Jan 03, 2011
Remember way back when? President Barack Obama promised to close the
Guantanamo prison, restore the United States' moral standing, and end
the practice of torture.
It was two years ago. In January
2009, as one of his first acts as president, Obama signed an executive
order that committed the United States to closing the prison within a
year and ending the practice of torture.
But Djamel Ameziane--and 173 other men--are still waiting.
A member of the Berber ethnic group, Ameziane fled his native Algeria
in his early twenties, seeking a better life. He found it working as a
chef in one of the best Italian restaurants in Vienna. Because of visa
issues, he was forced to leave Austria and later Canada, ending up in
Afghanistan because--as a member of his legal team with the Center for Constitutional Rights explained--"he believed it was only there that he could live in peace, anonymously and permanently."
But Ameziane was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soon after he
settled, the U.S. launched the October 2001 war against Afghanistan. He
tried to flee, but the local police captured him when he tried to enter
Pakistan. Like so many others who were captured
along the border, he was turned over to U.S. forces for a bounty of
$2,000 or $5,000. Ameziane was held at Kandahar Airbase in Afghanistan
and then transported to Guantanamo in February 2002, making him one of
the earliest prisoners held at the notorious facility.
Ameziane has never been charged with a crime. There's no credible
evidence that he took up arms against the United States or posed a
threat to us. He remains at Guantanamo because we can't send him back to
Algeria and haven't found a third country to host him.
Algeria hasn't been Ameziane's home for nearly two decades, and he
shouldn't be forced to return there. Returning to Algeria would expose
Ameziane to even more suffering. He grew up in Kabylie, an unstable
region in the north known for frequent, violent clashes between the
Algerian army and Islamic resistance groups. The stain of having spent
time in Guantanamo would alone be enough to put him at risk of being
imprisoned if he is returned.
The first two Algerians transferred out of Guantanamo in July 2008
were disappeared for two weeks and likely subjected to interrogation by
Algeria's "military security" police. Other Algerian nationals at
Guantanamo have said, through their lawyers, that they would rather stay at the prison than return to Algeria.
No More Guantanamos is a
grassroots group trying to pave the way for resettlement of Guantanamo
detainees into U.S. communities by engaging in education, outreach, and
building human connections with the more than 100 prisoners who have
been cleared for release. These resettlement efforts took a big hit at
the end of December when members of Congress amended the Defense
Authorization Act. Guantanamo detainees are now barred from transferring
to the United States--even to stand trial.
Unless or until another country comes forward to offer Ameziane
resettlement protection, he'll remain at Gitmo. He's a college graduate
who speaks French, Arabic, and English fluently and can communicate in
German, making him an attractive candidate for any number of countries.
There are efforts underway in Austria and Canada to have him resettled
there, but the work begins in the United States. Resettlement isn't as
difficult as the administration makes it seem. The main hurdle is that
the United States refuses to accept even a single man from Guantanamo
within its borders.
Ameziane says: "I have only ever wanted to live quietly and
peacefully in a country where I would not suffer persecution. That is
still my goal."
It's very human goal. As the tenth year of Guantanamo's perverse
injustice gets underway, it's time to focus on the stories of humble and
harmless men like Ameziane, which tend to get lost amid the fixation on
clearer-cut cases like that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the
self-professed 9/11 mastermind. We must resolve their cases with
dispatch and dignity, and resettle them where they can begin to rebuild
quiet and peaceful lives. It's our duty.
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This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Frida Berrigan
Frida Berrigan, a columnist for WagingNonviolence.org, serves on the board of the War Resisters League and organizes with Witness Against Torture. She is the daughter of Plowshares activists Liz McAllister and the late Philip Berrigan and author of "It Runs in the Family: On Being Raised by Radicals and Growing into Rebellious Motherhood", a memoir of her childhood as their daughter and her adult life as an activist and a mother.
Remember way back when? President Barack Obama promised to close the
Guantanamo prison, restore the United States' moral standing, and end
the practice of torture.
It was two years ago. In January
2009, as one of his first acts as president, Obama signed an executive
order that committed the United States to closing the prison within a
year and ending the practice of torture.
But Djamel Ameziane--and 173 other men--are still waiting.
A member of the Berber ethnic group, Ameziane fled his native Algeria
in his early twenties, seeking a better life. He found it working as a
chef in one of the best Italian restaurants in Vienna. Because of visa
issues, he was forced to leave Austria and later Canada, ending up in
Afghanistan because--as a member of his legal team with the Center for Constitutional Rights explained--"he believed it was only there that he could live in peace, anonymously and permanently."
But Ameziane was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soon after he
settled, the U.S. launched the October 2001 war against Afghanistan. He
tried to flee, but the local police captured him when he tried to enter
Pakistan. Like so many others who were captured
along the border, he was turned over to U.S. forces for a bounty of
$2,000 or $5,000. Ameziane was held at Kandahar Airbase in Afghanistan
and then transported to Guantanamo in February 2002, making him one of
the earliest prisoners held at the notorious facility.
Ameziane has never been charged with a crime. There's no credible
evidence that he took up arms against the United States or posed a
threat to us. He remains at Guantanamo because we can't send him back to
Algeria and haven't found a third country to host him.
Algeria hasn't been Ameziane's home for nearly two decades, and he
shouldn't be forced to return there. Returning to Algeria would expose
Ameziane to even more suffering. He grew up in Kabylie, an unstable
region in the north known for frequent, violent clashes between the
Algerian army and Islamic resistance groups. The stain of having spent
time in Guantanamo would alone be enough to put him at risk of being
imprisoned if he is returned.
The first two Algerians transferred out of Guantanamo in July 2008
were disappeared for two weeks and likely subjected to interrogation by
Algeria's "military security" police. Other Algerian nationals at
Guantanamo have said, through their lawyers, that they would rather stay at the prison than return to Algeria.
No More Guantanamos is a
grassroots group trying to pave the way for resettlement of Guantanamo
detainees into U.S. communities by engaging in education, outreach, and
building human connections with the more than 100 prisoners who have
been cleared for release. These resettlement efforts took a big hit at
the end of December when members of Congress amended the Defense
Authorization Act. Guantanamo detainees are now barred from transferring
to the United States--even to stand trial.
Unless or until another country comes forward to offer Ameziane
resettlement protection, he'll remain at Gitmo. He's a college graduate
who speaks French, Arabic, and English fluently and can communicate in
German, making him an attractive candidate for any number of countries.
There are efforts underway in Austria and Canada to have him resettled
there, but the work begins in the United States. Resettlement isn't as
difficult as the administration makes it seem. The main hurdle is that
the United States refuses to accept even a single man from Guantanamo
within its borders.
Ameziane says: "I have only ever wanted to live quietly and
peacefully in a country where I would not suffer persecution. That is
still my goal."
It's very human goal. As the tenth year of Guantanamo's perverse
injustice gets underway, it's time to focus on the stories of humble and
harmless men like Ameziane, which tend to get lost amid the fixation on
clearer-cut cases like that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the
self-professed 9/11 mastermind. We must resolve their cases with
dispatch and dignity, and resettle them where they can begin to rebuild
quiet and peaceful lives. It's our duty.
Frida Berrigan
Frida Berrigan, a columnist for WagingNonviolence.org, serves on the board of the War Resisters League and organizes with Witness Against Torture. She is the daughter of Plowshares activists Liz McAllister and the late Philip Berrigan and author of "It Runs in the Family: On Being Raised by Radicals and Growing into Rebellious Motherhood", a memoir of her childhood as their daughter and her adult life as an activist and a mother.
Remember way back when? President Barack Obama promised to close the
Guantanamo prison, restore the United States' moral standing, and end
the practice of torture.
It was two years ago. In January
2009, as one of his first acts as president, Obama signed an executive
order that committed the United States to closing the prison within a
year and ending the practice of torture.
But Djamel Ameziane--and 173 other men--are still waiting.
A member of the Berber ethnic group, Ameziane fled his native Algeria
in his early twenties, seeking a better life. He found it working as a
chef in one of the best Italian restaurants in Vienna. Because of visa
issues, he was forced to leave Austria and later Canada, ending up in
Afghanistan because--as a member of his legal team with the Center for Constitutional Rights explained--"he believed it was only there that he could live in peace, anonymously and permanently."
But Ameziane was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soon after he
settled, the U.S. launched the October 2001 war against Afghanistan. He
tried to flee, but the local police captured him when he tried to enter
Pakistan. Like so many others who were captured
along the border, he was turned over to U.S. forces for a bounty of
$2,000 or $5,000. Ameziane was held at Kandahar Airbase in Afghanistan
and then transported to Guantanamo in February 2002, making him one of
the earliest prisoners held at the notorious facility.
Ameziane has never been charged with a crime. There's no credible
evidence that he took up arms against the United States or posed a
threat to us. He remains at Guantanamo because we can't send him back to
Algeria and haven't found a third country to host him.
Algeria hasn't been Ameziane's home for nearly two decades, and he
shouldn't be forced to return there. Returning to Algeria would expose
Ameziane to even more suffering. He grew up in Kabylie, an unstable
region in the north known for frequent, violent clashes between the
Algerian army and Islamic resistance groups. The stain of having spent
time in Guantanamo would alone be enough to put him at risk of being
imprisoned if he is returned.
The first two Algerians transferred out of Guantanamo in July 2008
were disappeared for two weeks and likely subjected to interrogation by
Algeria's "military security" police. Other Algerian nationals at
Guantanamo have said, through their lawyers, that they would rather stay at the prison than return to Algeria.
No More Guantanamos is a
grassroots group trying to pave the way for resettlement of Guantanamo
detainees into U.S. communities by engaging in education, outreach, and
building human connections with the more than 100 prisoners who have
been cleared for release. These resettlement efforts took a big hit at
the end of December when members of Congress amended the Defense
Authorization Act. Guantanamo detainees are now barred from transferring
to the United States--even to stand trial.
Unless or until another country comes forward to offer Ameziane
resettlement protection, he'll remain at Gitmo. He's a college graduate
who speaks French, Arabic, and English fluently and can communicate in
German, making him an attractive candidate for any number of countries.
There are efforts underway in Austria and Canada to have him resettled
there, but the work begins in the United States. Resettlement isn't as
difficult as the administration makes it seem. The main hurdle is that
the United States refuses to accept even a single man from Guantanamo
within its borders.
Ameziane says: "I have only ever wanted to live quietly and
peacefully in a country where I would not suffer persecution. That is
still my goal."
It's very human goal. As the tenth year of Guantanamo's perverse
injustice gets underway, it's time to focus on the stories of humble and
harmless men like Ameziane, which tend to get lost amid the fixation on
clearer-cut cases like that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the
self-professed 9/11 mastermind. We must resolve their cases with
dispatch and dignity, and resettle them where they can begin to rebuild
quiet and peaceful lives. It's our duty.
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