During the past week my peers and I have been reading “Poems from Guantánamo” By Marc Flakoff. It has played a prominent role in our class discussions and I have learned a great deal from this short piece of text.
When reading the first few pages of the book the message Falkoff wants to get across to his audience is clear. He asks the reader to set aside any judgments they might have already made about the men who wrote the poems – he wants them to be read with no bias – simply remembering that these men are human, just like you and me.
As the book unfolds reading the poems with no bias becomes increasingly difficult. Reason for this being that prior to every single poem a short profile is displayed entailing different facts about the writer to come. Details about their families, degrees, schooling, and previous jobs are littered within the book – but not a single page is dedicated to revealing what crimes these men have been convicted and detained for. The book offers information about these men that the reader would consider “normal” or “human” they are things that we can relate to – in turn we feel a connection with them.
While reading through some of the blog posts this week I couldn’t help but agree with my peer Dixon Scott because the points made in his blog are quite reasonable. Guantánamo is clearly a horrific place with below average living standards and I strongly believe that nobody – not even individuals convicted of these crimes – should be forced to live in these conditions. When thinking about the men stuck in these places my mind is “torn” as Dixon said.
Should we stand up for these men? Should we care about others who act out in these horrendous ways on innocent individuals?
Men whose poems are in this very book and have been released are now confirmed members of ISIS, they were let go because it was initially determined that they were not a threat.
This book is an incredible collection of writing and I do not think it should go unnoticed. Whether these men have been convicted of these crimes or not this is their only means of expression and I do believe they have every right to write. At the end of the day it offers a diverse viewpoint for this situation and I believe it to be a significant piece of literature to make reference to when discussing the details of this touchy subject.