13.12.10
Regular readers will know that, every three months, I ask for financial support to help me continue the work I began five years ago — researching the stories of the Guantánamo prisoners, publicizing the ongoing plight of the men still held, and reporting assiduously on stories relating to Guantánamo and the wider “War on Terror.”
If you can help out at all, please click on the “Donate” button above to make a payment via PayPal. All contributions are welcome. Readers can pay from anywhere in the world, but if you’re in the UK and want to help without using PayPal, you can send me a cheque (address here — scroll down to the bottom of the page), and if you’ve boycotted PayPal and want to send a check from the US, please feel free to do so, but bear in mind that I have to pay a $10 processing fee on every transaction. Securely packaged cash is also an option!
Although I confess that it’s sometimes hard to summon up the enthusiasm to continue this struggle, especially with such relentless bad news from the US, where President Obama has descended into paralysis regarding Guantánamo, and the most negative Republican Party in history has returned to full-on Bush-era scaremongering about the prison and its remaining 174 inmates, my financial situation is, in general, healthier than it was in the early days of my research and writing, when all my work was unpaid.
Since July this year, I have been employed for half the week by the British NGO Cageprisoners, and for the last two years I have also been paid by the Future of Freedom Foundation to write a weekly column, but much of my work remains unpaid — not only the research and the writing, including the majority of the 130 or so posts and articles since my last fundraising appeal in September, but most of the events that I attend, and the radio shows (and some of the TV shows) that I take part in to publicize the ongoing injustice of Guantánamo.
Perhaps more importantly, maintaining my website, and the hardware required to support it, sometimes springs unforeseen surprises on me, and this has been the case in the last few months, as my old PC, on which I wrote The Guantánamo Files, and my first 1000 articles on Guantánamo, finally gave up on me, and I had to buy a new computer. In light of the recent attacks on WikiLeaks, it has also occurred to me that I should employ some regular technical support to make sure that the gremlins are kept at bay, and that my site is fully backed-up and the security kept up-to-date, and this too will take a big bite out of my earnings.
So if you read my work, share it and cross-post it, and appreciate the role that this website plays in demonstrating the potential of the new media to cover stories that are ignored in the mainstream, or twisted, or not covered at all, please help out if you can.
The recent stories about WikiLeaks have reminded me that, nearly five years ago, when the Pentagon was obliged to release the names and nationalities of all the Guantánamo prisoners, and 8,000 pages of the allegations against them and the transcripts of their tribunals and review boards, WikiLeaks had not yet emerged on the scene. Although these documents were officially released, rather than being leaked, the process of analyzing them and making sense of them was similar to the process currently undertaken by WikiLeaks’ media partners at the Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, El Pais and the New York Times. The difference is that, five years ago, I embarked on this project alone, and without any financial support, as every mainstream media outlet turned its back on the material.
I’m proud of this work, which provided a basis for my writing that is still relevant today — as can be seen in the nine-part series telling the stories of the 174 remaining prisoners in Guantánamo that I have been engaged in over the last few months — and although I have always believed that exposing the Bush administration’s lies and distortions about Guantánamo — inherited without sufficient skepticism by the Obama adminstration — is important in its own right, and is based on crucial notions of justice and accountability that are more important than money, I won’t complain if supporters recognize my contributions and can support my work on an ongoing basis. My website now receives over 250,000 page views a month, and is, effectively, an online newspaper, but unlike the traditional media it is not supported by advertising or by payment upfront, but by the generosity of those who employ me to write for them — and the generosity of those who enjoy free writing about Guantánamo and the “War on Terror” almost every day of the week.
Thanks for listening. The struggle continues, and the New Year not only marks the ninth anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo, but further concerted efforts to close the prison and to hold accountable those who authorized the torture, abuse and illegal detention of all those held in the “War on Terror.” I’ll be visiting the US for the anniversary, taking “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” to Poland in February, and will continue to write regularly, to speak out whenever possible, and to show the film across the UK, and I’m delighted that so many of you will be with me as this long journey to justice and accountability continues.
Andy Worthington
London
December 13, 2010
Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to my RSS feed (and I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter). Also see my definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, updated in July 2010, details about the new documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (co-directed by Polly Nash and Andy Worthington, currently on tour in the UK, and available on DVD here), and my definitive Guantánamo habeas list, and, if you appreciate my work, feel free to make a donation.
Investigative journalist, author, campaigner, commentator and public speaker. Recognized as an authority on Guantánamo and the “war on terror.” Co-founder, Close Guantánamo and We Stand With Shaker. Also, photo-journalist (The State of London), and singer and songwriter (The Four Fathers).
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9 Responses
Tweets that mention Quarterly Fundraiser: $1000 Needed to Support My Guantanamo Work - Please help if you can, as I near 5 year anniversary -- Topsy.com says...
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dominique Rodier, Andy Worthington. Andy Worthington said: Quarterly Fundraiser: $1000 Needed to Support My Guantanamo Work – Please help if you can, as I near 5 year anniversary http://bit.ly/epKYLb […]
...on December 13th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Andy Worthington says...
Mark Erickson wrote:
”Likes” are nice but cash is better! My contribution is on the way.
...on December 14th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
Andy Worthington says...
Thanks, Mark. Much appreciated.
As of tonight (Dec. 14), my generous friends have donated $550. Can anyone help to nudge that figure towards $1000?
...on December 14th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Christopher Selby says...
I know of a great fundraiser called the Values Book Club. They do all of the work and send you a check the following month for all purchases made during a specific month. They have a lot of great materials at discount prices. Visit them at http://www.valuesbookclub.com.
...on December 15th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Andy Worthington says...
Avera Truthseeker wrote:
well with only about fifteen percent of the G’mo guys even remotely guilty of anything, you deserve support for your magnificent and life saving work!
...on December 17th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Guantánamo Prisoner Dies After Being Held for Nine Years Without Charge or Trial | The Muslim Justice Initiative says...
[…] Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to my RSS feed (and I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter). Also see my definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, updated in July 2010, details about the new documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (co-directed by Polly Nash and Andy Worthington, and available on DVD here), my definitive Guantánamo habeas list and the chronological list of all my articles, and, if you appreciate my work, feel free to make a donation. […]
...on February 6th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Revolution in Libya: Protestors Respond to Gaddafi’s Murderous Backlash with Remarkable Courage; US and UK Look Like the Hypocrites They Are | NO LIES RADIO says...
[…] Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to my RSS feed (and I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter). Also see my definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, updated in July 2010, details about the new documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (co-directed by Polly Nash and Andy Worthington, on tour in the UK throughout 2011, and available on DVD here), my definitive Guantánamo habeas list and the chronological list of all my articles, and, if you appreciate my work, feel free to make a donation. […]
...on February 22nd, 2011 at 6:57 am
FFF – Commentaries – No End to the “War on Terror,” No End to Guantánamo « Translations says...
[…] Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to my RSS feed (and I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter). Also see my definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, updated in July 2010, details about the new documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (co-directed by Polly Nash and Andy Worthington, and available on DVD here), my definitive Guantánamo habeas listthe chronological list of all my articles, and, if you appreciate my work, feel free to make a donation. […]
...on May 19th, 2011 at 12:14 am
ARTICLE: Andy Worthington on “How the Abu Salim Prison Massacre in 1996 Inspired the Revolution in Libya” ‹ Libyan Council of North America says...
[…] Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by Macmillan in the US, and available from Amazon — click on the following for the US and the UK) and of two other books: Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion and The Battle of the Beanfield. To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to my RSS feed (and I can also be found onFacebook and Twitter). Also see my definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, updated in July 2010, details about the new documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (co-directed by Polly Nash and Andy Worthington, on tour in the UK throughout 2011, and available on DVD here), my definitive Guantánamo habeas list and the chronological list of all my articles, and, if you appreciate my work, feel free to make a donation. […]
...on June 29th, 2011 at 2:43 am