Al Jazeera's Sami al-Hajj Remembering my 6 years at Guantanamo

YOUNGER DAYS



HIS STORY

Doha, Qatar - As a young boy growing up in Sennar, an agricultural Sudanese town on the Blue Nile, I developed a keen interest in journalism. Enthused by the rich culture and history of my surroundings – Sennar had once been the capital of an historic kingdom - I began writing for school and then college publications.

When it was time to go to university, I left home and headed for India, where I spent five years studying political science and sociology. But I always maintained my passion for the media.

Upon returning to Sudan, I worked for my father for several months, and then made my way to the United Arab Emirates. It was while I was there that I heard about a new channel that was being set up in Qatar – Al Jazeera. I felt compelled to join.

When I was eventually taken on, it was with the intention that I would become the channel's Chechnya correspondent. My wife is from the region and I had a deep interest in it.

But then 9/11 happened and everything changed.

Pakistan

On October 7, 2001, I found myself in Pakistan, preparing to cross over into Afghanistan to cover the war there as an Al Jazeera cameraman.

SNIP.....................

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/01/sami-al-hajj-remembering-guantanamo-160106182602246.html


we should be forced to read his story