My Guantanamo Diary

Torture, sadness, and loneliness are three words that can describe the daily thoughts of the Afghan detainees while they were being held in Cuba unjustly. Mahvish Rukhsana Khan explored the detainees’ lives thoroughly and believed that it was absurd that some of those detainees were being treated like animals. The case of the pediatrician, Ali Shah Mosovi, and the eighty-year-old man, Haji Hustrat Khan were incredibly despiteful. Some of these men were driven to commit suicide because of the daily abuse that they went through. Mistaking them for terrorists, the American military made their life impossible.

Even though the book is about the tortured detainees, it describes in great detail some of the Middle Eastern countries that the author visited. It gives a very good description of the amazing views and the cultures that the author learned from. This book can be used as a religious and cultural source. It teaches about the Islamic religion and about many of the Muslims’ values. The author also described in depth the role of women in Islam through the book. It is said that “women are viewed as fragile creatures that need to be protected” (Khan 113), but at the same time, a woman might be killed if she dishonors her family or brings shame to it. Most of them have arranged marriages and marry at a young age. It is interesting how one can compare and contrast Islam and American cultures. One of the detainees was amazed at the fact that Americans drank lots of alcohol and that some people met their spouses online. The American lawyer also seemed to be fascinated about the fact that some Muslims have polygamous relationships. Most men in Afghanistan have multiple wives and that is normal for them. It was entertaining to have read about the Middle Easter cultures from another point of view. The author went in depth explaining her diary entries about what she went through in Afghanistan and how she put her life in danger in order to collect data for her case. Hopefully the American media will not try to cover future cases from Guantanamo Bay. After all, everyone looks out for themselves. That is why is good to hear both sides of the story.