The shame of Guantanamo exposed in Cuba

by Madea Benjamin

snip

On the day of the march, January 11, we started out in the center of town, decorating the caravan and practicing our songs and chants. We drove to a town near the base, La Glorieta, then walked to the gate of the military zone. The opening service was officiated by our Cuban host Reverend Raul Suarez, head of the Havana-based Martin Luther King Center, and attended by other religious leaders from the province. The ceremony included testimonies, a reading of the names of those still imprisoned, placing flowers on the military fence, singing and chanting. There was press from all over the world, including AP, Reuters, BBC and live feeds from CNN, Al-Jazeera, Telesur and Cuban television.

For the people of Guantanamo, our visit gave them insights into the horrors of the prison, but hope that people around the world are working to shut it down. “My city used to be known for Jose Marti’s beautiful poem and the song Guantanamera. It pains us that now we’re known worldwide for the infamous prison on the US base,” said Eneida Leiva Molina, head of the Guantanamo Friendship Institute. “We hope that once this anniversary is over, people will continue to work to shut the prison down.

Taher Deghayes, whose brother remains behind bars, made a poignant call to the American people. “Now more than ever, after the tragic events of September 11, America needs to be the leading example of how we should treat all human beings—with dignity, respect and due process for all,” he said. “I would like to appeal to the American people to fight for and uphold the values that once made America admired and respected around the

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0117-20.htm

with the Guantanamera song. Dumb dumb dumb. That song was so whimsical. That place is and will be one of the greatest blights on our history throughout time.

Some folks reckon that there may be two real terrorists in the whole place. The rest of them were swept up in blood libels and wrong place, wrong time scenarios. They have no recourse. It's nearly been 5 &1.2 years.

How many other unknown Gulags are we running?

I'm so deeply sickened by all of this.

That is my tax dollars at work.

Tonight,it was very good,and very sad.You can get it at Blockbusters.

K & R