Guantanamo : Diary As Slave Narrative

us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other.” While this assessment of human nature is correct, there have been different reasons for this struggle. The Puritans believed that people were sinners who had fallen out of grace with an angry, yet just, God. Their days were strictly regimented with work and prayer, so they could live wholesome and modest lives. The Humanists, on the other hand, believed people were good for the betterment of their society and themselves. They were able to make their own decisions and live their lives because their loving God would understand, rather

The Unredeemed Captive- A Family Story From Early America, John Demos, Vintage Books, April 1995, New York

Mary Rowlandson her story “A Narrative of the Captivity” is full of heroic incident that she went through during the Indian attack of her town in Lancaster. Mary Rowlandson was among captive, Rowlandson went through several difficult moment. “All was gone, my husband was gone at least they separated from me, he being in the Bay;” (259). Rowlandson life was really in desperate help, she was injured, lost her daughter and separated her other family. However, her strangeness in her Christianity kept her moving. “Lord hereby would make us the more acknowledge His hand, and to see what our help is always in Him” (258). Even though, the attack on Lancaster and Rowlandson’s subsequent captivity teach Rowlandson that life is short and can never be granted. Everything you have in life can disappear in matter of days or hours without any warning, however your faith should be in judge on any kind of difficulty moment. Rowlandson’s believe in Christianity plays an active role of her survival. “Being faithful to the service of God in her people” (258).

Award-winning author and well-known journalist, Dave Eggers, in his biographical work, Zeitoun, illustrates a Muslim-American family’s troubling experiences in a post-9/11, Islamophobic society in the wake of a natural disaster. Eggers’ purpose is to critique the flaws of the American government’s response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in order to reveal the human tolls of its injustice and discrimination. Using ethos, logos, pathos, and imagery, he adopts a poignant yet disappointed tone in order to bring awareness to such negligence and to convince the American people of the consequences of racism. Eggers effectively uses metaphors throughout Zeitoun to provide a better understanding of complex situations throughout the book.

On September 11, the Cuban government stated that 3,522 prisoners will be released from its jails before the pope visits the country. The prisoners’ freedom is considered a gift to Pope Francis. According to the New York Times, “The Cuban government has twice before released prisoners preceding a papal visit, measures to elicit good will for the state.”

Lizzie Dearden, “ American tortures told me they would rape my daughter to get confession; claims Britain's last Guantanamo Bay prisoner Shaker Aamer.” Independent. Date Published June 5 2015. Date Accessed 5/16/16.

Guantanamo Bay in Cuba houses some of the most dangerous people. The people being held have ranged in committing various crimes. What makes Guantanamo Bay well known is how the time period a detainee has spent in prison without a trial. While in prison for an extensive period of time, a detainee is bound to receive discipline for not following the guards. There are often a variety of different methods that the guards use to teach discipline to the detainees. All who follow Guantanamo Bay as institution often criticizes the measures taken. What makes Guantanamo Bay an ironic place to start this journey is because Guantanamo Bay is at the center of attention to a very important, controversial law passed in 2006. The controversial law was

The United States military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been occupied by over 700 Middle Eastern men suspected of terrorism since 2002. It has been home to some of the most heinous suspected terrorist to ever walk on this Earth. What to do with this military base, has been a major source of conflict within our nation and with other nations for over a decade, with no real reasoning substantial enough to close the base. Although our government has come forward and declared that interrogation methods used on some of the detainees has been unethical and has broken some United States laws. But closing Guantanamo Bay is a task that should not be pursued, because it causes more problems to our countries people, our diplomatic and

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Army Pfc. Alec Manning received the honor of being promoted to private first class by the Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey during his recent visit to Joint Task Force U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba at the Seaside Galley June 11.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi, sometimes spelled Salahi, has been held at the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 2002. Despite the fact that he has never been charged with any crime, the United States has kept him detained here for more than thirteen years. Slahi began writing Guantanamo Diary in 2005. The manuscript, which consisted of 466 handwritten pages, remained classified for six years. When the work was finally declassified, it contained over 2,600 redactions. In the book, Slahi describes his detainment in the United States controlled detention camp to an American audience. Towards the end of the book, Slahi reflects on his captivity, writing “I often compared myself

The moral of The Prisoner is a person must realize that God is the only one who can free them from the sorrow and feeling of imprisonment which will cause them to, “become completely powerless.” (The Norton Anthology World Literature, pg. 120, 23-24) A person can only serve one Master; God or the world. In order to become free, all practices that enslave a person whether, “…past deeds and present actions,” (The Norton Anthology World Literature, pg. 119, 9-10) must be turned over to God which will allow Him to remove these burdens from one’s life and replace the burdens with His love, strength, and forgiveness.

SNC gave a thorough 5 paragraph order that included details on how to handle medical evacuations and handle Enemy Prisoners of War and a detailed scheme of maneuver that was well planned and specifically tasked out. SNC visually checked and confirmed each fire team member physical and /or verbally received and understood their part of the mission. SNC maintained an open line of communication that allowed him to be able to receive, process, and issue effective orders, in a timely manner, that expedited forward movement and was in line with his overall mission. SNC did not maintain Tactical Awareness, during execution, as he took the weapons from his forward fire team members and placed them with him on the wall. SNC displayed a calm and collected

Guantanamo Bay, though started with good intentions, only highlights America’s negative side. Marine Major General Michael Lehnert, who played a significant role in the opening of Guantanamo, has drastically changed his opinion and said that it, “Validates every negative perception of the U.S.” (Sutton 1). One example of this occurred in 2006, when President Bush justified the use of “physical coercion” (torture) during interrogations (Fetini 1). Some of these torture methods include isolation, beatings, sleep deprivation, and general abuse. Other tactics such as disrespect for Islamic symbols or sexual provocation are used to encourage stress in detainees (Bloche 1). These immoral methods led to an international outcry. It was later remarked that the Cuban territory upon which Guantanamo is located is being used as a “concentration camp” of sorts (Fetini 1). Guantanamo and its unethical values are being recognized by nations around the world, displaying America in a bad light.

Gresham M. Sykes describes the society of captives from the inmates’ point of view. Sykes acknowledges the fact that his observations are generalizations but he feels that most inmates can agree on feelings of deprivation and frustration. As he sketches the development of physical punishment towards psychological punishment, Sykes follows that both have an enormous effect on the inmate and do not differ greatly in their cruelty.

History portrayed slaves as that of an uneducated, uncultured, and helpless people. The true story of Abd al-Ibrahima, by Terry Alford, changes that image. Ihbrahima was born in 1762 of royalty in a town called Timbo. He was the son of King Sori, “a man known for his ambition, boldness, and love of life”. (Alford, p. 4) Ambushed by tribal rivals, also known as slates, Ibrahima was sold into slavery at age 26 in 1788. Although Ibrahima tried to purchase ransom for himself, it was to no avail as an English slave trader noted that “If they are captured that have been particularly active in wars—a King, Prince, or their sons—no price can purchase them.” (Alford, p. 23) The United States’ plantation system was growing had made the market of slave trade exceedingly profitable. Ibrahima was no common slave, and was accustomed to leading men to the sum of 2,000 at the time of his ambush. Nevertheless, he was captured and “underwent a passage as ordinary and as abominable as had 75,000 other Africans in 1788” as he was transported to the new world. (Alford, p. 28)