As many people at Loyola know, President Obama has issued an executive order to stop "harsh interrogation techniques" and close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. While this is an amazing break from the previous administration's anti-terrorism techniques, there is still much cause for concern. Force-feeding, along with many of the other tactics still being used at Guantanamo, is undoubtedly torture.
Hozaifa Parhat is one of 17 Chinese Muslim Uighurs (WEE-gurs), members of a group persecuted in China. He remains imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay two months after President Obama "closed" it. Hozaifa has been cleared of any wrongdoing, but because of international bureaucracy, he remains locked up, being force-fed during a hunger strike to protest his detention. To interrupt the hunger strike by force-feeding, guards violently insert a tube through Hozaifa's nose into his stomach to pump in protein shakes twice a day.
Ten concerned and outraged students traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the group Witness Against Torture (www.100dayscampaign.org). We took our message to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on a "Truth Commission" about the practices of the Bush administration. Disappointingly, we found that while we were concerned about the voices of the victims, many of our lawmakers cared more about bipartisan politics and reputation.
In February the Pentagon cleared itself of wrongdoing, reporting that the Guantanamo prison meets the Geneva Conventions for humane treatment. If this is true, why do the horrifying reports from detainees' lawyers continue? Why are the force feedings still being performed in inhumane ways, often without sanitization or proper anesthetics? Why are men that the U.S. has declared to be innocent still being detained?
The strikers risk their lives to call on the conscience of America. It is obvious that they have not been given reason to trust the new administration much more than the old. Mr. Gates remains Secretary of Defense and President Obama chose not to prohibit the use of extraordinary rendition, the transferring of captives between countries for intelligence purposes. Bagram Airforce Base, the "original Guantanamo," remains open and will soon be doubled in size. Hozaifa will sit imprisoned for another year - another missed birthday, another wedding anniversary, another year of school.
In a time when so many at Loyola are excited about the changes our generation is seeing, it is important to remember to listen to the victims and allow their truth to guide how we act. As we hear stories from Guantanamo, we must urgently act to create real change that is based not on revenge or reputation, but instead on repairing the lives of those whom we have treated so unjustly.
Anna Springer and Chris Spicer are Loyola students. spicersj@gmail.com
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