Last night, I went to a special screening of Outside the Law: Stories from Guantanamo, which was held in the basement of St. Stephen’s Church in Washington D.C.  The event was held in conjunction with a national fast as well as a week full of events put together by Witness Against Torture, which BORDC is sponsoring.

Outside the Law is a project by Andy Worthington, a renowned journalist and author of three books that highlight the abusive system of extraordinary rendition and indefinite detention.  The video documents actions that took place shortly after 9/11 from the perspective of the war in Afghanistan.  The documentary follows the stories of two recently released detainees and one who is still detained, helping to put a human face on the men the Bush administration wrongly deemed the “worst of the worst.” It makes clear that a good number of the detainees were actually common farmers, foreign Muslims, and medical aid workers rather than terrorists; many of them were turned over to the U.S. for bounty.  Outside The Law accuses the United States of breaking Article 5 of the Geneva Convention, breaking the commitment to our own Constitution, and making it known there are few in government, even within Obama’s administration, who are working to close Guantánamo and end the practices of rendition and torture or hold people accountable.  Although the accusations are nothing new, they do continue to help solidify the voices against Guantánamo and put the audacity of these crimes into a historical vault.

After watching Outside the Law we were asked to say a few words about what the movie brought to our minds. There were about 30 people at the screening and I am pretty sure most of the people spoke up.  We heard everything from negative statements of disgust and fear that “the recent terrorist plot will make it impossibly overwhelming to change our policies,” to positive statements like “We still have time; the future is not yet written,” as well as a question, “How can we heal not only those who have endured torture, but also those who have tortured?”

Sitting there in a basement with activists obviously committed to ending the practice of torture, closing Guantánamo and restoring our Constitution, I could not help but think that this might have been what it was like during what is now called the “Dutch Resistance.” The discussion also reminded me of Margaret Mead’s quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Tags: detention, Guantanamo Bay

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