FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
New York City — Three Christian activists from Witness Against Torture traveled to Bermuda on Friday, July 16, 2010 to meet with four Uyghur men who were detained in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba for more than seven years. (The Uyghur ethnic group primarily resides in western China.) The Bush administration conceded that the men are not “enemy combatants,” and in October 2008 a federal judge ordered their release. Eight months later, four Uyghurs were resettled in Bermuda. Other Uyghur detainees were resettled elsewhere while five Uyghurs continue to languish in Guantánamo.
The purpose of the delegation to Bermuda is to build relationships with the Uyghurs, seek their counsel concerning further advocacy for both current and former Guantánamo prisoners, and to bring a message of atonement and reconciliation from the American people to the former prisoners. “In the United States, public discourse on Guantánamo is mainly informed by various perspectives from the military, politicians and the U.S. public,” said John Bambrick, a Chicago youth minister. “We journeyed to Bermuda to seek the perspectives of men who have experienced Guantánamo firsthand.”
“The Uyghur men in Bermuda, like us, are people of faith,” said Jeremy Kirk, a Ph.D. student in social ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. “We are practicing our Christian faith by seeking connection with our Muslim brothers, in whose detention and abuse we have participated as U.S. taxpayers and citizens.”
On Saturday, the three activists visited the Uyghurs’ apartment, shared a meal, swam in the ocean, and dialogued about family and religious faith. The Uyghur men shared some of their experiences of being in Guantánamo and discussed their gratitude for and challenges associated with resettlement. (They are very grateful to the Bermudan Government’s support and hospitality.) On Sunday, the activists spoke with the Uyghurs in further detail about their experiences at Guantánamo and the plight of the remaining five Uyghurs in Guantánamo. “Our happiness will come when the brothers are out,” said Khalil Mamut, 32, one of the Uyghurs in Bermuda. “Whenever I eat, whenever I pray, I think of them intensely.”
The U.S. delegation asked the Uyghurs what sustained their hope for seven years in Guantánamo. Mamut responded, “Faith in Allah and asking Allah for patience. Also the knowledge that if released, we could possibly see our families again.” Luke Hansen, who is training to become a Jesuit priest, said, “I am inspired by their faith. Though the Bermudan Uyghurs sharply criticized the Bush Administration’s justification for their long detention in Guantánamo, they expressed no resentment toward their former captors. Instead, they spoke about all Americans with gentleness and compassion, asking only that the U.S. act swiftly to release the five Uyghurs who remain imprisoned at Guantanamo.”
The delegation to Bermuda:
John Bambrick, 31, works as a Catholic youth minister in Chicago and is a member of the White Rose Catholic Worker. He earned his B.A. at Marquette University in 2001 and his M.A. in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University Chicago in 2008.
Luke Hansen, S.J., 28, is a member of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). In May, Luke earned an M.A. at Loyola University Chicago. His thesis is titled, “Countering Terrorism with Justice: A Catholic Response to Policies of Indefinite Detention in the Fight Against Terrorism.”
Jeremy Kirk, 32, is a Ph.D. student in social ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he studies social ethics, interfaith response to crisis and liberation theology. He has worked as an organizer with various environmental and human rights groups.
All three are members of Witness Against Torture, a grassroots organization that formed in December 2005 when twenty-five activists walked to Guantánamo to visit the prisoners and protest torture policies. Since then, the group has engaged in public education, lobbying, demonstrations, and nonviolent civil disobedience.
Contacts: Matt Daloisio, 201-264-4424 Luke Hansen, 605-407-2799
daloisio@earthlink.net lukejhansen@yahoo.com