From the Archive

Closing Days of Torture Awareness Week

Reflections by Helen Schietinger

Anti-Torture Rally at the Department of Justice  On Friday afternoon we found ourselves once again at the Department of Justice, this time at a coalition rally along with  Amnesty International, Center for Constitutional Rights, National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Code Pink, No Separate Justice, Hands Up Coalition DC and a number of other organizations.  The backdrops to the rally included larger-than-life portraits of Shaker Aamer and Tariq Ba Odah (by our own artist, Deb van Poolen), a stretcher on which equipment for forced feeding was displayed, and another stretcher holding carnations labeled with the names of the detainees still imprisoned at Guantanamo.  Each name was read as a participant laid the carnation for that detainee at the entrance to the DOJ.  Speakers read writings of and stories about the men in prison, and talked about the structural racism underlying Guantanamo injustices and domestic police violence.  Among the speakers were Jeremy Varon of No Separate Justice and Witness Against Torture, Naureen Shah of Amnesty International, and Maha Hilal of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms.  We sang, chanted, were inspired by what we heard. We came away frustrated by the huge deaf ear of the DOJ but energized by this action with our allies.

Iftar at the White House  Many in Witness Against Torture were fasting on Friday, choosing either a Ramadan fast in solidarity with the Muslim community or the weekly WAT liquid-only fast in solidarity with the men in Guantanamo. At 7:30 we gathered at the White House to break our fast in a typical Iftar as observed by Muslims around the world — which meant waiting until after sundown to begin drinking and eating.  Aliya Hussein of CCR, Maha Hilal of NCPCR, Noor Mir of Amnesty International, and Ramah Kudaimi of the National Campaign to End the Occupation organized the meal.  When we arrived at the White House, a huge crowd was gathering at the White House fence, also waiting for sundown.  While our event was bittersweet — celebrating community and our blessings while remembering all those still imprisoned and tortured by the U.S. government — their event was simply joyous — celebrating the Supreme Court decision to uphold gay marriage by lighting up the outside of the White House with rainbow colors.  We set up our event in a quiet spot on the lawn in Lafayette Park, where we prayed at sundown and then shared a delicious meal together.  What a simple but universal experience of our common humanity.

TASSC Saturday Vigil   WAT has attended the TASSC White House vigil for a number of years, in solidarity with the torture survivors who make up the membership of that organization (www.tassc,org).  Rain forced the vigil inside, so we gathered at the TASSC office rather than in Lafayette Square.  A number of WAT members came, enjoying the company, food and music as well as listening to TASSC members speak about the situations in their native countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.  The vigil ended with a dabke team performing a rousing Arab folk dance in traditional costumes, after which we circled up to learn the steps and do the dance ourselves.  It was an energizing end to a powerful week of WAT activities.

Targeting Muslims: State Violence in the War on Terror:  On Sunday, I attended a Ramadan fundraising iftar and documentary in support of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (CPCF), for which Maha Hilal is the Deputy Executive Director.  That day, I confess, I was not fasting, so I waited until others filled their plates before partaking in the food and drink.  The highlight of the evening was a showing of the documentary (T)error followed by a discussion with its producer and co-director, Lyric R Cabral, who actually has filmed an FBI informant while he participates in a “sting” operation against an imam.  The film will be used in an impact campaign to educate people in the Muslim community on how to protect themselves against unwarranted surveillance.  Among the resources I discovered was a comic book to educate the Muslim community, entitled Manufacturing “Terrorists” — The FBI’s Entrap & Demonize Strategy.