As an ex-Guantanamo prisoner, I stand with Gaza against US terror

For nine long months, we've watched a genocide unfold, unparalleled in its barbarity. Orchestrated by the Israeli government, and fuelled by its insatiable urge to destroy the Palestinian people in Gaza and beyond, the rising number of injured, displaced, and killed is a testament to the horrors Israel commits in real time. 

The mask has well and truly slipped. Israel has been exposed as a profoundly disruptive and destabilising force; a grim spectre over Palestinian life. Finally, the world is waking up to Israel's genocidal designs. 

Watching students across the United States rise against Israel's aggression in Gaza brought back memories of my own upbringing. I know how they feel. I witnessed what they witnessed. I was just like them at their age.

In the rugged mountains of rural Yemen, where electricity was a luxury and infrastructure was nonexistent, I too began my journey to understand and expose injustice worldwide. 

As I went from rural life to the bustling streets of Sanaa, Yemen's capital, my eyes were opened to a new world. It was in Sanaa that I came across my first television set, Woodpecker and Tom & Jerry danced across the screen. It was also where I first saw Israeli soldiers grab a young Palestinian child, shattering his bones live on air. I questioned the cruelty. Why were the Israeli soldiers doing this? Who would stop them? 

I would later find out what drove these soldiers to torture and maim. While I write this, memories flood back to when I was unjustly imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for 15 years without charge, a place designed to strip away humanity, break spirits, and erase existence. Guantanamo is more than a physical location; it's a symbol of injustice and oppression. It was there that I was exposed to not only the brutality of the US military but the complicity of others, including Israel. 

US tactics of terror, I would later find out, mirrored those used by Israeli forces against Palestinians – tactics designed to dehumanise, degrade, and demoralise. 

Building solidarity from Guantanamo to Gaza

In Guantanamo, relationships were made out of necessity and survival. We found strength in one another, transcending language and nationality: we shared a common struggle. But our struggle did not end with our release from Guantanamo Bay.

Instead, we carried the scars of our unjust imprisonment to seek justice for others. It was this that brought me to Gaza, a land ravaged by blockade and occupation, but filled with people who are resilient and courageous. 

In Gaza, I witnessed firsthand the devasting impact of Israel's military onslaught: the demolished homes, the shattered lives, and the relentless siege. I also saw the spirit of the Palestinian people who refuse to be silenced, erased or give up their struggle. 

My experience in Guantanamo informed my understanding of solidarity in several ways. It taught me that solidarity is not just a word but a commitment: to stand with the oppressed, to amplify their voices and to challenge systems of power and oppression. 

While in Guantanamo, I read books like The Hunger Games, Star Wars, and Divergent. These books focus on the oppressed and how marginalised populations fight against injustices committed by authoritarian regimes. However, as we see today, many opt to turn a blind eye in the face of such injustice.

They fail to realise that a war on Gaza is a war on humanity itself. We need to ask ourselves: will humanity stand united or will it choose to be swallowed by the horrors that lie ahead?

Today, as I reflect on my journey from Guantanamo to Gaza, I'm reminded of the need for global solidarity in the face of oppression. The struggle for justice in Palestine is not just a Palestinian struggle, it's a struggle for all who believe in freedom, equality, and human dignity. 

The genocide in Gaza paints a bleak picture. Israel, backed by the United States and large swathes of the Western world, exercises unchecked authority, controlling essential services like water and electricity while destroying crucial infrastructure and the fabric of daily life. Those who speak out face persecution. Peaceful protestors and students advocating for justice have been subjected to brutal punishment, beaten, arrested, and expelled from universities. Many have lost their jobs. 

But to stand with Palestine means to condemn Israel's occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands in its entirety. To demand an immediate end to the siege of Gaza, the dismantling of illegal settlements in the West Bank, and an end to Israel's apartheid regime. It also means holding Israel accountable for its war crimes and human rights violations and supporting the Palestinian-led movement advocating for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). 

But solidarity is not just about words – it's about action. It's about organising, mobilising, and advocating for change. It is about standing up to injustice wherever it may arise, whether in Palestine, Guantanamo, or anywhere else in the world. It is about building bridges of solidarity that span continents and generations, and that unite us in our common struggle for a better world.

From Guantanamo to Gaza, let us join hands in solidarity and strive towards a world where all people are free to live with dignity, equality, and justice. The road ahead may be long and difficult, but as long as we stand together, we can overcome any obstacle, confront any challenge, and build a future where peace and justice prevail. Solidarity and the fight for justice are our strength, our hope, and our promise for a better tomorrow. 

Mansoor Adayfi is a writer, advocate, and former Guantánamo detainee, held for around 15 years without charges as an enemy combatant. Adayfi was released to Serbia in 2016. In 2019, Adayfi won the Richard J. Margolis Award for nonfiction writers of social justice journalism. His memoir “Don’t Forge Us Here” was published in 2021. He continues to advocate for the closure of Guantanamo, he works as CAGE’s Guantanamo Project coordinator, and outreach coordinator for Guantanamo Survivors Fund (GSF).

Follow him on Twitter: @MansoorAdayfi

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