This book should come with a cautionary note attached. If you want to keep on believing in a 'free' and 'just' West than you are better off not reading this very moving tale. How someone as innocent as this author undergo such heinous and demeaning treatment by the all mighty United State of America is a very bitter pill to swallow. Indeed, this makes Osama Bin Ladin a most merciful dispatcher in comparison! I once read a book which was eventually made into a movie as well called 'The men who stare at goats' by Jon Ronson which seemed like complete fantasy stuff, with Pentagon funding huge projects in phys-ops projects designed to overcome enemies by playing heavy metal music, sleep deprivation, water boarding etc. The full extent of which can be read in this very lucid tale of Ahmed's incarceration. Why the might US and British intelligence agencies not able to find out Ahmed's innocence early through his ordeal is proof for me that these Arabs and Muslims were there as an example. What they signified to the US is beyond my comprehension though. were they meant to send a message to the Muslim fundamentalists or their Western sympathizing heads of state?
What especially moved me were the tales of torture by ordinary American soldiers, doctors, lawyers who willingly and passionately cooperative in the daily routines of prisoner torturing. As a Muslim reader, I was thrilled with the very noble reaction and fightback by the brother Muslims in the face of such a determined and all powerful adversary. Ahmed and his fellow prisoners are not only wonderful ambassadors for Islam, but for the spirit of humanness as well. How they managed to deal with the constant torture is indeed a great testament of the human spirit's determination and adaptability. Actually the vicious treatment displayed by American soldiers is an exact opposite, signifying the dredge of human beings. So Gitmo seemed to have opposite effects, Bush's good guys turned out to be evil and his evil people turned out to be good.
As a Pakistani I felt very ashamed at the way Arabs were maltreated in my country during the USA bombing of Afghanistan. It fully explains the strange comments I received (upon finding out that I belonged to Pakistan) when I went to Tangier as a tourist last year.
I would highly recommend this book to all so that the real dangers which propaganda can induce even in a democratic countries like USA and UK. The book is summed up pretty well when Ahmed makes a straight inference to President Bush's speech and the same sort of comments made by Ahmed's interrogator's and soldiers in Gitmo which again shows how much an impact a leader can make in even free democratic societies like USA.
For me, the real lesson to take away is always foster a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to media and government narrative. Its not always easy to do so, but till we know for sure we should not give government and media the benefit of doubt automatically.
Democracy died a death for me after reading this very touching story. It needs to be reincarnated again, and Gitmo needs to be converted into a tourist site like Auschwitz.
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