Don't Forget Us Here

This book is a MUST-READ!! Part of preventing atrocities like this is to read and raise awareness of injustices, and this injustice has to be one of the most heartbreaking I have ever read.

Genre: Adult Memoir

Ages: 16/17 and up

Available:Amazon

Islamic screening: cussing, graphic descriptions of torture (including physical/sexual assault, mental/psychological torture, Quran desecration, and more heartbreaking assaults)

Mansoor was 18 years old, from a village in Yemen, when he was sent by his teacher to do a report in Afghanistan. Kidnapped by warlords who made up that he was a middle aged terrorist, Adel, he was sold for the bounty paid by the US to capture terrorists. He details his experience in Guantanamo Bay and how he maintained his innocence in the face of torturous interrogations and how he fought back through refusing to cooperate in the prison and planning hunger strikes. He was categorized as one of the biggest trouble makers for his resistance, but he heartbreakingly details how it was b/c each time he would have hope or ease, he would be broken down and tortured and told that he was disposable, even when many of those in charge knew he was innocent. After over 14 years, he was finally released from the prison but force-relocated to Serbia, where he is still struggling to try to live a normal life in the stigma/aftermath of being a Gitmo detainee.

This book delves into a deep fear of Muslims in the West- that even when you do no crime, being brown/Muslim is a crime itself. In the aftermath of 9/11, many innocent Muslims like Mansoor were harmed in the name of the war on terror. Islamaphobia until today has roots in fear of Islam, and Muslims themselves deal with Internal Islamaphobia- the fear that appearing too religious and faithful to Islam will be interpreted as radical.

It shames me that my country, the US, would be a part of this atrocity.

This book is a true nightmare of racism and Islamaphobia and clear injustice was done to Mansoor- yet Guantanamo is still open, with violations of basic human rights taking place to innocents. #closeGuantanamo

Today there is a twitter storm by @withcage to close #gitmo20 . Join in to help.