Photos and Report: The 43rd Monthly Global Vigils for the Closure of Guantánamo, the Source of So Much of the 21st Century’s Depravity
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In a world of endless, pointless distractions, of 24-hour rolling news that means that people can’t even remember what happened yesterday, of a gloating genocide in Gaza that is tearing our hearts apart, but that no one can stop, and of extreme heat and drought that is telling us, globally, that our days on our unique, miraculous planet are well and truly numbered, because of our inability to stop burning fossil fuels, it’s nothing short of a miracle that, once a month, a handful of diligent activists across the US and around the world get together to hold coordinated vigils for the closure of the “war on terror” prison at Guantánamo Bay.
The vigils — outside the White House in Washington, D.C., outside the Houses of Parliament in London, outside the European Parliament in Brussels, and in New York, Detroit, San Francisco, Cobleskill, NY, Mexico City and Belgrade — began 43 months ago, in February 2023, as a concerted effort to prevent Guantánamo, routinely engulfed in the collective amnesia of the political and media establishments, from being entirely forgotten.
Please see the photos below, of activists from, amongst other groups and organizations, Amnesty International, the UK Guantánamo Network, Witness Against Torture and the World Can’t Wait, and read on for my assessment of why remembering Guantánamo and calling for its closure is still so essential, followed by more photos.
Photos and Report: August’s Monthly Global Vigils for Guantánamo’s Closure Mark What Is Now A Doubly Forgotten Prison
Please click on either of the ‘Donate’ buttons below (via PayPal or Stripe) to make a donation towards the $2,500 (£2,000) I’m trying to raise to support my work on Guantánamo and on other related topics over the next three months. To get links to all my work in your inbox, please also consider taking out a free or paid subscription to my new Substack newsletter.
Last Wednesday (August 6), our small but dedicated global family of campaigners came together for the 31st successive month at our “First Wednesday” monthly global vigils for the closure of the “war on terror” prison at Guantánamo Bay.
Nine vigils took place — five in the US, in Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Detroit, with others in London, Brussels, Mexico City and Belgrade, where the former prisoner Mansoor Adayfi held a solo vigil. Campaigners in Cobleskill, NY joined us on the Saturday (August 9).
My thanks as always to the dedication of everyone involved, from organizations including numerous Amnesty International groups, Close Guantánamo, the UK Guantánamo Network, Witness Against Torture, the World Can’t Wait, the Peacemakers of Schoharie County, and various activist groups in New York City, with support from numerous other organizations.
Profound Alarm at Trump’s Deportation of Migrants to Third Countries Without Protections Against Torture or Even Death
Please click on either of the ‘Donate’ buttons below (via PayPal or Stripe) to make a donation towards the $2,500 (£2,000) I’m trying to raise to support my work on Guantánamo and on other related topics over the next three months. To get links to all my work in your inbox, please also consider taking out a free or paid subscription to my new Substack newsletter.
On the campaign trail on October 27, 2024, just days before November’s Presidential Election, Donald Trump promised, “On Day One, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.”
Trump’s target, to follow the logic of his promise, were those amongst the eleven million undocumented migrants in the US, according to estimates published by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics in April 2024, who had been convicted of crimes, which was a fraction of the total (just 4%).
According to Patrick J. Lechleitner, the acting director of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), in a letter to Congress on September 25, 2024, the total number of noncitizens with criminal convictions was, at the time, 435,719, although it’s important to note that a breakdown of the crimes committed demonstrated a wide spectrum from the most minor of offences through to much more significant crimes.
As Trump Holds 72 Migrants at Guantánamo From 26 Countries Including the UK, What Is His Long-Term Plan?
Please click on either of the ‘Donate’ buttons below (via PayPal or Stripe) to make a donation towards the $2,500 (£2,000) I’m trying to raise to support my work on Guantánamo and on other related topics over the next three months. To get links to all my work in your inbox, please also consider taking out a free or paid subscription to my new Substack newsletter.
In a shocking development reported two days ago by CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security has revealed that it is currently holding 72 migrants at Guantánamo from 26 countries.
At least one of these migrants is a UK national, while the other countries whose nationals are held are Brazil, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, Romania, Russia, Somalia, St. Kitts-Nevis, Venezuela and Vietnam.
A month ago, shockwaves reverberated around the world when, as I discussed here, Politico reported that the Trump administration was planning to send at least 9,000 migrants to Guantánamo from a variety of countries, including 800 from Europe.
Who's still at Guantánamo?
