Torture Awareness Month: Walking to Guantánamo
June 5, 2006
Thanks to those who joined the Bill of Rights Defense Committee on the conference call with human rights activist Frida Berrigan on Monday, June 5.
It was inspiring to hear Frida talk about the 107 kilometer walk she took with members of Witness Against Torture to Guantánamo Bay last December. As Frida told Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!, the fasting praying witnesses went to Guantánamo "to open up this modern heart of darkness to the light of day and world scrutiny." Walking, Frida told us, "enabled us to be transparent and non-threatening." It also showed how far away Guantánamo is, and that even if you walk, you can't get all the way there. It "drew attention to the boundaries we were transgressing," she said.
NEW! Listen to streaming audio from Frida's talk.
Though members of Witness Against Torture were not permitted to enter the prison and visit detainees, they learned months later that prisoners knew they were just outside the gates and had heard the detainees' calls for justice and mercy. We can draw from the strength of that witness and that connection, and continue to build awareness in our own communities.
Here are some of the ideas for generating local awareness all through June—Torture Awareness Month—shared by Frida and by members of BORDC groups from coast to coast:
1. Make Guantánamo "visible" in our communities.
The simple act of wearing an orange t-shirt with "Shut Down Guantánamo!" and "Stop Torture" in bold letters -- worn in a local parade, march, demonstration or other public event is a clear message for human rights. Witness Against Torture has sweatshop-free orange t-shirts for sale on their website.
The group has also fashioned a cage on wheels that they used in an Apr 29 demonstration in New York City.
2. Bring community focus to extraordinary rendition.
Planes from Smithfield, North Carolina are some of the "discreet bus drivers" routinely sent on secret flights to rendition sites in Eastern Europe, Baghdad, Cairo and Kabul, as uncovered by the New York Times in May 2005.
Peggy Misch, along with others from Orange County and Durham County, North Carolina has been active in protesting Aero Contractors Ltd., an airplane company involved in rendition. Related articles:
Protest
Tries to Tie “Torture Taxi” to Global TransPark (Jan,
2006)
CIA
“Torture Taxi” Protest Leads to Arrest of 14 (Nov
2005)
Is
there a “Torture Taxi” in Your Backyard? (Nov 2005)
3. Send seeds to Guantánamo prisoners.
Frida told us about Guantánamo prisoners saving seeds from their food and planting them. Amidst the steel and concrete, plants have grown. An international group called Reprieve has been organizing the mailing of seeds to prisoners.
4. Write to prisoners and their families.
Make that human connection. Someone asked if Guantánamo detainees even receive mail, and Frida answered that regardless of whether they get them now or later or not at all, every person who handles that mail sees the letters, and the more letters that come through, the stronger the witness against torture. You can get addresses at Cage Prisoners.
Cage Prisoners also has video interviews with family members and former prisoners.
5. The Road to Guantánamo
Watch and promote this film about the Tipton Three -- young men from the U.K., captured in Afghanistan and taken to Guantánamo. Moazzam Begg has written a book about his years at Guantánamo, "Enemy Combatant." BORDC has postcards and posters to promote the film. You can contact your local theatre to make sure it is shown in your community. More information.
6. "Guantánamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom"
Stage this play, crafted from actual interviews, letters and words of Guantánamo prisoners and families, in your community. BORDC and the Center for Constitutional Rights, in conjunction with the Rosenberg Fund for Children have script, director's notes, program, flyers and discussion materials available so you can raise awareness in your church, school, or neighborhood.
7. Create sanctuary for former Guantánamo prisoners.
Recently, ethnic Uighur detainees held at Guantánamo and found not to be terrorists were relocated to Albania, because if they'd been returned to their native China, they would face persecution. Uighur communities in the U.S. were willing to take those men, but the U.S. government wouldn't allow them to live in U.S. borders. Frida Berrigan and others are calling upon U.S. residents to offer to take released prisoners from Guantánamo into their communities, though with the existing resistance of government authorities to release detainees in the United States, it’s unclear how that campaign will progress.
8. Make the connections between American Prisoners of War and detainees.
Sue Lyons from Ocala, Florida told us about a powerful connection we can make locally between U.S. Prisoners of War and the prisoners at Guantánamo and other U.S. detention facilities (secret or not). Sue has made contact with local American Ex-Prisoners of War to help with making the public more aware of the consequences to American soldiers if the U.S. continues to be known throughout the world as a nation that condones and promotes torture. Sue has also put together a resource page on torture.
Statement by Les Jackson, executive director of the American Ex-Prisoners of War from July 2005 about the importance of standing up for human rights for all prisoners of war.
9. Support two Congressional bills on torture and rendition.
H.R. 952, introduced by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) would "prohibit the transfer or return of persons by the United States, for the purpose of detention, interrogation, trial, or otherwise, to countries where torture or other inhuman treatment of persons occurs." The bill currently has 69 co-sponsors.
S 654, introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) would prohibit the expulsion, return, or extradition of persons by the United States to countries engaging in torture, and for other purposes. The bill currently has 8 co-sponsors.
10. Make the connection between immigration reform and the effect on people seeking political asylum.
Human Rights First has a paper on the subject.
11. Make connections with torture survivors.
Torture Awareness Survivors Coalition is one of the co-sponsors of Torture Awareness Month.
June 23 is National Call-In Day. Review talking points. The Capitol Switchboard 24-hour phone number is 1-202-224-3121.
June 26 is a 24-Hour Vigil commemorating U.N. International Day in Support of Torture Victims and Survivors. Download an event flyer. If you can't join the vigil in Washington D.C.'s Lafayette Park, please light a candle in memory of those who've been tortured. For more information, call 202-529-2991 or e-mail diortiz@tassc.org.
12. Other Resources:
More Torture Awareness Month information can be found at: http://tortureawareness.org/
Other supporting organizations with information: