The article reflects the author's experiences reporting from Guantánamo Bay over the past nineteen years, detailing the complexity of covering military prosecutions for the September 11 attacks. Amidst the beauty of the Cuban coastline, the stark realities of the detention facility, dubbed by Amnesty International as 'the gulag of our times,' create a cognitive dissonance for the author. Personal anecdotes reveal the challenges faced by journalists covering the controversial detention center, including censorship and the struggles associated with detainees like Omar Khadr, who endured years of harsh conditions and torture before being repatriated.
I started coming in 2006 to report on Omar Khadr. He was detained under harsh conditions for a decade, much of it without trial, and it included interrogation sessions by Canadian intelligence agents.
I’ve gone to spinning classes with marines, on patrol with the coast guard, and fought with public affairs officers until the wee hours against their censorship of photos I took of a protest by Uyghur detainees.
It’s hard to reconcile the tropical splendour and summer-camp vibe with its dark history.
Amnesty International dubbed Guantánamo Bay 'the gulag of our times.'
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