"Arrested Movement"

When we here about Guantanamo Bay, what do people think of?  A prison, a military base, or in some cases people begin to think of the movie Harold and Kumar.  No matter what you think, this place has had its stories told by people who have only heard of this place and not actually been there.  The book Poems from Guantanamo is a bunch of poems that have been written and taken from the prisoners within the walls that is Guantanamo Bay.

One of the poems that I read was Death Poem.  It was a very touching poem as it made me think are all the people who are in Guantanamo really their because of something that they have done? Or are they only there because what people fear they will do?  Is it a fair judgement to say to someone that even though you have done no wrong that you will be detained because we "believe" you are going to do something wrong? 

One of the lines from the poem is "let them bear the guilty burden before the world".  This quote stuck out to me in particular because, it seems to me that the people within Guantanamo believe that this is the worlds fault... and they in-fact would be right.  Most people watch as these people are tortured and suffer like none of us have ever before, and even though there are still people who do everything they can to stop this from happening, it is inevitable.  The world will not listen to the regular people who feel the pain that these people go through.  The USA feel that they can continue to execute these actions, because they have every right to.  They are the world in their eyes, and feel that they have the power as long as they own the land to do what they feel like.  This quote was a wake up call to the world that this is wrong, but I also feel that this is a promise to the USA who own Guantanamo Bay, that no matter what happens now, they will always carry the guilty burden that they have tortured and killed many innocent people only because they suspect them to be doing wrong.

It continues to say "this soul which has suffered at the hands of the "protectors of peace." This quote also struck me as being a quote in which it could have many meanings.  Who are the "protectors of peace"?  In this man's opinion it is surely not the USA, as they have detained thousands of innocent people who mean no harm to the USA let alone any one they live with, yet they are still detained.  What are they trying to protect? Are they trying to make it seem like they are protecting their country by pinning innocent people with the blame?  I feel that the US aren't really "protectors of peace" because if they felt in peace keeping they would give the innocent people that they have taken from their homes the chance to go and live again and be with their families.

There is a lot to talk about on this subject because it is such a debatable subject, but no matter how you look at it, no one can ever say that every person in Guantanamo is there because they have done wrong.  That is something that this book has done, which is given a voice to those people who no longer are able to speak to their families, the world or even themselves.