and who we are.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Politics, History, Biography Memoir, Middle East

388 pages

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[R.f.k · Rating 4 out of 5]

محامية أمريكية من أصل أفغاني تدخل لمعتقل غواتناموا سي الصيت للدفاع عن معتقلين بالتنسيق مع شركات محاماة امريكية بريطانيه.....لفتني بالبداية الاهداء في الكتاب قالت: أهدي هذا الكتاب للذكرى الطيبة ولأصدقائي خلف القضبان
قابلت وتكفلت بالدفاع عن الكثير من المعتقلين أغلبهم أفغان أبناء بلدها الاصلي...القاسم المشترك بين هولاء المعتقلين عبثية الاحتلال الامريكي وطريقه اعتقال هولاء بالتنسيق مع باكستانيين تسليم العرب والإفغان كيف تم اعتقالهم ؟ القى الجيش الامريكي من الجو آلاف المنشورات في افغانستان واعداً كل من يسلم عضو من طالبان بجائزة مابين 5000 و 25000 دولار وكانت تجارة رابحه ولمن يصفي الحسابات الشخصيه نعم هكذا تم اعتقالهم !!
بكل فصل من الكتاب تحدثت عن احد المعتقلين ورحله حياته وصولاء لغواتناموا ومحاكمته
تقربت انسانيا من هولاء المعتقلين وتعرضت للمضايقات من الحكومه الامريكيه اعترفت صريحا شعورها بالرهبه من السلطة, اكثر الفصول اللتي اثرت فيني بهذا الكتاب فصل الرجل المسن, المعتقلون القتلى,المعتقل الدوسري,والشعراء في غواتناموا
هذا الكتاب يوثق الجرائم الامريكيه بحق المعتقلين ومخالفه الانظمة الدوليه والاعتقال بشكل عشوائى والتعذيب يصل حد التعذيب الجنسي, اهانه المقدسات الاسلامية القران ,ومعتقدات المعتقلين, سيبقى هذا الكتاب وصمة عار لهولاء مرتزقة هذا العصر من محامية امريكية مسلمة فخورة بكونها أمريكية وخائفه على القيم الامريكيه من الانهيار ...نعم انهارت قيمكم اللتي تزعموا بها كل أنسان حر يرى النفاق الامريكي والجرائم الامريكيه في العراق وأفغانستان والطائرات بدون طيار في اليمن وباكستان سيكفر بجميع القيم الامريكية ولن يصدق من حكوماتهم شيئا
الجميل في مايفيتش المحاميه انها زارت المعتقلين في بلادهم بعد خروجهم من المعتقل في كابل كانت لفته أنسانيه رائعة منها...أزلت نجمه لان الكاتبه تدافع عن القيم الامريكية وأحياناً تبرر للسياسية الامريكية حد السذاجة
لكن يبقى انها قامت بتوثيق هذه الجرائم على الاقل في كتاب

أنصح بقراءه لمن يريد يعرف عن غواتناموا من معتقلين وأنظمة ومحامين توجد تفاصيل مثيرة لايسع الوقت لكتابتها

[رواية · Rating 5 out of 5]

ولدت الكاتبة في أمريكا من أم و أب أفغان.. تلقت تعليمها الدراسي في أمريكا و درست تشريعات التعذيب الفدرالي و ارادت العمل كمترجمة و محامية عن المساجين الأفغان في سجن غوانتنامو سيء السمعة
روت الكاتبة الكثير من قصص السجناء
الأفغان و بعض الجنسيات الأخرى و روت التعامل السيء معهم طرف الجنود الأمريكان
كتاب أدب سجون لا أنصح فيه للقلوب الضعيفة

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although there was a lot to like here, I felt there was some missing as well. No doubt there are men in Gitmo who have been falsely accused (often sold out by rivals); many allegations were not logical; but then, logic is not the strong suit of Bushites. I hate that we have allowed Cheney/Bush to establish a situation where we do not treat our enemies the way we want to be treated; I wish our leaders and managers were smarter, but they aren't. Likewise, I think it is too easy to get swept up in the lies many of these prisoners tell. They are, many of them, criminals and supporters of terrorism: they lie. If you work even a short while in a prison atmosphere, you learn that one basic fact. The vast majority probably belong exactly where they are. Of course, that does not allow American jailers the right to abuse prisoners, human as that might be when they are faced with such things as "detention cocktails." And stories of harrowing tortures may have some truth to them, though I doubt all of it. They are liars, most of them, willing to exaggerate every event, if not fabricate them; life in prison is hard, but many deserve their fate for support of radicals such as bin Laden and the Taliban. Did some of the events mentioned in the book happen? Most likely, but I think American treatment of these prisoners, overall, is more humane than that shown any prisoners the Taliban or Iraqis have taken. And the author contradicts herself: for instance, seemingly indicating that the mass suicide in one case couldn't have happened, then listing incidents of repeated suicide attempts by prisoners, some for the very reason the three probably killed themselves. Ultimately though, we should be treating them as POWs (at least those who were simply fighters in Afghanistan) and should be making rigorous efforts to separate the wheat from chaff, and every man should have a fair hearing. Just the fact that these prisoners have more than 300 lawyers working for them, should show that Americans want fair treatment. Most of us, at least. I do like that she noted the general attitude of Afghan men toward women, as objects of desire and little else (little more "than a change of clothes" in one case); yes, they love their women and daughters, as long as they are compliant. And yes, the Taliban is not Afghanistan. The Taliban and their ilk (whether overseas or right here at home, such as the lunatic fringe of the religious right) are a blight on society, especially for women. One unmentioned fact in this book, and many others, is that despite the possibility that some who are labeled as terrorists may be innocent, those all along the chain of control are likely reticent to be the ones who make the mistake of setting a true terrorist free to strike again. That is a heavy burden. It underscores the need for Americans to be training people in a host of languages and cultures, so that we can sift through the facts and make better judgements (and hopefully also develop better realtionships) with our fellow world citizens. Okay, I feel like the soapbox is starting to crack! :)

[Särah Nour · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many a news article about Guantanamo Bay and its human rights violations, but it is common knowledge that reading about something pales in comparison to truly experiencing it. Lawyer and journalist Mahvish Rukhsana Khan provides an inside look within the walls of the notorious prison with My Guantanamo Diary, a harrowing, tragic and at times darkly comic account of the appalling injustices she witnessed as a young law student.

Khan, who was born and raised by her Pashtun immigrant parents in Michigan, was a student at the University of Miami when she applied to work as an interpreter for lawyers travelling to Guantanamo Bay to represent detainees. In developing a sense of loyalty towards the inmates she meets, Khan embarks on a personal journey that involves coming to terms with the double culture of her upbringing: the American culture she grew up in and the country she is descended from.

Among the detainees she meets are Ali Shah Mousovi—also known as No. 1164—an Iranian pediatrician who had been setting up a clinic in Afghanistan at the time of his detainment; Haji Nusrat—No. 1009—an Afghan elder barred from receiving medical care for his various ailments that leave him bedridden; and Jumah al-Dossary, a severely abused Bahraini prisoner with a staggering number of suicide attempts on his record. They are few among the many detainees accused of terrorism by people wanting to collect monetary rewards offered by the US. Whether they are guilty or innocent, they have been deprived of the most basic of human rights, including the right to a fair trial, not to mention the severe beatings and sexual assaults they endure at the hands of the prison guards.

Khan is a remarkable writer, balancing her empathy for the detainees with unbiased, journalistic fluency. She does not go out of her way to elicit sympathy for the detainees; instead she lets her records of the interviews she conducted, as well as the information she gathered, speak for themselves. Nor does she shy away from the harsh realities she confronted at Guantanamo; she is candid and at times explicit, creating visceral images of the atrocities committed within the prison that virtually functions as a torture chamber for the accused.

At times I had to set this book aside and take a breather, not only from the graphic descriptions of prisoner abuse but from the anger that these injustices stirred in me. Indeed, My Guantanamo Diary is a provocative book, one that will sear itself into readers’ memories like a branding iron; a bleak, heartbreaking and unforgettable portrait of human misery and the triumph of spirit in the face of adversity. Ultimately there is insight and even inspiration to be gained from reading this book, regardless of one’s political affiliations.

Read this and other reviews at my blog: http://zeitgeist-sacha1689.blogspot.com/

[Audrey Coutinho · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first non-fiction book that I could complete and actually found more interesting than many of the fiction novels that I have read.

I am so disgusted with the US government after reading this book. Although I knew that people were tortured at Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, I had no idea that most of them had no evidence pointing to their involvement in any acts of terror. Many of them are innocent men sold out by rivals and other money-hungry men back home in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The kind of physical abuse and humiliation they have been put through is shocking and made me really angry. The US government classifies an 80 year man who can barely stand as an 'enemy combatant.'

The author warns at the start of the book that some have called her 'naive' for believing the prisoners and for trying to portray the American government in a bad light. But I just cannot see it like that. I am so glad that this book was written and published and that everyone gets to read the truth about the American 'war on terror.' Yes, what happened on 9/11 was terrible and whoever was behind it ought to be punished severely for the number of innocent lives taken. But picking up people from the homes in the middle of the night, torturing them multiple times at several different places (Bagram, Kandahar and Guantanamo) and finally locking them up in a tiny cell without light, fresh air and human contact for months on end WITHOUT ANY CHARGES OR EVIDENCE is just not acceptable. This is really, really terrible.
Lawyers aren't allowed to take in flowers, plastic spoons (with food, that thankfully is allowed) and even hair clips into the attorney-client meeting rooms. Recreation time for detainees means being locked alone in a cell with a ball to kick around.

I really liked the end of the book - it was good to know that some of the men got to go home, back to their families that waited for them every day for years. Reading about them at home, with their children and families and living normal lives just makes their imprisonment (halfway across the globe) seem even worse. I hope all the men that are detained for absolutely no reason are released and get to go home soon.

Kudos to the lawyers and attorneys and the Red Cross that take are really working hard for the cause of the detainees. I hope they are successful in helping the detainees get a fair trial and subsequently the chance to go home.

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “HOW CAN Y0U POSSIBLY HELP GET ME OUT OF GUANTANAMO IF YOU CAN’T EVEN GIVE ME A BOOK?”
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The author is an American born of Afghan immigrants. Her Father became a successful cardiologist and her Mother became the director of neonatology. Mahvish grew up caught in between the realities of two worlds... her parent’s restrictive, conservative, old world disciplines, and her longing for a bit more of the looser American way. She graduated from the University Of Michigan and then attended law school at the University Of Miami. In 2005 while in law school, “she was studying the federal torture statues and how policy makers had cleverly circumvented legal principles in creating the military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where prisoners in the “war on terror” could be held indefinitely without being charged with any crime.” Mahvish felt the pain of September 11th as an American… “But also understood the need to invade Afghanistan and destroy the Taliban and al-Qaeda. But I also felt the suffering of the Afghans, when hundreds of Afghan men were rounded up and thrust into the black hole of detention at Guantanamo.” This led her to volunteer to become an interpreter between volunteer lawyers and the detainees. And this leads to the core of this heart-breaking… heart-warming… educational odyssey… into what is really going on in Guantanamo, and the horrifying abuse in route to there .

In an attempt to convey to potential readers, the “delicate” power in the words and meaning communicated by the author in this book… I feel it would be helpful to share with you how it affected me. I am an honorably discharged Viet Nam era Veteran, who has always felt very strongly that America was losing a lot more of our precious American lives in battle, because we seem to be the only country that adheres to true “RULES OF ENGAGEMENT”. While other countries entire military plans are built around suicide bombers blowing up and murdering innocent civilians, women and children... our soldiers literally have to call lawyers from the battlefield before they make their next move! But here is where this wonderful young woman EDUCATED ME like no newscast or newspaper was able to do. She so perfectly “straddled” both sides of the ethnic line between her heritage and her birthright.

What I learned made me both mad and disappointed in the lack of legal “equality-of-justice” to other human beings. Believe me… I know there are some pretty despicable characters at Gitmo… but there are also innocent men who were snatched out of their families… out of their jobs… out of their countries. I also know that in every jail and prison in the world everyone says they’re “innocent”, and as one of the volunteer lawyers at Gitmo said: regarding the “face of evil… how normal it looks, how so many of the men who perpetrated some of the worst crimes in history – Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot – had been men who appeared perfectly ordinary, who were kind to children and dogs.”

But here’s what I learned from this book, and feel must be done, so some of the tarnish can be cleansed from America’s name: Lawyers must be assigned immediately to any “enemy combatants” arrested. There must be a time limit as to how long someone can be held without a trial or evidence. (Due to most cases involved at Gitmo being international in scope, the period does need to be much longer than a normal case in America… but no one should be allowed to be kept in such de-humanizing conditions for five years without a trial and conviction.) All sexually demeaning atrocities, such as being made to stand or lay naked for extended times should be outlawed. Rape and sexual perversion (imagine me having to state this in America!) should be outlawed and perpetrators should face heavy jail time themselves. Prisoners should be allowed to have writing supplies and receive mail on a timely basis. (Not holding up letters for a year or more.) AND HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POLICY THAT SHOULD BE CHANGED IMMEDIATELY: **UNLESS IT IS A HIGH RANKING ENEMY SUCH AS BIN LADEN, ETC. STOP THE POLICY OF PAYING REWARDS FOR TURNING PEOPLE IN!

*** HERE’S WHY ** “Many of the men insisted that they they’d been sold to the United States. During the war after September 11th, the U.S. military air-dropped thousands of leaflets across Afghanistan promising between $5,000.00 and $25,000.00 to anyone who would turn in members of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Considering that the per capita income in Afghanistan in 2006 was $300.00 or 82 cents a day, that’s like hitting the jackpot. The median income for each American household was $26,036.00 in 2006. If a bounty system of equal proportions were offered to Americans, it would be worth $2.17 MILLION. The average American and the average Afghan would have to work for eighty-three years to make that kind of money.” Pakistani’s and Afghan’s who had a grudge against a neighbor were turning people in… getting the reward… and the poor soul who was “fingered” spent years and years in the hell that was constructed at Gitmo. One of these unfortunate men had gotten into an argument with a worker that was supposed to connect water to his house and didn’t. They got into a fight, and the worker turned the homeowner in, and he wound up spending over three years in the bowels of Gitmo hell. “THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DOD) has said it was unaware of any sort of bounty being paid for the prisoners.” **YET INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK ARE TWO PICTURES OF THE LEAFLETS THAT WERE DISPERSED ALL OVER PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN! “Pakistani president Musharraf even bragged about it in his memoir, “In The Line Of Fire”: “We have earned bounties totaling millions of dollars, he wrote, admitting that his agents had handed over 369 men to the U.S. military in exchange for CIA “prize money”. According to Amnesty International reports, two-thirds of the men who landed in Guantanamo were picked up in Pakistan, where many were “groomed” in local jails to grow out their beards and look more like Taliban before being sold to the U.S. military.

It is a FACT that most of the prisoners being held in Gitmo were never on a battlefield. If this book can make such a big impression on this patriotic veteran… I can’t wait to see the effect it will have on people who don’t start out with as hard core beliefs as I did. One of the biggest goals of every book ever written is to educate… and this book has sure as hell educated me!

[Meg Dunley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What an exhausting story that is a must read by all so that we never, never forget what want and power can do to people, in particular to innocent people.

This is the story that puts the human face to the people at Guantanamo Bay and gives us a chance to understand them. As a reader, you are taken through anger, frustration, joy and tears. It is beautifully written, and is a book that will never leave you. Such an important story to be told. We need to learn to listen to both sides so that we can be more understanding, and Mahvish Khan enables us to do that.

I found many parts of this book to be very hard to digest. Uncomfortable, and so they should be. It is not an easy read, it is not an easy topic. The atrocity of the "war against terror" were are are still so damaging because of the lack of trial of the Afgani's and Arabs and also because of the bounty system.

It was a frighteningly eye opening book, and I thank Mahvish for bringing the stories of these hurt people to the world. Thank goodness for a change of power to the USA so that Guantanamo will be closed down and hopefully all remaining inmates will receive a fair trial.

Incredibly well written. I did finish wanting to know more, however, understanding that probably even she doesn't know more.

Depressing, thought provoking.

[Naeem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mahvish Khan writes from in between two often opposing beliefs. On the one hand, she believes in law, in rights, in the goodness of the country to which she and her parents have emigrated, in the possibility of getting a fair trial for the prisoners she meets and represents. In other words, her naivete knows no bounds. And this makes her an utterly unsophisticated and uncomplicated witness.

On the other hand, she speaks Pushto, knows and largely honors her cultural heritage, and treats the prisoners as elder family members. They eventually open up to her. Her witnessing conveys the prisoners as actual humans with differentiated families, histories, concrete anxieties, hopes, dreams, fears, and moods.

Ultimately, for me, the real life details -- not only of Guantanamo but also of her travels to Peshawar and Kabul carry the book. Her description of how parts of Kabul have become the USA (compare Imperial Life in the Emerald City) is particularly scary.

This is a quick read. It largely confirms (not that this is Khan's intent) that what happened in Abu Ghraib was a continuation of Guantanamo. The value of this book is in her relationship to the prisoners and what that reveals about their lives.

[رولا البلبيسي Rula Bilbeisi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opening the doors to hell, a man-made hell, a place that no demon imagined, but we humans made it possible. Throughout the book, nightmares did haunt me, while my emotions swung between disbelief, anger and fear. How can the whole world overlook such a merciless reality: the military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay!

It doesn’t really matter if they are innocent or guilty, if they are charged or not, but it is all that torture and humiliation that the detainees have to go through every minute they manage to stay alive and fight for their sanity.

All of those people are so real, and not just names or numbers passing by, and their pictures almost make you cry. However, though the writer believed that none of the Afghans she met were guilty, yet there was always a shadow of doubt, facts that were not disclosed and stories unsaid.

The brutal truth of the dark side of the so called justice, where no justice prevails.

[Jakob Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me angry. It was written by an Afghan-American law student who served as an interpreter for attorneys helping Guantánamo detainees make habeas appeals. Their stories include accounts intense brutality and inhumane treatment, and vehement assertions of innocence. And they are really quite plausible, especially with one crucial bit of information: The US offered bounties for the capture of terrorists and then never bothered to check whether these claims were at all plausible. Now, I don't know that any of the detainees whose stories she tells are innocent, but I do know they deserved their day in court. I do know they shouldn't be treated the way they claim to have been.

The book is compellingly written, with a warm and simple feel. I heartily recommend it.

[Sean Mulligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is the daughter of Afghan immigrants who balances between the traditional eastern culture of her parents and her American upbringing. She is a student of law and is outraged that her country is committing such atrocities and abuse of human rights at Guantanamo and various black sites. She uses her knowledge of the Pashtun language to translate for various Gitmo inmates. She learns that the claims that all the inmates are terrorists and the worst of the worst are false and that most of the people imprisoned at Gitmo are innocent people who were sold out by their own countrymen either because of various feuds or just for money. The U.S. did little to investigate the charges and just assumed that the accused were terrorists, and deserving of no sympathy.

The author offered comfort to the inmates and she and the lawyers working on the cases, did their best to get the inmates due process, so that they could get their day in court. The author tried to get the inmates outside news and messages from their families. The author learned much about her Afghan heritage, that despite so much violence and suffering in Afghanistan in recent decades, Afghans are a hospitable and generous people. The author visited Afghanistan and it is a beautiful country. Most of the inmates did not hold the crimes against them against the entire American people, but only Bush and his administration.

Because of the efforts of various human rights lawyers and pressure by activists a number of the Guantanamo inmates have been released and allowed to return to their families. The military authorities often places obstructions against the lawyers working for the inmates, using trumped up excuse to ban them from seeing their clients and placing various arbitrary restrictions on what they could bring with them to Guantanamo and what they could do. The military authorities even, make false accusations of support of criminal activities and violations of military regulations to put pressure on the lawyers and translators. However, most of the lawyers and translators persevered and did their best to help the inmates get due process they were entitled to.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I am largely rating this book on the book's content, not on Mahvish Khan's writing skills. Reading the book feels a bit like reading a long college research paper. The writing in rather choppy and informal and does not read smoothly, it doesn't read like a professionally written book. To be fair, the writing is not bad. It's just that the writing quality can become distracting for the first, say, 100 pages until the reader becomes accustomed to it.

With that said, the book's content is extremely interesting. Mahvish Khan took the initiative, before finishing law school, to take an interest in representing a Guantanamo detainee. She thus details her experiences with this detainee, as well as many others with whom she came into contact (it was never clear to me if she eventually represented many detainees, or if she was simply an assistant to Peter, another lawyer, and she attended the meetings of the detainees he represented as well).

Khan does a beautiful job providing the back stories of these detainees, showing their human side, as well as detailing the very "uncertain" conditions under which they were detained by the US government. For example, she describes how a Pentagon report, declassified due to an AP lawsuit in 2006, "shows that only five percent of the detainees had been captured as a result of U.S. intelligence work." The report also shows that "86 percent of the prisoners at Guantanamo were captured not by American forces but by Pakistani police and Afghan warlords at a time when the U.S. military was passing out cash rewards for turning over Al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects." In separate Defense Department documents, it's noted that "86 percent of all Guantanamo detainees had been seized in Pakistan." Leading one to wonder what the motivation was on the part of the Pakistani police (i.e. most of the detainees were rounded up on raids of guest houses, where the police knew "foreigners" were easy to locate and, thus, turn in for large cash rewards). In detailing specific detainee's stories, Khan makes it pretty clear that she believes that most of those detained at Guantanamo were "arrested" because of internal Afghani and Pakistani politics, interpersonal and tribal feuds and individuals' attempts to cash in on US rewards.

NOTE: Khan does acknowledge that there ARE men guilty of terrorism being held at Guantanamo. She is not naive and she understands that there are dangerous men being held there. What she highlights is the lack of transparency in the detainees' charges/histories/legal cases, and the absolute refusal of the US government to grant detainees any real legal rights (i.e. to have serious attempts be made to bring their witnesses to hearings, to give them access to the charges and evidence against them, to be free from torture and abusive treatment, etc.). Khan spends quite a lot of time in the book detailing detainees' allegations of torture (the worst of it seemingly at the Bagram base in Afghanistan, but also at Gitmo itself).

In addition to reporting on the detainees' stories, Khan also seems to be trying to breakdown various stereotypes that readers may have about Islam, and about Muslim men in particular. For example, she often recounts the individual acts of kindness and respect that she is shown while visiting the detainees (as well as their families in Afghanistan and Pakistan), despite stereotypes that these "Taliban supporters" would be anti-female and dismissive of women. At the same time, Khan doesn't ignore the physical realities of women in Muslim-majority countries. For example, she highlights how women are almost always assisted first in public places (skipping lines, not being stopped at checkpoints, etc.), while at the same time noting that one likely motivation for such kindness is a desire to remove women quickly from public spaces (so that women are not interacting with unrelated men). She also highlights the Muslim cultural habit of protecting and taking care of women, but then she notes that such protectiveness also means women are almost entirely dependent on men (and therefore are at their mercy). She notes how this "protection" also means that men get to dictate "whom a woman may marry, with whom she may interact, and whether she'll be able to read a book or write a letter." To be honest, a lot of the behavior that she details reminds me of similar behavior to older American men (i.e. very kind, generous, and polite to women, but also likely to call all women "girls," be dismissive of what women have to say and, in general, behave in an "old boys' network" manner). In other words, the behavior is less about religion and Islam, and more about where each community is along the development spectrum (i.e. the US is, say, 50 years ahead in the development of women's rights than many other countries; but that yes, older generations in America behave in the exact same manner).

Khan also tries to provide a small window on life in Afghanistan, and the personality of the Afghani people (i.e. strong, with a huge emphasis on hospitality). She details basic facts (i.e. maternal mortality rates; life expectancy rates for men and women (45 and 44 respectively); early marriage rates), while also showing some of the impact of the US war on terrorism on the ground in Afghanistan. For example, there is both the short-term impact (i.e. civilian deaths in airstrikes) and long term impact (large amounts of birth defects and cancers in the local population due to the US's use of depleted uranium in outs bombs). Kahn does not go into the fact that such birth defects and cancers are also widespread in Iraq, for the same reasons, but it's worth nothing here that this is a rather "common" legacy for communities where the US has fought militarily (a legacy that leads to widespread suffering, and resulting anger at the US).

I do recommend the book, I think it provides a nice window on WHO exactly is being detained in Guantanamo and why, as well as the US government's treatment of these detainees. It is a bit frustrating that the book was published in 2008, and thus many of the detainees have been released. It would be nice for the publisher to insert a forward in the book, detailing what progress (and lack of progress) has been made regarding Guantanamo detainees (how many released, under what circumstances, to their home or third party countries, etc.). Also, since so much of the book is dedicated to detailing specific detainees' stories, I'd love an update on their cases (I'll be searching the internet to see if the author has updated their cases online anywhere). But, big picture, it's an honest look at the US's behavior re: Guantanamo, and the ways in which we are, and are not, upholding our legal system's promises and our cultural moral beliefs.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on accident. Let me explain: I am trying to complete Book Riot’s 2019 Read Harder Challenge, and one of the tasks is to read a book written in prison. This is definitely not in my wheelhouse, so I took to the goodreads group for recs. I kept seeing “Guantanamo Diary” recommended, so I checked its availability at my library, and this book popped up. You can see how I might have thought it was the one I was looking for.

I eventually realized this book was not written in prison, and there is ANOTHER book called “Guantanamo Diary” written by a detainee. But I was already hooked. She does such a beautiful job conveying the brutality and harsh conditions these men were living under while maintaining their dignity and honor. I had very little understanding of what really went on at GITMO under the Bush administration, or how the war on terror was run. This was devastating, heartbreaking, and eye opening. She does such a great job of presenting facts without vilifying any groups in their entirety.

A main take away from this book for me is that there are evil people on all sides of a conflict just as there are innocents, and when we blur the line between evil and innocence just because of a person’s race, nationality, or religious preference, we run the risk of perpetrating great evil ourselves.

[Tony Wohlfarth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book to learn more about GitMo - after watching the film The Mauritanian (which I recommend).
I do not recommend this book:
- there is no index. A major inconvenience when one want to find information?
- the author does not appear to have performed any primary research? Instead, Khan turns to Google as her primary research tool.
- half way through the book, Khan travels to Afghanistan - ostensibly to meet the families of the prisoners? Instead, she indulges at a 5-star hotel, while complaining that Afghans cannot afford the prices! Bring back the Taliban??
- Khan's view of GitMo soldiers is markedly biased e.g. she refers to one as a "skinny guard with rodent teeth". Really?
Turns out much of Khan's information is based on her relationship with Clive Stafford Smith, a British human rights lawyer. See her Twitter feed and you will see what I mean!
The bottom line? I learned a lot about how habeas corpus lawyers travel to Guantanamo Bay. Most of the book (300 pages) is self-indulgent and lacking any perspective.

[saja. سَجى · Rating 4 out of 5]

" من السذاجة أن نفكر بأن الشرّ لا يرتكبه سوى أشخاص يشبهون الوحوش. غوانتانامو هو الشر ، فهو مكان تم فيه سجن رجال لاكثر من خمسة أعوام بدون اي تهمة و بدون اي نوع من جلسات الاستماع العادلة على اساس اتفة الادعاءات"

نُشر هذا الكتاب في عام 2008 و انا اقرأه الآن في عام 2020 يعني اكثر من عَشر سنوات .. هذا الكتاب اثار شعور الغضب و الحزن لدي ، لم اكن اقرأ قصصهم فقط و انما اعيشها بتفاصيلها و بحرقتها و بمرارتها معهم ..💔💔

هذا الكتاب لطالبة حقوق - امريكية الجنسية - افغانية الاصل عملت كمترجم لمحامين يساعدون المعتقلين في سجن غوانتانامو للحصول على حقهم ( تقديم طلبات الأمر بالمثول)

تشمل قصصهم احداث عن الوحشية و طرق التعذيب الشديدة و المعاملة اللاإنسانية التي تعرضوا لها.

الكتاب مكتوب بشكل مقنع و واقعي مع الاحساس بدفئ مشاعرهم و احاسيسهم و آلامهم ، و لكن يفقده مهارة الكتابة و السرد المتسلسل المحترف للاحداث و قليلاً من السلامة اللغوية.

"لقد تم خداعي، لقد خدعتني حكومتي"

اوصي به جداً🌟

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only complaint is that the author mentions she may be too naive towards the prisoners... but, in my own opinion, is seems like she is a little too naive towards the U.S.. Also, some of her commentary seems a bit out of place for the purpose of this book. Otherwise, a necessary read to really gain insight into the stain that is Guantanamo bay.

[Wafaa Wasfi · Rating 2 out of 5]

اعتقد ان القصص والحكايات لو كانت وقعت في يد كاتب اخر مثل جين ساسون علي سبيل المثال وليس الحصر، لكانت النتيجة حتما ستكون مختلفة.
هذة الوقائع كان من الممكن ان تحدث دوي اعنف من ذلك لو نجحت الكاتبة في كتابتها بعاطفة اكثر من ذلك ولكنها اكتفت بسرد وقائع دون قولبتها في قالب إنساني.. فأصبح الكتاب مجرد مادة تقريريه فقط لا غير.

[Morthen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erittäin mielenkiintoinen, monipuolinen ja helppolukuisestu kirjoitettu kirja, vaikeasta ja raskaasta aihealueestaan huolimatta.

Kirja sisältää monia hyviä huomioita, tuo esiin monia ristiriitaisuuksia ja epäoikeudenmukaisuuksia, ja onnistuu olemaan ”monipuolueellinen”, ja siitä välittyy inhimillinen, elämää arvostava ja ihmisyyttä puolustava ote ja näkökulma.

Suosittelen.

[James Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a story of the detainees and the legal process afforded them by a reluctant US government. It is also a mini-memoir, as Mahvish wrestles with her Pashto roots and her experience as the daughter of immigrants. An excellent accounting of the human toll of GTMO.

[NLeena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a life-changing read. I'm embarrassed embarrassed admit to how ignorant I was of the atrocities (and the extent of them) that took place in Guantanamo Bay. unfortunately, Gitmo is still operating today - a testament of failure that the world continues to watch and remain silent.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both an approachable and incredibly informative take on a topic we should all know more about!

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heartbreaking honest book. Not for the weak of heart but it should be a must read for every American.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information, poor execution.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing and powerful and I think everyone should read it.

[Amy Webster-Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

really really good, did not know a lot about Gitmo, or cuba for that matter, so learned something

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Üks igavesti kurb lugemine...

[Daisy Galindo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful and powerful read. Loved the addition of images and pieces of detainees’ writings throughout.

[Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have we become numb to unjustified terrors to humanity?

[Hasina · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a word: Harrowing

[Khaled · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب مبكي وصادم!