My Guantanamo Diary: Summary and book reviews of My Guantanamo Diary by Mahvish Khan, plus links to an excerpt from My Guantanamo Diary and a biography of Mahvish Khan.
My Guantanamo Diary The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me
by Mahvish Khan
Hardcover: Jun 2008,
320 pages.
Paperback: Jun 2009,
320 pages.
Mahvish Khan is an American lawyer, born to immigrant Afghan parents in Michigan. Outraged that her country was illegally imprisoning people at Guantanamo, she volunteered to translate for the prisoners. She spoke their language, understood their customs, and brought them Starbucks chai, the closest available drink to the kind of tea they would drink at home. And they quickly befriended her, offering fatherly advice as well as a uniquely personal insight into their plight, and that of their families thousands of miles away.
For Mahvish Khan the experience was a validation of her Afghan heritage—as well as her American freedoms, which allowed her to intervene at Guantanamo purely out of her sense that it was the right thing to do. Mahvish Khan's story is a challenging, brave, and essential test of who she is —and who we are.
This is a well organized and easy read for anyone interested in information on Guantanamo Bay as well as about the Afghani people and their culture. The prisoners' stories abound with tales of torture and inhuman treatment. Regular beatings to the head and body, sleep deprivation, extended periods of standing, being stripped naked in front of female soldiers and full cavity searches are reported by many of the detainees. On a daily basis, prisoners' legs were chained to their cell floors, and the men were placed in a seven by eight foot cage or left in solitary confinement with no light or windows for days on end. Many detainees attempted suicide or went on hunger strikes, disheartened by their daily treatment, the lack of justice and the belief that they would never be released. As an American woman, some of the details of cruelty and torture reported by the detainees are horrible, especially considering that many of them had not (and still have not) been formally charged; they are presumed guilty based on racial and ethnic profiling.
The author takes a trip to Afghanistan to collect evidence on behalf of the detainees she and the habeas counsel are representing. During her visit, she marvels at the beautiful landscape of the country and the detainees' families treat her with great hospitality. Yet, they are devastated by their loved ones continued unjust imprisonment and in some cases, their untimely deaths. Through this personal account of the author’s visit, the reader is able to visualize what life is like in this beautiful, yet war torn land and feel the frustration, anger and hopelessness of the families of men held at Guantanamo Bay. (Reviewed by Lesley Marshall).
The New York Times - Nicholas D. Kristof
Reliable information is still scarce about Guantánamo, but increasingly we’re gaining glimpses of life there….Mahvish Rukhsana Khan {has written a book] that is wrenching to read.
St. Petersburg Times My Guantanamo Diary offers a glimpse into a part of the war on terror intentionally kept in darkness. Reading it will change you. With any luck, it will change the world.
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. [A] nightmarish, eye-opening and important account.
Kirkus Reviews
A gutsy and disturbing expose of U.S. civilian and military personnel out of control.
Library Journal
Khan's blistering exposé of the blatant injustices inflicted in the name of fighting terrorism will leave many readers shocked and disillusioned. This is not for the faint of heart.
Booklist
Stunning details all but hidden from the daily news reports may bring American readers to conclude, as has Khan, that 'my government has duped me.'
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Samira MUST-READ This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read!
It gives you a perspective you would never get from the media!!
Its gripping, truthful, saddening, funny, etc.
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Afghan Culture and Customs
Afghanistan's 33 million people are made up of more
than twenty
ethnic groups with their own distinctive languages and
cultural mores. The largest and most dominant of these groups,
politically and economically, are the Pashtuns (42% of the
population), The second most populous group are the Tajiks
(27%). Smaller groups include the Hazaras, the Aymaqs, the
Uzbeks and the Turkmen. Pashto and Dari (Persian) are the
two official languages of the country.
There are various Afghan dwelling styles. Rural
people tend to live in homes made of sun-dried bricks, city
dwellers live in homes made of baked bricks, concrete or
both. Some nomadic tribes live in tents made of goat hair
(in the 1970s about 1/5 of the population was classified as
nomadic but these numbers have fallen precipitously due to
the ongoing military conflicts). The constructed homes are
separated into the public and private areas, so...
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