22.10.15
On Sunday, I was delighted to be interviewed by journalist and activist Anastasia Kyriacou for her show on Shoreditch Radio, ‘Anastasia Says.’ The show is here, and it lasts for 45 minutes.
Over the course of the show, I was allowed to explain how I became involved in the story of Guantánamo, why it is such a moral, legal and ethical abomination, and why, far too often, the liberal media, by insisting on “objectivity,” plays into the hands of the dark forces running our world — because the right-wing media does no such thing (see Fox News, the Sun and much of the Daily Mail‘s output, for example), and because the injustices of the world demand our involvement not our detached commentary.
Anastasia and I also spoke about my campaigning — from Close Guantánamo, which I established with the US lawyer Tom Wilner in 2012, to We Stand With Shaker, which I established last November with Joanne MacInnes to highlight the case of Shaker Aamer, the last British resident in Guantánamo, by asking celebrities and MPs to stand with a giant inflatable figure of Shaker, and Fast For Shaker, launched just two weeks ago, in which Joanne and I have been asking celebrities, MPs and concerned citizens around the world to fast for 24 hours in solidarity with Shaker, who is due to be released this weekend.
Anastasia was a great host, and I hope our paths cross again, as she is passionate about human rights and social justice, and the world needs as many young people as possible who care about the need for — and the possibility of — radical change.
At the end of the show, I’m glad to note, Anastasia also played ‘Song for Shaker Aamer‘, the song I wrote and played with my band The Four Fathers, which was featured in the campaign video for the We Stand With Shaker campaign. Check it out here, and listen to our whole album, ‘Love and War’, here, where it’s also available to buy as a download or on CD.
I hope you enjoy the show, and that you’ll share it if you do.
Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist, activist, author, photographer, film-maker and singer-songwriter (the lead singer and main songwriter for the London-based band The Four Fathers, whose debut album, ‘Love and War,’ is available for download or on CD via Bandcamp — also see here). He is the co-founder of the Close Guantánamo campaign, the co-director of We Stand With Shaker, calling for the immediate release from Guantánamo of Shaker Aamer, the last British resident in the prison, and the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press, distributed by the University of Chicago Press in the US, and available from Amazon, including a Kindle edition — 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. He is also the co-director (with Polly Nash) of the documentary film, “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” (available on DVD here — or here for the US).
To receive new articles in your inbox, please subscribe to Andy’s RSS feed — and he can also be found on Facebook (and here), Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Also see the six-part definitive Guantánamo prisoner list, and The Complete Guantánamo Files, an ongoing, 70-part, million-word series drawing on files released by WikiLeaks in April 2011. Also see the definitive Guantánamo habeas list, the full military commissions list, and the chronological list of all Andy’s articles.
Please also consider joining the Close Guantánamo campaign, and, if you appreciate Andy’s 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, singer/songwriter (The Four Fathers).
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4 Responses
Andy Worthington says...
When I posted this on Facebook, I wrote:
Here’s my latest article linking to the great 40-minute interview I did on Sunday with Anastasia Kyriacou, talking about Guantanamo, activism, the Close Guantanamo campaign, We Stand With Shaker and the new Fast For Shaker campaign. Great to be discussing political engagement in such depth. Check out Fast For Shaker here: http://www.fastforshaker.org.uk/pledge-a-fast/
...on October 23rd, 2015 at 12:23 am
Andy Worthington says...
Do please listen if you get the chance. I was a bit hoarse after singing my heart out the night before in Deptford, but otherwise it was all good! https://www.mixcloud.com/AnastasiaSays/anastasia-says-close-guantanamo-campaigner-journo-andy-worthington-on-gitmo-fast-for-shaker/
...on October 23rd, 2015 at 12:23 am
Andy Worthington says...
Anastasia Kyriacou wrote:
I’m touched! Great piece 🙂
...on October 23rd, 2015 at 12:40 am
Andy Worthington says...
You’re too kind, Anastasia. Just a few comments in passing. I hope the show gets some listeners. You deserve an audience – and me too!
...on October 23rd, 2015 at 12:40 am