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Images of blindfolded Afghan captives kneeling shackled in wire cages at Camp X-Ray – a detention center on an isolated U.S. out spot on the edge of Fidel Castro’s Cuba - have ignited international controversy and widespread concern. There are some legal arguments as to whether they are to be considered prisoners of war, detainees, criminals or unlawful combatants; but that technicality should not bear any impact on their treatment. Here, we highlight the harsh living conditions at Camp X-Ray and examine its effect on the mental and physical health of the captives.
Where is Camp X-Ray?
Camp X-Ray is an island, on an island, on yet another island. It is a sealed off zone within the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay – known by U.S. servicemen as “Gitmo”, which is itself sealed off from the rest of the island of Cuba.
American marines landed in Guantanamo – one of the Cuba’s greatest natural harbors – during the Spanish-American war in 1898, and the base was established under a treaty signed in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt. After Fidel Castro led the communists to power in Cuba in 1959, then U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower refused to relinquish the base despite strong objections from Havana. Although Washington continues to pay the rent – set 100 years ago at 2,000 gold coins a year, and now worth about $ 4,000 – Mr. Castro refuses to cash the checks.
Cuban Frontier Battalion troops continue to watch their U.S. counterparts along the 28-kilometer fence, but much tension has diminished since the end of the Cold War.
Captives … Detention Conditions and Environment
The captives rounded up in Afghanistan are being housed in a cells measuring 1.8 by 2.4 meters (6 feet by 8 feet) with open, chain-link walls, a concrete floor and wooden roof. Prisoners have a 2 cm-thick foam mat to sleep on, and two towels – one for washing, the other one to use as a prayer mat.
They spend most of their time separated and are shackled when taken out of the cells; their restraints may include hand and leg shackles.
The food provided to them is basic and is approved for consumption by Muslims. The prisoners are allowed to practice their faith; a sign on one wall of the camp points to Mecca.
The camp gets chilly at night and there are swarms of mosquitoes. In addition, mangrove swamps, salt marshes and dense bush surround the base. Furthermore, the surrounding sea is shark-infested.
The camp perimeters – lit up with halogen floodlights at night – has watchtowers and two fences topped with razor wire, which are constantly patrolled by heavily armed marines, snipers and wild dogs.
Health Impact…. From Psychological Abuse to Health Risks
Health Impacts of Prison Life
Prison life – even for short periods of time – can lead to any number of physical and mental health problems. A recent prison health study carried out in European jails found that inmates were found to suffer from low blood pressure. In addition, most of them were disorientated, unable to concentrate and experienced problems with their memories – for example, sudden “mind voids”. Scientists also observed an effect on the senses. With touch and sight diminished, inmates’ sense of hearing often became heightened, causing them to become “obsessed” with noise and disturbed by unexpected sounds. Furthermore, prisoners may develop personality changes, or even worse, personality disorders, mental illness and brain disease.
Physical and Mental Health Problems
Captives flown from Afghanistan to an American naval base in the Caribbean are being held in tough detention conditions. Medical doctors, health experts and psychiatrists have expressed their concerns about the way the captives are being treated.
Images of blindfolded prisoners facing the fence on their knees, shackled and handcuffed, and the use of restraints such as covered goggles, earmuffs and facemasks have been described as “sensory deprivation”. Being subjected to sensory deprivation, no matter for how short a period of time, is extremely damaging. In addition, keeping prisoners in chicken wire cages, forcefully shaving their heads and beards in defiance of their religious beliefs, and parading them for the press can only be considered abuse.
The detainees have no privacy. One can see into the prisoners’ cellblock quite clearly, as the walls are made of chain-link fencing; and at night the whole compound is lit up by arc lights. Such exposure exploits human dignity and can lead to more psychological damage, possible even causing sleeping disorders.
Putting them in outdoor cages surrounded by minefields, mosquitoes and shark infested waters is not only a disgrace to the democracy and civilization the West preaches, but also it is extremely dangerous for the physical health of the prisoners.
As a result of the 30 o C heat, the prisoners in their bright orange jumpsuits spend most of their time sitting on the floor or lying on the foam sleeping mattresses in order to try to keep cool. This can cause bone disease and exposure to the heat can cause a whole slew of problems.
By the end of the day there is a faint smell of sewage and chemicals that drifts from the prison – all the prisoners have waste buckets in their cells. This can cause breathing problems and possibly lung diseases in the long run.
An International Call for Humane Treatment
The treatment of Afghan captives has become the subject of international controversy. The human rights group Amnesty International (AI) voiced concern about the “cages” used for accommodation, saying they would “fall below minimum standards for humane treatment.”
In addition, a human rights spokesman has said the photographs of inmates chained, blindfolded and kneeling before their guards are reminiscent of torture methods used in Eastern Europe in the 1970s. Furthermore, the 1.8 m by 2.4 m open-sided wire cells in which the men are being kept have been described as “kennels” and “cages” by critics and dubbed “a scandal” by the a Human Rights Watch spokesman.
As one health expert put it: “Although prisoners in Western jails - which are equipped with gymnasiums and facilities for outdoor exercise- are protected by constitutional laws, most of them suffer from a number of physical and mental problems. Thus, I’ll leave you to imagine the health conditions for a prisoner who is experiencing a tough detention measures and has, so far, no rights neither by the Geneva Conventions nor under the general international law of human rights. It is worse more than you can think.”
Sources:
- Anderson, Kevin. “Harsh Detention for Afghan Prisoners” The Mirror newspaper. January 23, 2002.
- Greene, Richard. “Prison Is Bad For Your Health” Current Science. January 10, 2002.
- Lister, Richard. “Grim life at Guantanamo” Austria Today. January 23, 2002.
- Silverman, Jon. “Cuba Captives Held Below U.S. Standards” Vienna Express. January 25, 2002.
- Snelling, Mark. “ Destination Guantanamo Bay” Discover. January 15, 2002.
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