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20th out of 20 books
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24 voters
My rating:
add to my books
My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me
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 th...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
June 24th 2008
by PublicAffairs
(first published June 23rd 2008)
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Although there was a lot to like here, I felt there was a lot missing as well. No doubt there are men in Gitmo who have been falsely accused (often sold out by rivals); many allegations were not logical; but then, logic is not the strong suit of Bushites. I hate that we have allowed Cheney/Bush to establish a situation where we do not treat our enemies the way we want to be treated; I wish our leaders and managers were smarter, but they aren't. Likewise, I think it is too easy to get swept up in...more
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Wow! What an exhausting story that is a must read by all so that we never, never forget what want and power can do to people, in particular to innocent people.
This is the story that puts the human face to the people at Guantanamo Bay and gives us a chance to understand them. As a reader, you are taken through anger, frustration, joy and tears. It is beautifully written, and is a book that will never leave you. Such an important story to be told. We need to learn to listen to both side...more
This is the story that puts the human face to the people at Guantanamo Bay and gives us a chance to understand them. As a reader, you are taken through anger, frustration, joy and tears. It is beautifully written, and is a book that will never leave you. Such an important story to be told. We need to learn to listen to both side...more
I have read many a news article about Guantanamo Bay and its human rights violations, but it is common knowledge that reading about something pales in comparison to truly experiencing it. Lawyer and journalist Mahvish Rukhsana Khan provides an inside look within the walls of the notorious prison with My Guantanamo Diary, a harrowing, tragic and at times darkly comic account of the appalling injustices she witnessed as a young law student.
Khan, who was born and raised by her Pashtun i...more
Khan, who was born and raised by her Pashtun i...more
My Guantanamo Diaries, by Mahvish Rukhsana Khan, produced by Audible inc. narrated by Shelley Johnson, downloaded from audible.com.
The narrator wasn’t right for this book. Her voice was too light and chatty a lot of the time for the serious nature of this book. The author was a third-year law student who attached herself to the Habeas Corpus project of lawyers working full-time on getting trials for persons held at Guatanamo camp, some of who were there for three or four years by t...more
The narrator wasn’t right for this book. Her voice was too light and chatty a lot of the time for the serious nature of this book. The author was a third-year law student who attached herself to the Habeas Corpus project of lawyers working full-time on getting trials for persons held at Guatanamo camp, some of who were there for three or four years by t...more
Much more of a personal impressionistic account of Guantanamo than a comprehensive look at any cases or issues involved. The author is a young idealistic law student from an immigrant Afghan family who volunteered as an interpreter for the lawyers working with Afghans imprisoned on the base. She was convinced that the prisoners she met there were innocent, good men, and she clearly felt full sympathy with them and their stories. She may well be right, and other sources will also confirm that man...more
A young bilingual law student goes along with lawyers to interpret. She travels with them to Cuba to interview suspected Taliban participants. As an American, she is incensed that the men were jailed without being charged with a crime and having to endure many hardships. The book details some of these hardships. As an Afghan-American, she is upset that thier culture is being so disrespected by the holy Kuran being urinated on, men having menstrual blood spread on them,etc. She takes over 30...more
This book captures the the wrongful arrests of innocent people by the U.S., the abuse, the violations, the disgusting and horrendous torture committed in the name of "War on Terror." What makes this even a more depressing account is that Mahvish was only able to write about a few prisoners. There are hundreds like them in Gitmo and most have endured atrocities committed against them.
It is clear that U.S. had an agenda to fulfill and it is clear that they were going to accompl...more
It is clear that U.S. had an agenda to fulfill and it is clear that they were going to accompl...more
Definitely recommend to everyone--whether you're American or not, whether you're a Democrat, Republican, Independent, whether you're very political or apolitical. This story is not a story meant to shock, meant to entice, meant to thrill. It's a story intended to expose the harsh realities of the truth, the truth that will never fully be revealed. The truth of a place with no legal limitations, where both inhumanity and injustice happen. Most of us (I know I speak for myself) cannot fathom t...more
This book made me angry. It was written by an Afghan-American law student who served as an interpreter for attorneys helping Guantánamo detainees make habeas appeals. Their stories include accounts intense brutality and inhumane treatment, and vehement assertions of innocence. And they are really quite plausible, especially with one crucial bit of information: The US offered bounties for the capture of terrorists and then never bothered to check whether these claims were at all plausible. Now, I...more
Ms.Mahvish Khan was so brave to travel back and forth to encounter the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Most importantly, she penned down the emotions and connections she felt with the few families of the prisoners, and has shared them with the world through her diary. Well-written and an eye opener.
Side note: Guantanamo Bay is a detainment facility of the United States located in Cuba. On January 22, 2009, President Obama signed executive orders to shut down Guantanamo Bay (http://www.boston.com/news/politics/poli......more
Side note: Guantanamo Bay is a detainment facility of the United States located in Cuba. On January 22, 2009, President Obama signed executive orders to shut down Guantanamo Bay (http://www.boston.com/news/politics/poli......more
An eye-opener! I really liked this book, the author's writing style is very engaging and it truly opened my eyes to the injustices and horrors of Guantanamo Bay. Most of the detainees do not give many details of the torture they receive (it's humiliating for them), but what they do tell you is very very depressing. I found myself disappointed in the US and asking myself how our country can do such things... I recommend this book to every American!! We should all know what our government is doing...more
If you're interested in getting the perspective of a novice lawyer working for habeas rights of Guantanamo detainees I highly recommend this book. The author talks about her experience meeting with a dozen detainees- most if not all of whom were wrongly snatched up because of local political clashes or because they were assumed to be working with the Taliban or Al Qaeda just because they happened to be in Afghanistan.
I was surprised to learn about the day-to-day functioning of Gitm...more
I was surprised to learn about the day-to-day functioning of Gitm...more
Mahvish Khan writes from in between two often opposing beliefs. On the one hand, she believes in law, in rights, in the goodness of the country to which she and her parents have emigrated, in the possibility of getting a fair trial for the prisoners she meets and represents. In other words, her naivete knows no bounds. And this makes her an utterly unsophisticated and uncomplicated witness.
On the other hand, she speaks Pushto, knows and largely honors her cultural heritage, and ...more
On the other hand, she speaks Pushto, knows and largely honors her cultural heritage, and ...more
Four stars means "I really liked it," but there is nothing to like here. Mahvish Rukhsana Khan worked as interpreter for lawyers at Guantanamo prison in 2006 & 2007. As an American, a lawyer, and a person of Afghani descent, she brings scholarly, practical, and cultural knowledge to her work and this writing.
"As a law student and a daughter of immigrants, I thought the prison camp's very existence was a blatant affront to what America stands for. How cuold our gov...more
"As a law student and a daughter of immigrants, I thought the prison camp's very existence was a blatant affront to what America stands for. How cuold our gov...more
was interesting and illuminating, but I think SOME of the detainees must have been imprisoned for legitimate reasons. And it's also possible that some of the detainees were not being entirely forthcoming about illegal actions to their habeas corpus lawyers, an idea that Khan seems not to have entertained.
Yes, five stars. This book will take you through outrage, hysterical laughter at the absurdity of the American military, and through to some of the prisoners being released. If you aren't misty-eyed in the epilogue, you may need medical attention. Very moving. Highly, highly recommended.
An outstanding book! informative and heart wrenching! When Ms. Khan writes on p. 30, "I've been duped,"... "my government has duped me.", she speaks for the many of us who now recognize that our silence has allowed this insanity to develop, grow and continue. *)O(*
I was shocked by what goes on in Gitmo. And I feel discouraged that the American government is doing this. It's no wonder we rarely hear about the prison in the media. I wish more people would read this book and something more could be done. This is definitely an embarrassing time to be an American.
My only complaint was a lot of the stories seemed unfinished. The author took a trip to Afghanistan and described the first part of the trip. Suddenly she was back at Guantanamo Bay w...more
My only complaint was a lot of the stories seemed unfinished. The author took a trip to Afghanistan and described the first part of the trip. Suddenly she was back at Guantanamo Bay w...more
Just one more reminder of how society has become a mass of mindless trolls...do you believe the bullshit fed to you by mass-media outlets or personal accounts which detail individual lives? The world needs more people like Mahvish Khan.
KnowWhatILike
rated it
Recommends it for:
all adults, but particularly Americans
Recommended to KnowWhatILike by:
a friend from Detroit
This is a book that all Americans should read. However, the descriptions of the torture and humiliations forced on these prisoners, many of whom appear to be innocent, are very hard to take.
This one is not going to get out of my head--which is a good thing, because if you can easily forget this book, then pretty please go see a psychologist.
If you can't forget it, then let's go do something to end this incredible hypocrisy.
If you can't forget it, then let's go do something to end this incredible hypocrisy.
"Stories that need to be heard."
I love when stories that need to be told finally are. A light needed to be shown over the darkness that is Guantanamo. If we are not, we should be ashamed of what we are doing there. I have seen reviews of this book that asked for balance. Perhaps more importantly we should look for the balance in the hand of justice. There are no doubt bad people at Guantanamo but much has been written about them. Too little has been written about the many there wh...more
I love when stories that need to be told finally are. A light needed to be shown over the darkness that is Guantanamo. If we are not, we should be ashamed of what we are doing there. I have seen reviews of this book that asked for balance. Perhaps more importantly we should look for the balance in the hand of justice. There are no doubt bad people at Guantanamo but much has been written about them. Too little has been written about the many there wh...more
Though I felt this book was very biased towards the Detainees, I felt this book showed a lot of insight to the detainees held in Camp Delta. The author is able to establish a relationship with the Detainees and tell the stories from their point of view. Though, the stories she is told are askew from truth from some of well known documented events that actually occurred, it is good to see that some of the Detainee's voices were heard in creating this book. Overall, I did enjoy reading this book ...more
Very interesting book. Easy read, written in the form of a personal journal yet very insightful and informative on the real tragic storied of Guantanamo.
This book was amazing and incredibly sad. I knew that the government gave bounties to regular people for suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda invovlers but I had no idea of the level of corruption (The Pakistani government selling Arabs to collect money) Although it shouldnt surprise me, that government is so far gone from obeying laws of common sense.
This is a book every person should read, not only Americans. When people turn the other cheek, injustices like Guantanamo happen.
...more
This is a book every person should read, not only Americans. When people turn the other cheek, injustices like Guantanamo happen.
...more
If you want to go beyond the news articles and what politicians are saying about this infamous prison of so-called terrorists, read this book. When you start seeing the detainees are real people with wives, daughters, families who love them, and hear their stories of being caught up in the U.S. raid to catch anyone remotely suspected of crimes against the U.S, you start to wonder... what is innocence? how does greed and fear play into this? who are our enemies?
There are so many side...more
There are so many side...more
Colleen Clark
rated it
Recommended to Colleen by:
Found it in a bookstore in Damariscotta, Mainest
Shelves:
politics-terror,
afghan-cenasia
More about Guantanamo Bay and especially about the Afghan detainees and the whole legal team.
Extremely enlightening. Great book!
This was intense but so good
Dave Hansford
is currently reading it
Hell of a book
