Guantanamo Bay & American Values

I thought The Road to Guantanamo is a beautifully crafted movie, though I must say that beautiful is perhaps not the right word to choose when referring to the story. This is a movie based on a true event that chronicles the journey of a group of young British Pakistanis from their home in Britain to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where a series of unfortunate events led them to be mistaken as terrorists and brought them to the world-infamous Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I particularly like the part where they have brief, silent flashbacks, you know, the kind of thought the prisoners have when they were physically numb and tortured and all they could do was think about the good old times they used to have.

Putting reviews on the movie aside, I must admit that I did not have any clear idea about the Guantanamo Bay apart from the news updates I read in the newspaper. Neither do I know much about the condition in Afghanistan, save for the few hazy pictures I gathered from watching The Kite Runner. Please pardon my ignorance, but I wish to put that behind me now.

Donald Rumsfeld was shown as saying at one point in the movie that the treatment in Guantanamo is ‘proper and there is no doubt in his mind that it is humane and appropriate’. Having now watched this movie, I wish that he could just experience the treatment for a day himself, and let the world see if he can come back and still stick to that earlier belief of his.

As much as I am opposed to the brutal handling of the prisoners, I am still able to understand the paranoia faced by the US that leads them to take stern action in the fight against terrorism, especially in the wake of the 9/11 attack. They simply could not take the danger posed for granted, and for that reason it is pretty understandable that they did not want to easily believe in the assertion made by the prisoners. But what I do not understand, is the method of torment they exercised on them, as well as the wild, false accusations being put.

“These people are murderers, they don’t share the values that we share.”

- George W. Bush, with his usual silly face while saying this.

So yeah, those people are possibly murderers, but that does not give you any right to beat them up close to death unless and until they are proven so, does it? That would make you murderers too. And while we are at it, Mr. President, when you say your values, what exactly are you referring to? Is it the integration of that 'f' word in each sentence that your soldiers utter? Or perhaps the prohibition of prayers for Muslim detainees, an act that does not pose any danger to you anyway? Or the act of letting the naked prisoners with their head all covered being chased after by your barking dogs? Are these the values that your fellow citizens uphold so highly, Sir? Well, I am pretty sure that you would not want to admit that. After all, I suppose that your sheer arrogance in admitting your mistake is also one the values that you treasure, as pictured clearly in this movie.

I wish that George W. Bush had watched this movie. I wish that Barack Obama would watch it too, before he resumes office. I wish he had come down to Guantanamo himself to watch the arrogance and inhumane behaviour of his so-called soldiers, and try to listen to the plight of the prisoners. I wish that all the American parents whose sons are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, who have been supporting the wars and atrocities had watched this movie and fell down to their knees upon encountering the reality. I wish that every sane human being can find some time to watch this movie, to see and judge for themselves the sheer cruelty of our own species. Then maybe we could find some ways to stop it. I wish I had watched it earlier, and passed the story to you.