I was a Guantánamo detainee. I’m horrified that Trump wants to keep immigrants there | Mansoor Adayfi

[hellsbelle@sh.itjust.works]

Guantánamo Bay, a name synonymous with human rights abuses, was first repurposed in 2002 under then president George W Bush and defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld as a detention center for individuals branded as “the worst of the worst”. I was among those detainees – abducted, shackled and transported like cargo, blindfolded and unaware of my fate. The memories of roaring military planes, soldiers barking orders and the growls of attack dogs still haunt me.

The US government justified our detention by painting us as dangerous terrorists, a narrative that allowed for indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial. Now, more than two decades later, a similar narrative is being constructed. Trump’s rhetoric of labeling undocumented immigrants as “the worst criminal illegal aliens”, is a deliberate and dehumanizing tactic that opens the door to further abuses under the guise of national security.

This decision is not just a policy shift; it’s a moral failure. Having endured nearly 15 years in Guantánamo without due process, subjected to torture and inhumane conditions, I can attest to the facility’s capacity for cruelty. I shared those cages with innocent men and even children, all victims of a system designed to strip away their humanity.