From the Archive

January Newsletter: Fast for Justice Review

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies,

but the silence of our friends.”
–Martin Luther King Jr.

Witness Against Torture has returned home from our annual Fast For Justice in Washington, D.C. We are tired and some of us are sick. Eight days of a liquid only fast, long meetings and sleeping on the floor, can take it out of you. We are also energized and renewed from the powerful time of reflection and witness in the streets. We remain committed to our work to close Guantanamo as the prison enters its 14th year. And we continue to be in solidarity with the 122 Muslim men who remain.

We thank all those who participating with us from afar: who fasted at home, kept us in prayer, donated money, and took to the streets in their own communities. We remain together in this work as we build a future where Guantanamo, torture, and all forms of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment are unimaginable.

This year was as busy an any: the liquids only fast, community-led reflections, public witnesses with orange jumpsuits, black hoods, non-violent civil resistance, and the sharing of the stories of men detained in Guantanamo. Our J11 Rally was well attended and our coalition solid. The prisoner procession was lead by our Muslim sisters from #MuslimsRally2CloseGitmo. Dr. Maha Hilal wrote an article on her experience (please read and share widely). She ends the article with a call to action saying, “We pray that these men find some sort of justice and that Muslims continue to grow in their role as advocates for justice, not observers of injustice.”

This year we also went deeper in our analysis, made new connections, and broadened our message. Jeremy Varon describes some of our process and work, as a predominantly white group, to connect Ferguson and Guantanamo – domestic racism and overseas torture (please read and share widely): “In dialogue with diverse voices, Witness Against Torture pieced together [a] skeletal analysis linking Ferguson and Guantánamo. The next step was to take it into the streets, the U.S. Capitol and the D.C. jail. The group decided not to speak out on behalf of an abstract, universal humanity, even as it invoked universal rights. Instead, it chose to acknowledge its status as a mostly white group working to break white silence and to invite other whites to do the same.”

“So this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we ask you to join us in breaking white silence. First by resisting Islamophobia, which places Muslim men in Guantanamo and other black sites, and secondly, by working to dismantle white supremacy, which allows police to kill black and brown people with impunity.

We will continue to try and listen to the voices of those people and movements who have guided our work.

And we thank you for being in this struggle with us.

In peace-

Witness Against Torture

p.s. please watch & share the video recap of our week.

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Witness Against Torture is completely volunteer driven and run. We have no paid staff, but do have expenses associated with our organizing work. If you are able, please donate here. www.witnesstorture.org