A Letter to Barack Obama from a Guantanamo Uighur

There were once 22 Uighur prisoners in Guantánamo. Muslims from China's oppressed Xinjiang province, they had all been swept up as human debris during "Operation Enduring Freedom," the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan that began in October 2001. The majority of these men were seized after fleeing to Pakistan from a run-down settlement in Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountains, which had been hit in a U.S. bombing raid. Initially welcomed by Pakistani villagers, they were then betrayed and sold to U.S. forces, who were offering $5000 a head for "al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects."

None of the men had been in Afghanistan to support al-Qaeda or the Taliban, and none had raised arms against U.S. forces. They all maintained that they had only one enemy -- the Chinese government -- and explained that they had ended up at the settlement either in the hope of finding a way of rising up against their oppressors, which was unlikely, as the settlement was dirt-poor and had only one gun, or because they had hoped to travel to other countries in search of work -- primarily Turkey, which has historic connections to the people of East Turkestan (as the Uighurs call their homeland) -- but had been thwarted in their aims.

In May 2006, five of the 22 were freed from Guantánamo, after being cleared in a military review, and sent to live in a refugee camp in Albania, the only country that could be persuaded to accept them after the U.S. authorities acknowledged that they would not return them to China, where they faced the risk of torture. For the other 17, justice was to prove more elusive, and it was until June 2008, in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling confirming that the Guantánamo prisoners had habeas corpus rights (the right to challenge the basis of their detention in court), that an appeals court in Washington ruled that the government had failed to establish a case that one of the men -- Huzaifa Parhat -- was an "enemy combatant."

In the wake of the ruling, the government gave up attempting to prove that the other 16 Uighurs were "enemy combatants," and when their case came up before District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina last October, he ruled that their continued detention was unconstitutional, and that, because no other country had been found that would accept them, they were to be admitted to the United States, to the care of communities in Washington and Tallahassee, Florida, who had prepared detailed plans for their resettlement.

This proved intolerable to the Bush administration, which appealed the decision. The Justice Department spouted unprincipled claims that the men were a threat (even though they had been cleared of being "enemy combatants"), and refused to acknowledge that a judge had the right to order the men's release into the United States, thereby robbing the Supreme Court of a key element of the powers it intended to grant to the lower courts when it confirmed, in June, that the prisoners had habeas corpus rights.

Despite its manifest weaknesses, the government's appeal -- in a court that had a history of backing up cases relating to the "War on Terror" that were later overruled by the Supreme Court -- was successful. This is the situation that prevails to this day, although on Monday the Uighurs' lawyers announced that they planned "to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene on their clients' behalf," and, perhaps even more significantly, last week it was reported that the Obama administration was "set to reverse a key Bush administration policy by allowing some of the 240 remaining Guantánamo Bay inmates to be resettled on American soil." As the Guardian described it, "Washington has told European officials that once a review of the Guantánamo cases is completed, the U.S. will almost certainly allow some inmates to resettle on the mainland."

If confirmed, it is possible that these men will include some, or all of the Uighurs, but in the meantime Abu Bakker Qassim, one of the five Uighurs freed in Albania in 2006, who left his pregnant wife and young son in a thwarted attempt to find work in Turkey, has just written a letter to President Obama, telling his story and appealing to the President to act on behalf of the remaining Uighurs in Guantánamo.

The letter was made available by Sabin Willett, one of the Uighurs' attorneys, and is reproduced below:

Abu Bakker Qassim's letter to Barack Obama

Dear Mr. President,

I express my gratitude and my best respect for the contribution of the United States of America to our Uighur community. At the same time, I express my gratitude for your right and prompt decision to close the jail of Guantánamo Bay. I hope you will forgive my English, which I have tried to learn.

I hope my letter will find you in a good health. Please allow me to express my wish and prayer to read my letter.

My name is Abu Bakker and I'm writing on behalf of Ahmet, Aktar, Ejup, with whom I have lived since May 2006 in Albania, the only country that offered us political asylum from Guantánamo when US courts concluded that we were not enemy combatants.

I would like to write something about myself. The Uighur people have a proverb: "Who thinks about the end will never be a hero." Obviously it is human to think about the end, as it is human for me to remember things long ago.

30.12.2000. My last night in my little home. No one was sleeping ... not even my eight-month twins in my wife's womb. No one was speaking ... even my two-year old son ... I had decided that I would confess that night to my wife the end I had thought of in my heart, but I hesitated because of a question my son had asked me, that I could not answer. It was at the beginning of winter. We were standing near the oven, and I was cuddling his hands. He took with his little hands my forefinger.

Dad! Is a fingernail a bone?

No, I said. The fingernail is not a bone.

It is flesh?

No. Neither is it flesh.

So, the fingernail: what is it, Dad?

I didn't know.

I don't know, I said.

So small was my boy, and I couldn't answer his questions. And when he grows up and the questions are not about the fingernail? How shall I answer then?

31.12.2000. Without telling the end, without turning back my head, without fear I started my long and already known way. "Ah, if only ...! Ah, if only I reach Istanbul, am hired in the factory, to work day and night, to save my self and money. God is great! Ah, if only I could bring my wife there, my son and -- the most important -- to see my twins for the first time in Istanbul. To hold them on my breast, to pick up as I could ... to show my son and to tell to them: We are from the place where the sun rises. I would embrace them, I would answer all of their questions, I would teach to them everything my mother taught me, as her mother taught her, to my grandmother her grandmother ... as though in a movie with a happy ending: me film director, me scenarist, me at the lead role. The hero of my dearest people ... Me."

After three years and a half, questions after questions, the military tribunal in Guantánamo asked me:

If you will die here, what will you think at your last minutes?

I'm a husband and a father that is dying in the heroism's ways, I answered and I asked the permission to put a question of my own.

If Guantánamo Bay were closed today, would you be a hero for your children?

I was proclaimed innocent. The lawyer proposed -- meantime we were waiting for a state which will accept us -- to live in a hotel in the Military Base of Guantánamo Bay. No way! We were put in a camp near to the jail, which was called "Iguana Camp." We were nine. Sometimes, one of my friends asked the soldiers about the time. Even today, I hadn't understood why he needed to know the time. I asked the time ... I had reasons ...

In Camp Iguana, there were iguanas. We fed them with bread, so they began to enter in our dormitory. All of us needed their company. Sometimes, when they were late, everyone missed them ...

One morning, I had an unforgettable surprise from my friends. They gave to me cake from their meal, since that day was my twins' birthday. The same day, in our dormitory entered two iguanas and I give to them the cake ... thinking about my kids ... thinking about my end ... My dream finished from Istanbul to Guantánamo, from my kids to iguanas ...

Finally in 2006 I arrived in Albania, my second homeland. The ring of the telephone! What anxiety! Are they alive? For the first time, I spoke with my wife and my kids. They were alive!

Every morning, I go out of my home before the sun rises and wait for him with the hands up and empty. Since I'm still from the country where the sun rises. I think about the family which perhaps I will never see again and I resolve not to forget my vow, seven years ago, to be their hero.

Yet, Mr. President, seventeen of my brothers remain in that prison today. It is three years since I left the prison, and still they are there. Please end their suffering soon. Your January 22 words were so welcome to us, and I congratulate you for that and for your historic election. But many months have passed.

For the four of us who remain in Albania (one of us is in Sweden today, trying for asylum), life is very hard, and our future still seems far away. I hope that one day soon your government and countrymen will meet our seventeen brothers. Maybe when that day comes there would be hope that we might come to America too.

Mr. President.

In life not everyone will reach his desired end. Perhaps you don't know, but we are similar ... Except as to the end. Since you, like me, without thinking abut the end of your long way, managed to be a hero ... I'm at Your side ... I'm proud of you ...

Mr. President.

Please allow me to share with You a thought. Gift a pair of shoes to every child, to every woman, or every barefoot man since the barefoot people doesn't think too much before walking on the dirty mud. Begin with everything from above.

Very truly yours,

Abu Bakker Qassim

Tirana, Albania
March 24, 2009

Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America's Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press), and maintains a blog here.

Comments

[batguano]

After all the horror we (the Bush/Cheney/Neocon admn) have inflicted on the mostly innocent men and boys who were imprisoned and tortured for so many years of their lives with no chance to defend themselves, the least we can do is let them live here with their families if they cannot be welcomed elsewhere; the choice should be theirs. how else do we regain a measure of national self-respect and honor? Think if it was you, or yours who had been treated as these people have. Enough is enough!. Even as we (mostly) allow Obama to get his sea legs, we must continue to be vigilant and push for the changes we believe are important. He and others in his cabinet are being worked by power interests and we must keep our voices in front of his thinking, and GITMO is one of those numerous areas we cannot get comfortable.

[Soapfan]

If some of the low risk Guantanmo peeps are allowed to settle here and in Canada tabs can be kept on them.

[Ted LPD]

In response to a policy issue on ‘Racial Profiling’ (for folks from Middle East descent), I think that Posner (Author of Suicide Pact and Civil Liberties) recognized trading civil liberties in times of crises such as war. This is an issue of dispute for Law and Public Policy stewards though there are exceptions. My beef is that the Bush Administration didn't declare a state of emergency to suspend rule of law. When to set aside the Constitution and act in the interest of the nation is not the issue. We agree there are times such as 911 when leaders exercise certain rights outside the Constitution but.... The framers of the Constitution took this into account.

Let’s assume that 911 triggered a state emergency that was not officially declared. Posner, (who appears to have significant input on how the Bush Administration worked in terms of "Security laws") missed reconciling the Constitution and "911" within a specific timeframe. The failure to state clearly the end of emergency resulted in the abuses such as the question at hand… There were routine failures of the Patriot Act because of failure to follow rules and procedures. For someone to justify/support Posner’s literature on rule of law on this one is insane… Posner didn't outline when to restore the Constitution/rule of law. Is everyday a state of emergency?

[witsendster]

I wonder - for the detainees, held so long, who were determined to be no threat and released - did our government give them any compensation financially? Enough to be able to survive for a time and to reunite their families? I think they are entitled to it. This man should have enough to bring his family to wherever he is and to start a small business or to survive until he finds work. We are all - even us who deplored all of this - responsible for our countries actions, and it is not just Obama who has to clean up this mess - we need to help by continuing to speak up and apply pressures esp. on congress .

[cheesymacaroni]

Obama has talked about closing Guantanamo. Apparently that's good enough. Pragmatic. He's making progress by saying he's making progress. It could be worse, we are told. It could be Bush and Guantanamo could still be open, prisoners held indefinitely without charge, and he wouldn't even be talking about closing it. Thanks for speaking out.

[fbr79]

These people are always innocent.

[SelenicMagick]

The courts have already determined that they are NOT guilty. That is sufficient under the law to justify their release.

[doctordoubt]

If ever i've heard a tortured soul........bush and his minions have made a travesty of our ideals, our system of laws, our humanity, and yet he lives. Would that we could swap that admistration for the lives of people so wrongly accused, so wrongly imprisoned. Would that we could, with the stroke of a pen, right the wrongs so blatantly displayed before us. We can't, but we also can not forget. Not ever.

This can not happen again, for any reason, least of all for the rantings of a little child doing the job of a man. This is not cowboy bob time. This is not toy guns and bang bang sounds. This is real, and reality seems to be just another failure to these people. We jump so readily to help those in need, those who are worse off an we are. How then, can we turn a blind eye to those that for whatever reason, have been dumped into this illigitimate quagmire? The minions of power have done their job well. Fear. Even as a lie, is still the strongest motivator they have. Can you feel the fear in that letter?

[chocolatecity]

Why aren't we having congressional hearings regarding these charges of abuse!?!? I hope this man's friends and family can be just a little patient. It will take a while for all of the cases (that they can find) to be reviewed and acted upon. If you're brothers still have their faith, just hold on to it while the mess in GITMO is sorted out.

[zaz33]

Lancing the Gitmo boil would bring back much needed credibility for the USA, but releasing innocent victims would create political problems for Obama.

The question of torture would probably come up which I don't believe Obama wants to talk about
( Obama's enhanced interrogation policy is still undetermined ).

The question of prosecuting Bush, Cheney, ect. would come up, which Obama doesn't want to talk about.

It seems to me that politics wil trump justice for the innocents still in Gitmo.

If they are guilty then charge them and convict them in transparent courts.

[SelenicMagick]

It matters not whether someone "wants" to discuss what went on at Gitmo... it happened and we NEED to address the issue if we want to have ANY credibility when it comes to human rights.

[zaz33]

selenicMagick - you're right - I made an assumption.
My regrets and apology

[JZ735]

Here is follow up to what i was saying about Obama being untruthful (to be overly charitable!!!!) about us getting out by 8/2010 of Iraq...go the link to watch and listen to Amy Goodman's program Thursday which addresses the whole issue of troops staying in Iraq, the escalation in Afghanistan and contractors now preparing for boon of work in Afghanistan:

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/26/report_despite_obamas_vow_combat_brigades

[BritPatJax]

Why are you not disgusted enough. The world will have enough disgust to balance the books. You invented the 'bounty hunter' and exported it into these poor peoples lives. You should have to keep them in the Manhattan Hilton for the rest of their lives but being what and who you are you selfishly argue about how to save money on them and how to keep their anger off shore. Go figure?

[JZ735]

When Obama says we are getting out of Iraq, he is lying to you...listen to Democracy Now with Amy Goodman (at 48:05 and on especially) as her guests discuss how troops will remain...the name is only going to change, but their purpose will be the same: combat...also, the contractors that effed up in Iraq are now set to do the same (and have already) in Afghanistan...in fact, Obama's escalation in Afghanistan will be a boon for the contractors...

www.democracynow.org
www.wbai.org (Click on Archives, find 3/26/09 show to play...)

[SelenicMagick]

We ALL know that 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq. I don't see how that is ANY different substantially than the troops that we have stationed in Germany, Japan, Bosnia, South Korea and a wealth of other places around the world.

[zaz33]

And how do "we the people" benefit by all these military bases around the world ?

By being in some countries were creating the possibility of "blow back"

If you state the fighting of terrorism against the US, I can raise the question of how few"terrorists" have been arrested .and more importantly, how few have been convicted by a jury.

[eagledavey]

Sorry. Not buying it. These men may all be truly innocent, but there's no way they should be allowed to live here. What are we thinking? I'm pretty sure there's a reason these other nations--who spent all this time criticizing us, of course--dont want to allow these men into their countries. The story is a real tear jerker, and no doubt it's gonna play out on the silver screen, but I'd rather err on the side of keeping our country safe first, and looking after the rights of these men second.

[valfromlondon]

Yes, many nations have criticized the US over the last few years - small matters of abduction, imprisonment without trial, continued imprisonment after the establishment of innocence and the rest. I'm as surprised as you are that they don't now want to help now. Old Europe, as Cheney called them (and I'm sure his words were misinterpreted as deliberately insulting), can be such a bitch. But out of curiosity: Is it only the rights of foreign-born men (whose rights were affirmed by the Supreme Court) you are averse to looking after, or are there others you'd be prepared to lock up indefinitely in order to protect your country? If so, you might as well tear up your Constitution.

[SouthernBlueBelle]

Amen. I feel as though I am reading works by men who have lost their souls, when I read these posts. Safety or humanity. Is that the only choice? Humanity must triumph.

[eagledavey]

Just because they were picked up on a battlefield doesnt give them the same rights American citizens have, IMO. And no, being foreign born has nothing to do with it. Jonnhy Lindh and Adam Gadahn--whom I believe ate a Hellfire recently--shouldnt be allowed in either.

[TheBurdicks]

"Sorry. Not buying it. ...I'd rather err on the side of keeping our country safe first, and looking after the rights of these men second."

I have no desire to have any part of your "safe" country if the price is the reckless abandonment of the rights of any man among us. Everything we have built as a people, everything we have, everything we are, is predicated on protecting the rights of every man. If we fail to live up to this fundamental obligation, we become something abhorent, something no better than those who would harm us. To sacrifice the rights of even the worse among us endangers the freedom of every one of us and brings us to a low place, a place not worth inhabiting.

[WeMustSpeakOut]

Perfectly stated, absolutely right.

The Bush/Cheney regime have needlessly and recklessly ravaged thousands of lives and essentially stolen away our democracy.
All that remains is a broken shell and a premise devoid of substance.
We must insist that the integrity of the Constitution and rule of law be restored.

[nevadagirl]

Do you really feel safe in the U.S. when the crime rate is so much higher than Canada and Mexico combined?

[eagledavey]

Sure. Good ideals. But let a few suicide bombers hit the shopping malls and your tune will change in a heartbeat. Not saying these individuals are guilty of anything. I just dont care if they are or arent. Sooner or later you have to look at the world and protect what you can, not what you should.

[SelenicMagick]

Excuse me all to H*ll and back but the United States has a LONG history of giving asylum to people who would otherwise be dead.

Cubans building rafts and trying to make it to the US died by the hundreds...
Vietnamese boat people died by the thousands trying to get here...
Jewish people and others fleeing war-torn Europe in the early days of World War II...
Giving political asylum to countless people from the USSR during the height of the Cold War...
The list goes on and on... and there is absolutely NO reason why these men should NOT be granted political asylum in the US.

Really think about the words of the poem on the Statue of Liberty...
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

[eagledavey]

Alll your examples are people fleeing oppresion, not seeking to propogate it. I dont remember Jews flying planes into buildings.

[ritgar]

AS i HAVE SAID BEFORE, IT WILL TAKE 100 YEARS TO FIX THE MESS THE LAST 8 HAVE LEFT US IN.

[katermc]

I heard about the Uyghurs on Democracy Now several weeks ago. In that story, I heard about Abu Bakker Qassim and his family. I just finished reading his letter and I sobbed as I read it aloud. I hope Barack Obama will read his letter, but not in front of anyone, because it would be impossible to read such touching sentences without breaking down. Still, I imagine Obama reading this letter privately and knowing instantly that he must free them this week -- because I see Obama as a moral man. I understand that other countries will not accept the Uighurs because of China's intimidation, and I imagine people in this country have been indoctrinated by the Bush administration and, therefore, would not accept the Uighurs, but I pray they can be (somehow) settled safely in this country soon, because it is unconscionable to leave them in Guantanamo. As it is, they have lost everything, and their treatment at Guantanamo will make it so difficult for them to live out their lives reasonably -- pain that we have inflicted will haunt them for the rest of their lives. In a good world, I wish we could do everything to help them to settle here, to bring their families here to live with them, to bring their friends from Albania and Sweden, because we owe them this, at the very least. I will pray every day that justice comes to them.

[JZ735]

I hope Barack Obama will read his letter, but not in front of anyone, because it would be impossible to read such touching sentences without breaking down. Still, I imagine Obama reading this letter privately and knowing instantly that he must free them this week

He won't do it...