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Guantanamo Voices: True Accounts from the World’s Most Infamous Prison
An anthology of illustrated narratives about the prison and the lives it changed forever
In January 2002, the United States sent a group of Muslim men they suspected of terrorism to a prison in Guantánamo Bay. They were the first of roughly 780 prisoners who would be held there—and 40 inmates still remain. Eighteen years later, very few of them have been ever charged with a crime.
In Guantánamo Voices, journalist Sarah Mirk and her team of diverse, talented graphic novel artists tell the stories of ten people whose lives have been shaped and affected by the prison, including former prisoners, lawyers, social workers, and service members. This collection of illustrated interviews explores the history of Guantánamo and the world post-9/11, presenting this complicated partisan issue through a new lens.
In January 2002, the United States sent a group of Muslim men they suspected of terrorism to a prison in Guantánamo Bay. They were the first of roughly 780 prisoners who would be held there—and 40 inmates still remain. Eighteen years later, very few of them have been ever charged with a crime.
In Guantánamo Voices, journalist Sarah Mirk and her team of diverse, talented graphic novel artists tell the stories of ten people whose lives have been shaped and affected by the prison, including former prisoners, lawyers, social workers, and service members. This collection of illustrated interviews explores the history of Guantánamo and the world post-9/11, presenting this complicated partisan issue through a new lens.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2020
34 people are currently reading
2852 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Mirk
16 books94 followersSarah Mirk is a social justice-focused writer and artist.
She began her career as a reporter for alternative weekly newspapers The Stranger and The Portland Mercury, where she covered political issues and numerous colorful characters. From 2013 to 2017, she worked as the online editor of national feminism and pop culture nonprofit Bitch Media. In that role, she edited and published critical work from dozens of writers, ran social media pages with a reach of 1.5 million readers, and hosted the engaging feminist podcast Popaganda, whose 10,000 listeners tuned into episodes on topics ranging from environmental justice to reproductive rights. Starting in January 2017, she moved on to become a contributing editor at graphic journalism website The Nib, where she writes and edits nonfiction comics about history, politics, and identity, and also works as a writer on The Nib's animation series, which garnered nine million views its first season. Her first graphic novel, Open Earth, is debuting from Limerence Press in 2018, featuring illustrations by Eva Cabrera and Claudia Aguirre.
She is the author of Sex from Scratch: Making Your Own Relationship Rules (Microcosm, 2014) an open-minded guide to dating that now in its second edition. Sarah also writes, draws, and edits print zines and comics, including the popular series Oregon History Comics, which tells little known and marginalized stories from Oregon’s past. She reviews graphic novels for Publisher's Weekly and is also a frequent political commentator
She began her career as a reporter for alternative weekly newspapers The Stranger and The Portland Mercury, where she covered political issues and numerous colorful characters. From 2013 to 2017, she worked as the online editor of national feminism and pop culture nonprofit Bitch Media. In that role, she edited and published critical work from dozens of writers, ran social media pages with a reach of 1.5 million readers, and hosted the engaging feminist podcast Popaganda, whose 10,000 listeners tuned into episodes on topics ranging from environmental justice to reproductive rights. Starting in January 2017, she moved on to become a contributing editor at graphic journalism website The Nib, where she writes and edits nonfiction comics about history, politics, and identity, and also works as a writer on The Nib's animation series, which garnered nine million views its first season. Her first graphic novel, Open Earth, is debuting from Limerence Press in 2018, featuring illustrations by Eva Cabrera and Claudia Aguirre.
She is the author of Sex from Scratch: Making Your Own Relationship Rules (Microcosm, 2014) an open-minded guide to dating that now in its second edition. Sarah also writes, draws, and edits print zines and comics, including the popular series Oregon History Comics, which tells little known and marginalized stories from Oregon’s past. She reviews graphic novels for Publisher's Weekly and is also a frequent political commentator
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November 16, 2025
In a Nutshell: An illustrated anthology containing true-life narratives related to the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison. Horrifying and infuriating. Definitely recommended, but make sure you are in a good headspace when you read this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The below review comes from an angry place; I apologise if it sounds aggressive. I don’t mean to hurt anyone’s sentiments, but I found it impossible to control my emotions while penning this.
I wrote and rewrote my review for this book thrice before finally giving up on all hopes of diplomatic politeness. Each time, no matter how much I tried to stay on point, I was going off topic into a rant about US politics (both present and past), its spiteful attitude towards people of non-white origin, and its total apathy to any issues faced by non-white people. Reading this book reminded me of all the reasons many countries have historically looked upon the US as the world’s bully.
In 2007, a Pakistani dramatic film was making waves across nations. ‘Khuda Kay Liye’ (released as ‘In the Name of God’ in international markets) narrated the story of two young Muslim brothers whose lives changed radically after the 9/11 attacks in the USA. Certain scenes in the movie were so shocking that my husband and I wondered if things were really that bad in the USA or if a certain cinematic license had been taken. Reading this book shows me that the movie was actually a toned-down version of the truth. The facts are even more horrendous. And unlike the movie, real life doesn’t always come with a happy or hopeful ending.
As the tagline indicates, this graphic anthology contains “true accounts from the world’s most infamous prison”. It begins with an introduction to Guantanamo Bay ”Detention Center”, explaining how it came into being and why it isn't called a prison and why its captives aren’t called “prisoners”. (The reason is so unbelievably devious!) The introduction is among the most powerful and bravest I have ever read in nonfiction. It offers several shocking stats related to the prison, not a single one of which is positive.
The main content comes in twelve chapters. The first and the last chapters document the author’s quest to capture some insider perspectives into the place. The middle ten chapters each contain a graphical depiction of original interviews taken by the author with various people who have experienced Guantanamo, whether as an inmate or a legal counsel or a military employee.
I won't go into major details as I want you to learn the story of these people from them directly. But here are some reveals that really caused me to blow my fuse:
1. The Guantanamo Base is in Cuba. If you are wondering why Cuba allows such atrocities on their soil, you need to read up on how the USA effectively stole this land from Cuba by a ridiculous one-sided, coerced and indefinite lease and is refusing to return the land.
2. Remember the interrogations you see in Hollywood movies? Yeah, those don’t happen in real life. Do I need to tell you that the Guantanamo interrogation techniques are a hundred times worse?
3. Post the 9/11 attacks, thousands of dollars were paid to Afghani and Pakistani locals in exchange for information about suspects. No one ever verified if the information they provided was legitimate or accurate. Common sense tells us how this system can be misused.
4. The inmates at Guantanamo are denied even habeas corpus, which is the basic right of all prisoners. Oh right, they are not “prisoners”! 🙄
5. There is a gift shop in Guantanamo filled with memorabilia! 😠 The cover art is an artistic rendition of a postcard sold in this shop.
Each subsequent interview is full of such aggravating content that I couldn’t even read this 200-page book at a go. I was forced to take a break after every chapter. Every narrative is full of just one thing: inhumanity. Or to be clear, the US inhumanity towards people of other ethnicities and religions (Read: Muslim). These actions have possibly gone without a major hue and cry either because the general public doesn’t know about them or because they aren’t concerned about them as the ones tortured aren’t white or because they genuinely believe the narrative they have been fed: that the inmates are terrorists.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the above, that my dominant emotion throughout this read was never sadness or sympathy. It was always anger, only anger. I had a massive headache by the time I completed the book, which unfortunately was late at night so I couldn’t even get a good night’s rest.
Thankfully, the book isn't entirely dismal. There are some good US citizens who are fighting the system from the inside. But this is akin to facing a tsunami while sitting in a small rowboat. Their position is quite weak and their chances of defeating it abysmal, but the very fact that they haven’t given up is worth praising. It was satisfying to read about one brave Indian-origin lawyer Alka Pradhan who is also a part of this group. I love her spunk.
The illustrations are unique in two ways. One, a special colour palette has been developed for this book by the main illustrator. It is filled with “sunset tones” to convey the dismay and hope of the stories. These hues create a very different kind of visual impact. Two, the book is illustrated by not one but twelve illustrators, with each person’s story being sketched by a separate artist. This add to the sensory experience, as the jump in artistic styles conveys visually the change in the narrative to the next person’s recollection.
The only point where the book could have done better for me was in having added details in some of the narratives. Given that the book tells us ten true-life accounts within a few pages, it doesn’t get enough space to develop all aspects of the person’s experience. For some of the stories, I’d have loved to have some more information.
I find it unbelievably ridiculous that this state of affairs, and even the “detention center”, still exists in 2025. This book was published in 2020, which means a lot of the information has been compiled from even before and some of it might be outdated. In January 2025, Trump signed a memorandum to expand the “Guantanamo Migrant Operations Center” to house up to 30,000 migrants under detention. This is separate from the military prison, and the migrant facility is run by the notorious ICE. I can't even imagine the situation there at present or in the near future.
Read this disturbing but brave book. Don’t dismiss this as a routine graphical nonfiction. This is investigative journalism in graphical format. After all, awareness is the first step towards action.
4.25 stars.
I just want to add… It is high time all countries realise that a majority of white-dominated economies have been founded on and funded with the blood and sweat of non-white people. So enough with the racism already!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The below review comes from an angry place; I apologise if it sounds aggressive. I don’t mean to hurt anyone’s sentiments, but I found it impossible to control my emotions while penning this.
I wrote and rewrote my review for this book thrice before finally giving up on all hopes of diplomatic politeness. Each time, no matter how much I tried to stay on point, I was going off topic into a rant about US politics (both present and past), its spiteful attitude towards people of non-white origin, and its total apathy to any issues faced by non-white people. Reading this book reminded me of all the reasons many countries have historically looked upon the US as the world’s bully.
In 2007, a Pakistani dramatic film was making waves across nations. ‘Khuda Kay Liye’ (released as ‘In the Name of God’ in international markets) narrated the story of two young Muslim brothers whose lives changed radically after the 9/11 attacks in the USA. Certain scenes in the movie were so shocking that my husband and I wondered if things were really that bad in the USA or if a certain cinematic license had been taken. Reading this book shows me that the movie was actually a toned-down version of the truth. The facts are even more horrendous. And unlike the movie, real life doesn’t always come with a happy or hopeful ending.
As the tagline indicates, this graphic anthology contains “true accounts from the world’s most infamous prison”. It begins with an introduction to Guantanamo Bay ”Detention Center”, explaining how it came into being and why it isn't called a prison and why its captives aren’t called “prisoners”. (The reason is so unbelievably devious!) The introduction is among the most powerful and bravest I have ever read in nonfiction. It offers several shocking stats related to the prison, not a single one of which is positive.
The main content comes in twelve chapters. The first and the last chapters document the author’s quest to capture some insider perspectives into the place. The middle ten chapters each contain a graphical depiction of original interviews taken by the author with various people who have experienced Guantanamo, whether as an inmate or a legal counsel or a military employee.
I won't go into major details as I want you to learn the story of these people from them directly. But here are some reveals that really caused me to blow my fuse:
1. The Guantanamo Base is in Cuba. If you are wondering why Cuba allows such atrocities on their soil, you need to read up on how the USA effectively stole this land from Cuba by a ridiculous one-sided, coerced and indefinite lease and is refusing to return the land.
2. Remember the interrogations you see in Hollywood movies? Yeah, those don’t happen in real life. Do I need to tell you that the Guantanamo interrogation techniques are a hundred times worse?
3. Post the 9/11 attacks, thousands of dollars were paid to Afghani and Pakistani locals in exchange for information about suspects. No one ever verified if the information they provided was legitimate or accurate. Common sense tells us how this system can be misused.
4. The inmates at Guantanamo are denied even habeas corpus, which is the basic right of all prisoners. Oh right, they are not “prisoners”! 🙄
5. There is a gift shop in Guantanamo filled with memorabilia! 😠 The cover art is an artistic rendition of a postcard sold in this shop.
Each subsequent interview is full of such aggravating content that I couldn’t even read this 200-page book at a go. I was forced to take a break after every chapter. Every narrative is full of just one thing: inhumanity. Or to be clear, the US inhumanity towards people of other ethnicities and religions (Read: Muslim). These actions have possibly gone without a major hue and cry either because the general public doesn’t know about them or because they aren’t concerned about them as the ones tortured aren’t white or because they genuinely believe the narrative they have been fed: that the inmates are terrorists.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the above, that my dominant emotion throughout this read was never sadness or sympathy. It was always anger, only anger. I had a massive headache by the time I completed the book, which unfortunately was late at night so I couldn’t even get a good night’s rest.
Thankfully, the book isn't entirely dismal. There are some good US citizens who are fighting the system from the inside. But this is akin to facing a tsunami while sitting in a small rowboat. Their position is quite weak and their chances of defeating it abysmal, but the very fact that they haven’t given up is worth praising. It was satisfying to read about one brave Indian-origin lawyer Alka Pradhan who is also a part of this group. I love her spunk.
The illustrations are unique in two ways. One, a special colour palette has been developed for this book by the main illustrator. It is filled with “sunset tones” to convey the dismay and hope of the stories. These hues create a very different kind of visual impact. Two, the book is illustrated by not one but twelve illustrators, with each person’s story being sketched by a separate artist. This add to the sensory experience, as the jump in artistic styles conveys visually the change in the narrative to the next person’s recollection.
The only point where the book could have done better for me was in having added details in some of the narratives. Given that the book tells us ten true-life accounts within a few pages, it doesn’t get enough space to develop all aspects of the person’s experience. For some of the stories, I’d have loved to have some more information.
I find it unbelievably ridiculous that this state of affairs, and even the “detention center”, still exists in 2025. This book was published in 2020, which means a lot of the information has been compiled from even before and some of it might be outdated. In January 2025, Trump signed a memorandum to expand the “Guantanamo Migrant Operations Center” to house up to 30,000 migrants under detention. This is separate from the military prison, and the migrant facility is run by the notorious ICE. I can't even imagine the situation there at present or in the near future.
Read this disturbing but brave book. Don’t dismiss this as a routine graphical nonfiction. This is investigative journalism in graphical format. After all, awareness is the first step towards action.
4.25 stars.
I just want to add… It is high time all countries realise that a majority of white-dominated economies have been founded on and funded with the blood and sweat of non-white people. So enough with the racism already!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||
June 1, 2023
This book made me incredibly angry. You think you know how insanely horrible a place Guantanamo Bay is, you think you've heard the worst, and of course it turns out this is a deep, deeeeep well of sorrow.
The book is a collection of transcribed interviews with all kinds of people connected to the prison at Guantanamo - from actual prisoners who were released (or former 'detainees', in the US government's Newspeak), to lawyers trying to get prisoners out of there, to soldier's who have served there. Each interview is illustrated by a different artist, and it helps to see real (well, illustrated real..) faces to ground the stories that are told.
And what stories they are.. people like to chirrup "it's Nineteen Eighty-Four!" at the drop of a hat, but Guantanamo actually qualifies to be called Orwellian. A seemingly impenetrable house of mirrors, a shaky structure of rules recurving on itself, without a visible exit. And towards the end of the book, just when you are at your angriest and simultaneously feel completely helpless, you are reminded not to give up, that giving up hope is exactly what 'the other side' wants. It helps, a tiny bit.
Read these stories, don't let them get away with this.
(Kindly received an ARC from Abrams through NetGalley)
The book is a collection of transcribed interviews with all kinds of people connected to the prison at Guantanamo - from actual prisoners who were released (or former 'detainees', in the US government's Newspeak), to lawyers trying to get prisoners out of there, to soldier's who have served there. Each interview is illustrated by a different artist, and it helps to see real (well, illustrated real..) faces to ground the stories that are told.
And what stories they are.. people like to chirrup "it's Nineteen Eighty-Four!" at the drop of a hat, but Guantanamo actually qualifies to be called Orwellian. A seemingly impenetrable house of mirrors, a shaky structure of rules recurving on itself, without a visible exit. And towards the end of the book, just when you are at your angriest and simultaneously feel completely helpless, you are reminded not to give up, that giving up hope is exactly what 'the other side' wants. It helps, a tiny bit.
Read these stories, don't let them get away with this.
(Kindly received an ARC from Abrams through NetGalley)
August 11, 2020
This illustrates some of the stories and the people which have been affected by Guantanamo, whether they be the prisoners or the the people trying to help them. In this collection of anthologies, we are shown some of the horrors that the prisoners themselves faced or the trails of the lawyers or staff trying to set them free. Some stories involve people recognizing the injustices of the prison from the very beginning, trying to stop it but ultimately failing in a system which is made to propagate hatred and racism. Some stories occur much after the truth is out to the public and lawyers who are representing the prisoners. They are fighting against a system who promises a fair trail but ultimately fails to provide its simplistic purpose for the prisoners.
This graphic novel doesn't shy away from using graphic images and is sometimes hard to read. Some of the story did bring me to tear. I think it succeeds in not only spreading information about the prison but also accurately conveying how the prisoners and the public felt about the prison. It provided multiple viewpoints towards the prison, some of them not as favourable such as the indifference felt by the staff. I did think some of the stories were better done than others.
Overall I highly recommend reading this book.
This graphic novel doesn't shy away from using graphic images and is sometimes hard to read. Some of the story did bring me to tear. I think it succeeds in not only spreading information about the prison but also accurately conveying how the prisoners and the public felt about the prison. It provided multiple viewpoints towards the prison, some of them not as favourable such as the indifference felt by the staff. I did think some of the stories were better done than others.
Overall I highly recommend reading this book.
November 12, 2020
An adherence to human and civil rights is an important distinction between us and terrorists. This book offers firsthand accounts of people who have run, been detained at, and/or opposed the disgraceful blot on America's reputation which is the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Important information illustrated well by eleven different artists.
Want a double-feature of misery? Team this with Guantánamo Kid: The True Story of Mohammed El-Gharani.
Want a double-feature of misery? Team this with Guantánamo Kid: The True Story of Mohammed El-Gharani.
September 4, 2020
Guantanamo Voices is a compilation of stories illustrating the atrocities at Guanatanamo Prison. People are imprisoned, tortured, and detained without proven reasons for years. Finally, when many of them get released they are sent to a foreign country, a place that they have never been before where they have to set up their life from scratch. But almost always these individuals come out of the prison, paranoid, disillusioned, and psychologically wrecked, making them unfit to blend in easily.
This is an unsettling, anger-inducing book. One where you can't believe what you are reading. It's about entire governments, right up to the President, colluding with the military to keep these people imprisoned merely on the basis of their religion. Their reasoning? If you are a Muslim, you are related to Osama and Al-Qaeda. The racism and Islamophobia that's inherent in the system and people's thinking is unthinkable.
The stories are a mix of experiences of both officials who worked in the prison as well as some of the prisoners. At once poignant and emotionally stirring, Guantanamo Voices is a plea for true justice. Although set in the US, the pain and sadness that the prisoners feel is universal.
It took Sarah Mirk ten years to bring this book to fruition due to various hurdles. It's amazing that she finally got it done, and done brilliantly with some wonderful artwork from various artists.
An absolute must-read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
This is an unsettling, anger-inducing book. One where you can't believe what you are reading. It's about entire governments, right up to the President, colluding with the military to keep these people imprisoned merely on the basis of their religion. Their reasoning? If you are a Muslim, you are related to Osama and Al-Qaeda. The racism and Islamophobia that's inherent in the system and people's thinking is unthinkable.
The stories are a mix of experiences of both officials who worked in the prison as well as some of the prisoners. At once poignant and emotionally stirring, Guantanamo Voices is a plea for true justice. Although set in the US, the pain and sadness that the prisoners feel is universal.
It took Sarah Mirk ten years to bring this book to fruition due to various hurdles. It's amazing that she finally got it done, and done brilliantly with some wonderful artwork from various artists.
An absolute must-read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Read
January 22, 2022this was so interesting. i didn’t know too much about the full history and details of guantanamo bay, just that it was a huge factor in the united states use of torture. and this taught me so much. i really appreciated how many different aspects where displayed, from prisoners to lawyers to ex guards. and the way each story had a different artist made it so dynamic. non fiction comics for the win.
June 13, 2020
This book is a tough read. This is a compelling graphic novel telling the story of the detainment camp. This book was very informative and quite emotional. Many awful things happen to the prisoners, and it was painful yet enlightening to know about them.
January 5, 2021
I was a child during 9/11. I remember watching my teachers cry and not understanding why. Just that something bad happened and a lot of people died. I remember my mom frantically contacting friends that lived/worked in New York to make sure they were okay. I remember the sense of pride that swelled in the hearts of Americans once it was deemed that Terrorists had done this and that the government was going to get them. I remember breaking my arm in middle school and watching Operation Iraqi Freedom on basic cable at all hours of the day and night and thinking that it looked like my friend Cole's video games. Definitely not understanding that real people were being murdered. Innocent people. Families. All for the sake of 'getting our man'. Finally, I remember hearing talks of Guantanamo Bay. It's a place for bad people. For 'the worst of the worst'. THESE are the people that killed Americans. It's their fault that buildings were leveled. THESE PEOPLE. Guantanamo/ Camp XRay / Camp Delta, etc. were never explained as being a direct response to 9/11. To me, it was just always there. GITMO. Bad people go there and they stay there. Forever. Because that's justice.
In truth, I didn't have the faintest idea about what was actually happening. I don't remember hearing about towns being pamphlet-ed for bounties and people being kidnapped on the street, in their homes through simple word of mouth. I don't remember being told that this attack against America was in response to many, many atrocities that the American government has committed against any and every other country over the course of DECADES. There were no reports about wars funded or countries bullied. The attacks were always presented in a 'why are they doing this to us', and never 'what could we have done or not done to prevent this from happening'.
Guantanamo was never presented as an internment camp on stolen land. The war crimes perpetuated on mostly innocent people were never taught. The lack of justice for these authorities was never mentioned in the hours and hours of news footage I watched. In my school, racial slurs were thrown around to anyone with brown skin. People that were friends on 9/10 could not associate on 9/12. Even if they weren't from the Middle East, their brown skin and religious faith may rub off. It was a disgusting display of xenophobia that I was luckily not affected by. But, my friends were and friends I've made since then were. Had their houses vandalized and their lives threatened simply for existing.
The book does a very good job of sharing many individuals voices: those that have been imprisoned, those previously incarcerated, folks working at Guantanamo today and individuals that were there when it was opened. Individuals that lost their jobs for not following orders and those that continue to fight for the rights of those still imprisoned. The book talks about the missteps made by the US government, the close calls that could have closed these facilities and how no politician wants to be left holding the bag if another terror attack happens once closed. But, terrorist actions continue to happen in America and happen around the world. The people causing disorganization are not locked away in Guantanamo. They're walking free to cause disorder by shooting up a nightclub or bombing a marathon or driving their car through protesters of police violence. While a handful of al-Queda sympathizers were actually charged, many of the men held at Guantanamo have either been cleared to leave and not been allowed to do so or are in a perpetual time suck of the 'justice system' with no end in sight. It honestly reminds me of our American prison system, but I will save that rant for another book.
This is the longest review I've ever done on GRs and I didn't really realize I had so much to say, but thanks for reading and please read this book.
In truth, I didn't have the faintest idea about what was actually happening. I don't remember hearing about towns being pamphlet-ed for bounties and people being kidnapped on the street, in their homes through simple word of mouth. I don't remember being told that this attack against America was in response to many, many atrocities that the American government has committed against any and every other country over the course of DECADES. There were no reports about wars funded or countries bullied. The attacks were always presented in a 'why are they doing this to us', and never 'what could we have done or not done to prevent this from happening'.
Guantanamo was never presented as an internment camp on stolen land. The war crimes perpetuated on mostly innocent people were never taught. The lack of justice for these authorities was never mentioned in the hours and hours of news footage I watched. In my school, racial slurs were thrown around to anyone with brown skin. People that were friends on 9/10 could not associate on 9/12. Even if they weren't from the Middle East, their brown skin and religious faith may rub off. It was a disgusting display of xenophobia that I was luckily not affected by. But, my friends were and friends I've made since then were. Had their houses vandalized and their lives threatened simply for existing.
The book does a very good job of sharing many individuals voices: those that have been imprisoned, those previously incarcerated, folks working at Guantanamo today and individuals that were there when it was opened. Individuals that lost their jobs for not following orders and those that continue to fight for the rights of those still imprisoned. The book talks about the missteps made by the US government, the close calls that could have closed these facilities and how no politician wants to be left holding the bag if another terror attack happens once closed. But, terrorist actions continue to happen in America and happen around the world. The people causing disorganization are not locked away in Guantanamo. They're walking free to cause disorder by shooting up a nightclub or bombing a marathon or driving their car through protesters of police violence. While a handful of al-Queda sympathizers were actually charged, many of the men held at Guantanamo have either been cleared to leave and not been allowed to do so or are in a perpetual time suck of the 'justice system' with no end in sight. It honestly reminds me of our American prison system, but I will save that rant for another book.
This is the longest review I've ever done on GRs and I didn't really realize I had so much to say, but thanks for reading and please read this book.
August 11, 2020
This is an absolutely phenomenal graphic novel. It tells the real-life stories of the people working and living in the prison at Guantanamo.
I learned about Guantanamo during my MA in Politics in 2012-16 and was instantly reminded of the camps that Nazi Germany operated during WWII. History repeats itself time upon time, as we watch certain religious, ethnic and racial groups profiled and their lives made a living hell. Today, Islamophobia is on the rise and it is something we each have a responsibility to squash within our communities. Guantanamo was established upon - and is maintained by - racism and Islamophobia.
When I read They Called Us Enemy by George Takei earlier this year, I was outraged about the way Japanese people living in America were treated during the Second World War. The truth is that the same, if not worse, is happening today.
The US and UK Government created a war with an ideology (the War on Terror) in order to invade countries in the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region, demonise an entire religion and systematically oppress and undermine their existence in the UK, US and (latterly) European countries. It is terrifying to watch history repeat itself in this way.
Guantanamo prison serves as a constant, physical reminder of the racism inherent in the US Government's policies and practices. To place it offshore was, simply put, an easy way to avoid abiding by US constitutional law. However, it was also a way for the US to dial down anti-Guantanamo activism. Had the prison been located on US soil, I (possibly naively) think more US citizens would be closely monitoring its activities and participating in active protests against its existence. As horrifying as it is, the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind.
Guantanamo Voices gives space for the stories of the people who lived and worked in the prison to be heard. For the prisoners who have been deeply dehumanised by US and UK media, Guantanamo Voices stands strong as a force of humanity and a rallying cry for the abolishment of the use of the base at Guantanamo as a site of imprisonment.
I hope their cry is heard and answered.
I think every American citizen should read this book. Every single one. Each individual has a duty to learn about what's going on in that offshore prison: about the way that the prisoners were captured, the US-sanctioned torture (paid for with their taxes), the illegal detainment of hundreds of people, the role of the military in upholding the prison and the continued imprisonment of people who have been deemed to pose no threat to the United States of America.
It is a deeply unsettling read, as it should be, but I have put some content warnings below. The torture scenes were extremely upsetting for me to read, as a strong human right advocate, but I'm glad that the brutality of what happens in the prison is not neglected from this narrative.
I cannot recommend Guantanamo Voices highly enough!
Content warnings: torture, nudity, war, violence, guns.
I learned about Guantanamo during my MA in Politics in 2012-16 and was instantly reminded of the camps that Nazi Germany operated during WWII. History repeats itself time upon time, as we watch certain religious, ethnic and racial groups profiled and their lives made a living hell. Today, Islamophobia is on the rise and it is something we each have a responsibility to squash within our communities. Guantanamo was established upon - and is maintained by - racism and Islamophobia.
When I read They Called Us Enemy by George Takei earlier this year, I was outraged about the way Japanese people living in America were treated during the Second World War. The truth is that the same, if not worse, is happening today.
The US and UK Government created a war with an ideology (the War on Terror) in order to invade countries in the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region, demonise an entire religion and systematically oppress and undermine their existence in the UK, US and (latterly) European countries. It is terrifying to watch history repeat itself in this way.
Guantanamo prison serves as a constant, physical reminder of the racism inherent in the US Government's policies and practices. To place it offshore was, simply put, an easy way to avoid abiding by US constitutional law. However, it was also a way for the US to dial down anti-Guantanamo activism. Had the prison been located on US soil, I (possibly naively) think more US citizens would be closely monitoring its activities and participating in active protests against its existence. As horrifying as it is, the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind.
Guantanamo Voices gives space for the stories of the people who lived and worked in the prison to be heard. For the prisoners who have been deeply dehumanised by US and UK media, Guantanamo Voices stands strong as a force of humanity and a rallying cry for the abolishment of the use of the base at Guantanamo as a site of imprisonment.
I hope their cry is heard and answered.
I think every American citizen should read this book. Every single one. Each individual has a duty to learn about what's going on in that offshore prison: about the way that the prisoners were captured, the US-sanctioned torture (paid for with their taxes), the illegal detainment of hundreds of people, the role of the military in upholding the prison and the continued imprisonment of people who have been deemed to pose no threat to the United States of America.
It is a deeply unsettling read, as it should be, but I have put some content warnings below. The torture scenes were extremely upsetting for me to read, as a strong human right advocate, but I'm glad that the brutality of what happens in the prison is not neglected from this narrative.
I cannot recommend Guantanamo Voices highly enough!
Content warnings: torture, nudity, war, violence, guns.
May 12, 2020
The problem with Americans is that we have a short attention span. It does not help that the media does too. And although I like to think that I keep uπ on current events, and that I have followed everything that happened with Guantanamo, this book revealed that I have not, and do not, and could not know all.
This very detailed non-fiction book follows some of the men imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, who have never been charged with a crime. Which is against the constitution. But because we are holding them on Cuban soil, somehow we get away with it? Never mind that Cuba has been trying to get us to leave since Castro first came to power.
Sarah goes there and interviews some of the workers there, who are told the same line that these are the worst of the worse. And yet, how long has it been that they have been held there? With no trail? With no charge?
Each section is drawn by a different artist. Some concentrate on stories of the prisoners themselves. Some focus on the people who have tried to help the prisoners.
Sad. Gripping. This book shines a bright light on information that the current government would rather keep buried.
Even if you think you know all there is to know about Guantanamo, you should pick up this book to see just what is going on in reality.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
This very detailed non-fiction book follows some of the men imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, who have never been charged with a crime. Which is against the constitution. But because we are holding them on Cuban soil, somehow we get away with it? Never mind that Cuba has been trying to get us to leave since Castro first came to power.
Sarah goes there and interviews some of the workers there, who are told the same line that these are the worst of the worse. And yet, how long has it been that they have been held there? With no trail? With no charge?
Each section is drawn by a different artist. Some concentrate on stories of the prisoners themselves. Some focus on the people who have tried to help the prisoners.
Sad. Gripping. This book shines a bright light on information that the current government would rather keep buried.
Even if you think you know all there is to know about Guantanamo, you should pick up this book to see just what is going on in reality.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
May 9, 2020
Thank you Abrams Publishing and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy
Available September 8th 2020
Guantanamo Bay is, as President George Bush famously declared it, an example of the "worst of the worst" in that it shows the dark side of American History. In Sarah Mirk's graphic anthology, "Guantanamo Voices", the malignant and horrific truth of the events that took place in Guantanamo come to life. With accounts from guards, defense attorneys, prosecutors and ex-detainees, Mirk places a face and a story to each of the 7600 page human rights violations committed on Guantanamo. It is a brutal read. I cried several times, especially at the story of Mansoor Adayfi, a prisoner who risked his life trying to protect the animals at the camp. To honor the memories of those who have suffered and continue to suffer endlessly under the American surveillance state, "Guantanamo Voices" is a necessary read.
Available September 8th 2020
Guantanamo Bay is, as President George Bush famously declared it, an example of the "worst of the worst" in that it shows the dark side of American History. In Sarah Mirk's graphic anthology, "Guantanamo Voices", the malignant and horrific truth of the events that took place in Guantanamo come to life. With accounts from guards, defense attorneys, prosecutors and ex-detainees, Mirk places a face and a story to each of the 7600 page human rights violations committed on Guantanamo. It is a brutal read. I cried several times, especially at the story of Mansoor Adayfi, a prisoner who risked his life trying to protect the animals at the camp. To honor the memories of those who have suffered and continue to suffer endlessly under the American surveillance state, "Guantanamo Voices" is a necessary read.
August 19, 2020
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a fee copy in exchange for an honest review.
I LOVED this! This is such an important read because of everything that happened in Quantanamo. I think this is definitely a new favourite of mine. Even though I thought the art work wasn't really my style it didn't bother me with the story because the story was so captivating that it was so easily readable. Not in a way of no event happening but in a way of the way the comic it written.
I would love to read more about Quantanamo and and everything that happened there. Since a comic can never tell the whole story and I am now motivated to learn more about it. I can't wait.
Definitely recommend
I LOVED this! This is such an important read because of everything that happened in Quantanamo. I think this is definitely a new favourite of mine. Even though I thought the art work wasn't really my style it didn't bother me with the story because the story was so captivating that it was so easily readable. Not in a way of no event happening but in a way of the way the comic it written.
I would love to read more about Quantanamo and and everything that happened there. Since a comic can never tell the whole story and I am now motivated to learn more about it. I can't wait.
Definitely recommend
July 5, 2021
GENEVA CONVENTIONS, ARTICLE 103
A prisoner of war shall not be confined while awaiting trial unless a member of the armed forces of the Detaining Power would be so confined if he were accused of a similar offence, or if it is essential to do so in the interests of national security. In no circumstances shall this confinement exceed three months.
By now there is quite the body of work and mountain of evidence on this subject and this is another essential addition, quite frankly another sickening dossier on one of the darkest and most puzzling chapters in America’s history, as it continues to make a bid to become one of the most feared and hated nations in history.
“The man who wrote the memos providing legal cover for torture at the camps is today a law professor at Berkley. The president who oversaw the creation of the camps is today a respected elder statesman, appearing on daytime TV shows and peddling portraits of the soldiers he sent to be maimed in an illegal war.”
Here’s one for you, ready?...What do you think would happen if you dropped millions of leaflets which read,
“Get wealth and power beyond your dreams. Help the Anti-Taliban Forces rid Afghanistan of murderers and terrorists. You can receive millions of dollars for helping the Anti-Taliban force catch Al-Qaeda and Taliban murderers.”
Into one of the poorest and most ignorant parts of the world?...80% of prisoners were turned over to the US for bounties. ($3,000 - $30,000) somewhat different to the millions of dollars. It costs $445 million to run per year, working out at $11 million per prisoner. Prisoners held there range from 13-83 in age. As of 2019 the US has only charged 2% of prisoners with a crime. Or what about the case of Mansoor Adayfi, locked up for 14 and a half years and yet he was never charged with a single crime. When he was eventually released in 2016, he was sent to Serbia, a country he had never been to.
We all know that Obama tried to close Guantanamo but was blocked by congress, but he could have issued an executive order to close it and he chose not to do that, fearing the political fallout. Yet he had no qualms about escalating drone warfare at the same time.
There are some positives in here, the work done by the likes of Matthew Diaz, a person who at huge personal risk and sacrifice did the right thing which led to him losing his liberty, career and savings for his daughter’s college fund, whilst others in the military were rewarded and promoted for colluding in criminal acts of human rights abuses etc.
The level of ignorance, stupidity and cruelty around the prison complex is frankly astonishing. We are talking about breath taking levels. It’s like they had trained up an army (extended all the way to the very top) of Donald Trumps and unleashed them upon the rest of the world, and let them make up their own rules as they went along, which is of course what they did.
We get treated to the euphemistic language the Americans have invented in a bid to try and sanitise and tame the acts of illegal torture and imprisonment, so using these new words we now know that the next time we hear an American spokesman talk about prison camps in China, we can tell them that no they are not prisons they are “detention facilities” and they are not being tortured they are merely being subjected to “Intense interrogation”.
The art work is lovely too, the different styles are all top drawer and the colour palette works beautifully to contrast with the horror of the subject matter. This is a wonderful piece of work which you should be stocked in every library, school and college throughout America, to remind their own people what their country has been doing and what they continue to do in their name. After all its them who will be picking up the real cost down the line.
There are so many puzzling and bizarre aspects to Guantanamo, the blatant lies, America’s delusion of exceptionalism, and the presence of a gift shop?...All overseen by a band of ignorant meatheads, bullies and bureaucrats. It is like the perfect embodiment about every single thing that is wrong in America, and yet still so many seem totally oblivious to this. One thing is for sure, and that is that Guantanamo prison will ensure to act as a motivational force for another generation of Muslim extremists the world over. God bless America.
June 14, 2021
Sorry in advance because I am MAD. This book collects the stories of ten people who had something to do with the Guantánamo Bay prison, including former prisoners, lawyers, caseworkers, and guards and military members. The prison saw its first inmates in 2002 -- Muslim detainees who were suspected of terrorism. Over the next 19 years, racism and Islamophobia would keep this place open (a fact that shouldn’t be hard to believe when you acknowledge that these are the same foundational concepts that our country bases its policies and practices on).
Of the 780 people who landed here, only a handful were ever charged with a crime. And only so many were released, but not without detrimental physical and psychological suffering, and oftentimes, release into a country they have never been to and would have trouble integrating into. Of those who survived and were not released, 40 inmates remain today. It’s been almost 20 years and the prison has remained open through several presidencies, including Barack Obama who promised but failed to close the prison. It remains open today as a disgraceful mark on our country’s already pretty blemished reputation.
Everyone involved, from presidents to the military they colluded and also those who sympathize with them with will have to answer for this whether in their current life or the next. The rest of us have the obligation to understand what happened here and do some work to help dismantle this system and end the oppression it is built to perpetuate.
Review-wise, I don’t love how the interviews focus on the former guards and military figures to which the book refers as ‘veterans’ of Guantanamo Bay. I have no problem being candid about this – I do not feel sympathy for people who chose this job and suffered emotionally because of it. I do not support or view the US military as anything but inhumane and they serve absolutely no one and no country by keeping people here and subjecting them to torture on the basis of ~possibly~ being affiliated with terrorist groups (not to mention their baseless correlation between having a certain skin color/religion and being a terrorist).
The author chose to humanize these people and I do not fuck with that; for example, citing that one of the former guards liked punk music and his favorite band was Sonic Youth. Some of them recognized something wrong was going on (fucking duh) and tried to stop it, but we all should know by now you can’t change a system from the inside, especially not one built to perpetuate the monstrous state we’re in now. These people who attempted to change something ultimately faced doomed fates. I understand that this book was not written to cater to my specific views so I don’t think that these choices make the book bad, but they are not choices I would have made.
Anyway – I am certain this was not an easy book to make happen, with the interviews being so sensitive and the massive amounts of trauma that they bring to the surface. So I commend the author for getting this done and to the interviewees, especially the former prisoners, for their bravery and transparency. The art is split up into different sections illustrated by different artists who bring the interviews to life. It was all very well done.
Of the 780 people who landed here, only a handful were ever charged with a crime. And only so many were released, but not without detrimental physical and psychological suffering, and oftentimes, release into a country they have never been to and would have trouble integrating into. Of those who survived and were not released, 40 inmates remain today. It’s been almost 20 years and the prison has remained open through several presidencies, including Barack Obama who promised but failed to close the prison. It remains open today as a disgraceful mark on our country’s already pretty blemished reputation.
Everyone involved, from presidents to the military they colluded and also those who sympathize with them with will have to answer for this whether in their current life or the next. The rest of us have the obligation to understand what happened here and do some work to help dismantle this system and end the oppression it is built to perpetuate.
Review-wise, I don’t love how the interviews focus on the former guards and military figures to which the book refers as ‘veterans’ of Guantanamo Bay. I have no problem being candid about this – I do not feel sympathy for people who chose this job and suffered emotionally because of it. I do not support or view the US military as anything but inhumane and they serve absolutely no one and no country by keeping people here and subjecting them to torture on the basis of ~possibly~ being affiliated with terrorist groups (not to mention their baseless correlation between having a certain skin color/religion and being a terrorist).
The author chose to humanize these people and I do not fuck with that; for example, citing that one of the former guards liked punk music and his favorite band was Sonic Youth. Some of them recognized something wrong was going on (fucking duh) and tried to stop it, but we all should know by now you can’t change a system from the inside, especially not one built to perpetuate the monstrous state we’re in now. These people who attempted to change something ultimately faced doomed fates. I understand that this book was not written to cater to my specific views so I don’t think that these choices make the book bad, but they are not choices I would have made.
Anyway – I am certain this was not an easy book to make happen, with the interviews being so sensitive and the massive amounts of trauma that they bring to the surface. So I commend the author for getting this done and to the interviewees, especially the former prisoners, for their bravery and transparency. The art is split up into different sections illustrated by different artists who bring the interviews to life. It was all very well done.
May 26, 2020
I was born in 94, so most of what I had heard about Guantanamo was when I was quite a bit younger. I have only really had a vague sense of what was going on there. I have believed it should be shut down due to illegal interrogation methods. But I was also under the impression that the prisoners there had concrete ties to terrorist groups. I mention all this to tell you that this book made me so much more informed about the topic. And I am devastated that this has been going on for so long, with so little evidence that 90% of these prisoners even had anything to do with a terrorist organization. This was a supremely difficult read, but I am glad I did it. I think it's important that others read this too. Especially in light of the camps immigrants are being held in. It's hard to hope that America will ever learn it's lesson and stop imprisoning people due to misplaced fear and extreme ignorance. I hope this book serves to educate others in the way it has me and also remind us that we always need to be fighting for the unjust treatment and imprisonment of people in our country. Especially those from marginalized communities.
Thank you to Abrams and Netgalley for providing with with a free copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
Thank you to Abrams and Netgalley for providing with with a free copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
June 16, 2020
First thoughts: Wow! Having spent several years working in D.C., I understand a bit about our government and how it works, so some of the things in this book didn't surprise me. The extent to which they took things surprised me and shamed me. Gitmo is such a horror. I see it as our version of Dachau. It never should have been, it needs to be closed down and apologized for, but it can never be lived down as a dark stain on our country's history. Those who can be proven to be guilty should be punished. Those who cannot, need to be given their lives back in full.
The book is well researched, well written and the artwork is wonderful. The graphic book (comic) design of it makes it's message all that much more powerful, I think. The different styles of the various artists blend well and the color palette is gorgeous. Highly recommended.
The book is well researched, well written and the artwork is wonderful. The graphic book (comic) design of it makes it's message all that much more powerful, I think. The different styles of the various artists blend well and the color palette is gorgeous. Highly recommended.
May 10, 2024
Thank you for writing this! I’ve always known about Guantanamo but only on the surface and being able to read real encounters of those actually there and their thoughts and experiences has been truly eye opening.
I wish more people would pick up this book and try to have an open mind about the people held there.
For me this was an incredibly well written and insightful story with such purpose, albeit a frustrating read (thanks to those in US GOV!)
Really something that will stay with me for a while. I’ll be adding this to my library when it’s out!
I wish more people would pick up this book and try to have an open mind about the people held there.
For me this was an incredibly well written and insightful story with such purpose, albeit a frustrating read (thanks to those in US GOV!)
Really something that will stay with me for a while. I’ll be adding this to my library when it’s out!
May 30, 2024
THE WAR CRIMINALS IN GOV'T SHOULD BE THE ONES LOCKED UP OH MY GODDD. each chapter is a different account of gitmo and is drawn by a diff artist. stunning visuals that can be easily consumed by anyone, highly recommend
June 17, 2020
http://www.barharukiya.co.uk/guantana...
Something like Guantanamo Voices is a difficult thing to review, much like Art Spiegelman's "Maus", it exists as a documentation of the horrors that humans can carry out on each other, like Maus, it's not intended to be "enjoyed", its there to educate, using a medium that many (wrongly) associate with being juvenile, and thus circumventing the reader's expectations? However, unlike Spiegelman's diary of his father's experiences of being a Polish Jew during the Second World War, it's unlikely to be held up as being something that everyone should read, and that's because it will be far too easy for it to be brushed aside as being unpatriotic by its American audience, an audience who aren't comfortable with challenging the behaviours of their own country and its leaders.
This comic book/graphic novel is a mirror, its intention is to be held up in front of people who defend their countries actions, not just Americans, but other members of the Allied forces that invaded Afghanistan and Iraq after the events of September 11, 2001. It isn't an attempt to say the occupations of those countries was incorrect, its entire purpose is to show that just because a nation declares that they are the good guys, it doesn't mean that they can't or won't commit atrocities, war crimes and take things way too far, it exists to show us that in amongst all of this, the torture, the secrecy, the breaking of the Geneva Convention, there were also still people questioning everything they saw or were asked to do and it's hard not to see how political changes and attitudes from that period in history have also led us down the path we're currently on in regards to Police Brutality.
This isn't just one person's tale, and it's not one-sided either, Mirk has been cautious to collate together interviews from people who served in Guantanamo, people who were supposed to be responsible for its detainee's (and an important distinction is made early on that people held there were never, ever regarded as prisoners as no charges were held against them) and the detainee's themselves, stats are used in order to tell the history of the location, including that Cuba has been trying to take the land back from the US since the '50s.
Now, this collection of interviews could have been collected into a paperback that laid everything out on the table, with no visual's to give the reader an idea of the conditions at the Detention Centre, but the choice to use the medium of a graphic novel works in its favour, early on we hear the story of Mark Fallon who is listed as being "Former Chief of Middle East Counterintelligence Operations for Naval Criminal Investigative Service", who thought his responsibility was to be in charge of interrogation techniques used upon the detainee's, he discovers early on though that the people being held there had been reported to have links to Al'Qaeda, that these links were unfounded and often untrue, in fact, none of the people held was even on the list of people NCIS knew to be members of al-Qaeda. We see first hand his dismay as he finds his powers taken away from him and his attempts to try and prevent evidence being destroyed and its thanks to Gerardo Alba's artwork that we feel the tension he must have felt at going against the actions of the country he had sworn to protect.
It's the artwork, then, that makes this stand out amongst other literature about America's War on Terrorism, an with each interview being illustrated by a different artist, we get a variety of unique styles, some typical Indie comic book whilst some wouldn't look out of place as political cartoons in a newspaper, and as a whole, the work comes together to create a disturbing look into a political power that will do absolutely anything in order to keep its grip on protecting its "freedoms".
Something like Guantanamo Voices is a difficult thing to review, much like Art Spiegelman's "Maus", it exists as a documentation of the horrors that humans can carry out on each other, like Maus, it's not intended to be "enjoyed", its there to educate, using a medium that many (wrongly) associate with being juvenile, and thus circumventing the reader's expectations? However, unlike Spiegelman's diary of his father's experiences of being a Polish Jew during the Second World War, it's unlikely to be held up as being something that everyone should read, and that's because it will be far too easy for it to be brushed aside as being unpatriotic by its American audience, an audience who aren't comfortable with challenging the behaviours of their own country and its leaders.
This comic book/graphic novel is a mirror, its intention is to be held up in front of people who defend their countries actions, not just Americans, but other members of the Allied forces that invaded Afghanistan and Iraq after the events of September 11, 2001. It isn't an attempt to say the occupations of those countries was incorrect, its entire purpose is to show that just because a nation declares that they are the good guys, it doesn't mean that they can't or won't commit atrocities, war crimes and take things way too far, it exists to show us that in amongst all of this, the torture, the secrecy, the breaking of the Geneva Convention, there were also still people questioning everything they saw or were asked to do and it's hard not to see how political changes and attitudes from that period in history have also led us down the path we're currently on in regards to Police Brutality.
This isn't just one person's tale, and it's not one-sided either, Mirk has been cautious to collate together interviews from people who served in Guantanamo, people who were supposed to be responsible for its detainee's (and an important distinction is made early on that people held there were never, ever regarded as prisoners as no charges were held against them) and the detainee's themselves, stats are used in order to tell the history of the location, including that Cuba has been trying to take the land back from the US since the '50s.
Now, this collection of interviews could have been collected into a paperback that laid everything out on the table, with no visual's to give the reader an idea of the conditions at the Detention Centre, but the choice to use the medium of a graphic novel works in its favour, early on we hear the story of Mark Fallon who is listed as being "Former Chief of Middle East Counterintelligence Operations for Naval Criminal Investigative Service", who thought his responsibility was to be in charge of interrogation techniques used upon the detainee's, he discovers early on though that the people being held there had been reported to have links to Al'Qaeda, that these links were unfounded and often untrue, in fact, none of the people held was even on the list of people NCIS knew to be members of al-Qaeda. We see first hand his dismay as he finds his powers taken away from him and his attempts to try and prevent evidence being destroyed and its thanks to Gerardo Alba's artwork that we feel the tension he must have felt at going against the actions of the country he had sworn to protect.
It's the artwork, then, that makes this stand out amongst other literature about America's War on Terrorism, an with each interview being illustrated by a different artist, we get a variety of unique styles, some typical Indie comic book whilst some wouldn't look out of place as political cartoons in a newspaper, and as a whole, the work comes together to create a disturbing look into a political power that will do absolutely anything in order to keep its grip on protecting its "freedoms".
July 8, 2021
I won this book thanks to the very iconic Morganne Biddle. And when it arrived, I was taken aback by how beautiful the cover was. I didn’t know a whole bunch about Guantanamo Bay beyond the “joke” about how if you don’t know what water boarding or Guantanamo Bay was, it may sound like a nice trip. (It’s not ok, I’m not saying it is - just that that’s my knowledge going in)
Growing up in a post 9/11 world, I think a lot of the politics and policies that were passed went above my head. I don’t remember ever learning about 9/11, it just has always been in my memory. I knew it was horrible, I knew people that had died from the attacks, and I knew it started a war.
But this book has filled in the gaps of my knowledge, and frankly it has confirmed somethings that in recent years have become apparent. In light of Trump and his Muslim Ban, France banning Burqas, the consistent and false vilifying of Muslim people, China capturing, detaining, and killing practicing Muslims, (I could go on) I knew that there was something more to the stories we’ve been told.
This book takes you through the reality of Guantanamo Bay, the history of the base itself, and how the hundreds of men (SOME AS YOUNG AS 13) got there. The book time and time again emphasizes that the way it is able to stay functional is based in fear mongering and a false rhetoric. Sure, the intention might have been to find and try the group responsible for 9/11. But in reality what happened was something else entirely. We’re told that “the worst of the worst” are kept there. But in reality? Most of the men there were sold off, after their neighbors received bounty fliers from the U.S. You have people being detained on no charge, for an indefinite amount of time, on land that is not owned by the US. That last part is intentional, if it’s not US lands, US laws don’t have to apply. And that is what has enabled the continuation of this prison being opened.
I highly encourage you to read this book, it will make you angry & ashamed & will leave you with a fire under your ass to actually raise awareness & make change happen.
Growing up in a post 9/11 world, I think a lot of the politics and policies that were passed went above my head. I don’t remember ever learning about 9/11, it just has always been in my memory. I knew it was horrible, I knew people that had died from the attacks, and I knew it started a war.
But this book has filled in the gaps of my knowledge, and frankly it has confirmed somethings that in recent years have become apparent. In light of Trump and his Muslim Ban, France banning Burqas, the consistent and false vilifying of Muslim people, China capturing, detaining, and killing practicing Muslims, (I could go on) I knew that there was something more to the stories we’ve been told.
This book takes you through the reality of Guantanamo Bay, the history of the base itself, and how the hundreds of men (SOME AS YOUNG AS 13) got there. The book time and time again emphasizes that the way it is able to stay functional is based in fear mongering and a false rhetoric. Sure, the intention might have been to find and try the group responsible for 9/11. But in reality what happened was something else entirely. We’re told that “the worst of the worst” are kept there. But in reality? Most of the men there were sold off, after their neighbors received bounty fliers from the U.S. You have people being detained on no charge, for an indefinite amount of time, on land that is not owned by the US. That last part is intentional, if it’s not US lands, US laws don’t have to apply. And that is what has enabled the continuation of this prison being opened.
I highly encourage you to read this book, it will make you angry & ashamed & will leave you with a fire under your ass to actually raise awareness & make change happen.
May 16, 2020
Firstly thank you to Abrams Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.
I have always wanted to obtain some detailed information and knowledge about Guantanamo Bay, its history, formation and prisoners. And this book was just what I was looking for.
It is anthology of illustrated narratives by journalist Sarah Mirk about the prison,former prisoners, lawyers, social workers, and service members. It depicts the horror of the place and the lives that it has affected.
This book is so well written and it just invokes so much anger and sadness within you about the cruelty and injustice that the prisoners have faced. Im a believer of justice and I hope and pray these prisoners get justice because while it is important to punish the guilty, it is also equally important to protect the innocent.
I have always wanted to obtain some detailed information and knowledge about Guantanamo Bay, its history, formation and prisoners. And this book was just what I was looking for.
It is anthology of illustrated narratives by journalist Sarah Mirk about the prison,former prisoners, lawyers, social workers, and service members. It depicts the horror of the place and the lives that it has affected.
This book is so well written and it just invokes so much anger and sadness within you about the cruelty and injustice that the prisoners have faced. Im a believer of justice and I hope and pray these prisoners get justice because while it is important to punish the guilty, it is also equally important to protect the innocent.
March 3, 2021
Recommended by Julia. Read her review on the Cook Memorial Public Library blog, Shelf Life: https://shelflife.cooklib.org/2021/02...
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...
April 6, 2021
The US is a country of mother fucking war criminals. This is an amazing graphic novel that humanizing these individuals that are imprisoned in Guantanamo indefinitely under false pretenses. It reveals each of our part in condoning this illegal activity and the bully's ego that permeates American culture and actions. Heartbreaking and maddening as hell.
August 31, 2021
Spencer rated this book 5 stars.
July 31, 2023
I was so ignorant about this.
March 31, 2021
I was trying to explain why Guantanamo Voices worked so potently for me to somebody and I think it centres on the inescapability of the image. If I were to say to you, for example, the word "cat", it might mean a thousand things. A tabby, a grey, white, ginger; stood, walking, sleeping, whatever. Your idea of that word is yours and I can't ever quite know what that is. We'll have some commonality, sure (I'll say "cat" and you'll know I mean a "cat thing" as opposed to, say, a "hammer") but your image of the word is yours and yours alone.
But when it comes to graphic novels, we have to see what's there; the image becomes this dominant lens of interpretation; it is what we see and we both see the same thing and we can't escape that. And that's where Guantanamo Voices does something remarkable: it presents these awful, hideous, challenging, 'don't look away' stories, and it makes you see them. It makes you not look away.
And there's a lot here to not look away from. Guantanamo Voices is a collection of interviews with key players; the journalist, the prisoner, the social worker and more. Each interview is put together by a different artist, whilst Mirk's experience as a visiting journalist functions as something of a bookend. There's some savvy editing work at play here; the art throughout adopts a similar, cohesive palette, whilst the individual artist is still able to inject their own style and dynamism to the text.
An unflinching piece of work with some wise, transparent curation.
But when it comes to graphic novels, we have to see what's there; the image becomes this dominant lens of interpretation; it is what we see and we both see the same thing and we can't escape that. And that's where Guantanamo Voices does something remarkable: it presents these awful, hideous, challenging, 'don't look away' stories, and it makes you see them. It makes you not look away.
And there's a lot here to not look away from. Guantanamo Voices is a collection of interviews with key players; the journalist, the prisoner, the social worker and more. Each interview is put together by a different artist, whilst Mirk's experience as a visiting journalist functions as something of a bookend. There's some savvy editing work at play here; the art throughout adopts a similar, cohesive palette, whilst the individual artist is still able to inject their own style and dynamism to the text.
An unflinching piece of work with some wise, transparent curation.
May 10, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.
Libraries are seen as places of unbiased knowledge and certainly in the one I manage, I try to encourage young people to see it as a place where they can ask questions without fear of judgement - questions they might not feel comfortable asking at home. This is a book that gives clear information in a relevant and accessible way - I will be adding to my Library for sure.
Libraries are seen as places of unbiased knowledge and certainly in the one I manage, I try to encourage young people to see it as a place where they can ask questions without fear of judgement - questions they might not feel comfortable asking at home. This is a book that gives clear information in a relevant and accessible way - I will be adding to my Library for sure.
March 22, 2025
4.5 stars.
Guantanamo Voices is a fascinating but devastating piece of graphic nonfiction. Mirk compiles the stories of ten different people into a cohesive narrative of Guantanamo from 9/11 to 2019 (and actually touches on some of its pre-9/11 history as well) through the eyes of military and government officials, activists and lawyers, and some of the prisoners themselves, using a different artist for each chapter.
A note on my perspective as a reader of this book: I am a white Canadian who is old enough to remember 9/11 and the aftermath, but young enough that a lot of relevant information was missed by virtue of not being interested in the news as a child or things I did see being distant childhood memories rather than something I was old enough to fully absorb and process.
I really like how this opens up with a lot of infographics that help illustrate a lot of the basic facts and statistics for laymen like myself. Omar El Akkad's introduction was an insightful way to open the book as well. I also think that organising the stories to reflect the timeline of events best was a great way to lay this out, making the stories (connected by the place and the politics but often of people who never interacted in any meaningful capacity) feel inextricably connected from one another. I like that the book featured a variety of perspectives in a way that does ultimately and unequivocally condemn everything that has happened at Guantanamo, showing how even people who believed in the system knew how awful and wrong everything was. That said, I preferred the stories that were about the prisoners themselves, or that directly featured them through the eyes of their lawyers. I wouldn't remove anything from this book, but I would very much have liked to see it be longer to include more stories of the prisoners and their families.
This is definitely worth the read for anyone who wants a better understanding of Guantanamo after really only knowing anything through social osmosis. I'm glad I got the chance to read this one, and I plan on learning more after this.
Guantanamo Voices is a fascinating but devastating piece of graphic nonfiction. Mirk compiles the stories of ten different people into a cohesive narrative of Guantanamo from 9/11 to 2019 (and actually touches on some of its pre-9/11 history as well) through the eyes of military and government officials, activists and lawyers, and some of the prisoners themselves, using a different artist for each chapter.
A note on my perspective as a reader of this book: I am a white Canadian who is old enough to remember 9/11 and the aftermath, but young enough that a lot of relevant information was missed by virtue of not being interested in the news as a child or things I did see being distant childhood memories rather than something I was old enough to fully absorb and process.
I really like how this opens up with a lot of infographics that help illustrate a lot of the basic facts and statistics for laymen like myself. Omar El Akkad's introduction was an insightful way to open the book as well. I also think that organising the stories to reflect the timeline of events best was a great way to lay this out, making the stories (connected by the place and the politics but often of people who never interacted in any meaningful capacity) feel inextricably connected from one another. I like that the book featured a variety of perspectives in a way that does ultimately and unequivocally condemn everything that has happened at Guantanamo, showing how even people who believed in the system knew how awful and wrong everything was. That said, I preferred the stories that were about the prisoners themselves, or that directly featured them through the eyes of their lawyers. I wouldn't remove anything from this book, but I would very much have liked to see it be longer to include more stories of the prisoners and their families.
This is definitely worth the read for anyone who wants a better understanding of Guantanamo after really only knowing anything through social osmosis. I'm glad I got the chance to read this one, and I plan on learning more after this.
September 4, 2020
“Guantanamo Voices”, by Sarah Mirk, is one of those books that I have a hard time writing my thoughts about because I am still full of feelings after having finished it. Feelings of anger, of frustration, of confusion. This is an important graphic novel, that sheds light on a topic that most people probably feel know more about than they actually do.
“Guantanamo Voices”, is a graphic novel about what happened in Guantanamo Bay since the prison opened up to present time from the perspective of nine people whose lives were connected to the prison, either by having been imprisoned there or worked in connection to the prison. The author’s trip and experience visiting Guantanamo Bay while researching this graphic novel is also documented in two chapters.. Each of the eleven chapters is illustrated by a different illustrator, so there isn’t one specific style throughout. Personally I care a lot about the art and illustrations in graphic novels, but this one was a case where I was so outraged by what I was reading that I couldn’t really focus on the aesthetics.
This is a very informative graphic novel and I believe anyone that has an interest in US and foreign policies would find it interesting. I hope a lot of people, especially from the US and the Western World, will read this. I am sure that if they do, they will find that they know very little about the topic of Guantanamo Bay, whether because information was just kept away and they never learnt about it or because they heard about it and simply looked the other way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for the copy in exchange for my honest review.
“Guantanamo Voices”, is a graphic novel about what happened in Guantanamo Bay since the prison opened up to present time from the perspective of nine people whose lives were connected to the prison, either by having been imprisoned there or worked in connection to the prison. The author’s trip and experience visiting Guantanamo Bay while researching this graphic novel is also documented in two chapters.. Each of the eleven chapters is illustrated by a different illustrator, so there isn’t one specific style throughout. Personally I care a lot about the art and illustrations in graphic novels, but this one was a case where I was so outraged by what I was reading that I couldn’t really focus on the aesthetics.
This is a very informative graphic novel and I believe anyone that has an interest in US and foreign policies would find it interesting. I hope a lot of people, especially from the US and the Western World, will read this. I am sure that if they do, they will find that they know very little about the topic of Guantanamo Bay, whether because information was just kept away and they never learnt about it or because they heard about it and simply looked the other way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for the copy in exchange for my honest review.
May 16, 2025
this is a must-read book. it is deeply disturbing and enraging to learn about what the united states government did and continues to do to these “detainees” at guantanamo bay. most of those men haven’t even been charged with a crime but have been stuck there for decades, enduring brutal torture and severe isolation. if they do ever get released, they are often sent off to random countries where they don’t speak the language and have no idea how to navigate the basic institutions they need to stay alive. EVERYONE needs to read this because we must not forget about these men and what the government is capable of.
i enjoyed how the different stories were illustrated by different artists. i loved every story, but chapter 7 about mansoor adayfi hit me really hard because of his deep love for animals.
i enjoyed how the different stories were illustrated by different artists. i loved every story, but chapter 7 about mansoor adayfi hit me really hard because of his deep love for animals.
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