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Are the Camp X-Ray Captives Facing Health Risks?
| Wagdy A. Sawahel, Ph.D.,
EurBiol. |
14/2/2002
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Images of blindfolded Afghan captives kneeling
shackled in wire cages at Camp X-Ray – a detention center on an isolated U.S.
out spot on the edge of Fidel Castro’s Cuba - have ignited international
controversy and widespread concern. There are some legal arguments as to whether
they are to be considered prisoners of war, detainees, criminals or unlawful
combatants; but that technicality should not bear any impact on their treatment.
Here, we highlight the harsh living conditions at Camp X-Ray and examine its
effect on the mental and physical health of the captives.
Where
is Camp X-Ray?
Camp
X-Ray is an island, on an island, on yet another island. It is a sealed off zone
within the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay – known by U.S. servicemen
as “Gitmo”, which is itself sealed off from the rest of the island of Cuba.
American
marines landed in Guantanamo – one of the Cuba’s greatest natural harbors
– during the Spanish-American war in 1898, and the base was established under
a treaty signed in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt. After Fidel Castro led
the communists to power in Cuba in 1959, then U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower
refused to relinquish the base despite strong objections from Havana. Although
Washington continues to pay the rent – set 100 years ago at 2,000 gold coins a
year, and now worth about $ 4,000 – Mr.
Castro refuses to cash the checks.
Cuban
Frontier Battalion troops continue to watch their U.S. counterparts along the
28-kilometer fence, but much tension has diminished since the end of the Cold
War.
Captives
… Detention Conditions and Environment
The
captives rounded up in Afghanistan are being housed in a cells measuring 1.8 by
2.4 meters (6 feet by 8 feet) with open, chain-link walls, a concrete floor and
wooden roof. Prisoners have a 2 cm-thick foam mat to sleep on, and two
towels – one for washing, the other one to use as a prayer mat.
They
spend most of their time separated and are shackled when taken out of the cells;
their restraints may include hand and leg shackles.
The
food provided to them is basic and is approved for consumption by Muslims. The
prisoners are allowed to practice their faith; a sign on one wall of the camp
points to Mecca.
The
camp gets chilly at night and there are swarms of mosquitoes. In addition,
mangrove swamps, salt marshes and dense bush surround the base. Furthermore, the
surrounding sea is shark-infested.
The
camp perimeters – lit up with halogen floodlights at night – has watchtowers
and two fences topped with razor wire, which are constantly patrolled by heavily
armed marines, snipers and wild dogs.
Health
Impact…. From Psychological Abuse to Health Risks
Health
Impacts of Prison Life
Prison
life – even for short periods of time – can lead to any number of physical
and mental health problems. A recent prison health study carried out in European
jails found that inmates were found to suffer from low blood pressure. In
addition, most of them were disorientated, unable to concentrate and experienced
problems with their memories – for example, sudden “mind voids”.
Scientists also observed an effect on the senses. With touch and sight
diminished, inmates’ sense of hearing often became heightened, causing them to
become “obsessed” with noise and disturbed by unexpected sounds.
Furthermore, prisoners may develop personality changes, or even worse,
personality disorders, mental illness and brain disease.
Physical
and Mental Health Problems
Captives flown from Afghanistan to an American naval base in the Caribbean are
being held in tough detention conditions. Medical doctors, health experts and
psychiatrists have expressed their concerns about the way the captives are being
treated.
Images
of blindfolded prisoners facing the fence on their knees, shackled and
handcuffed, and the use of restraints such as covered goggles, earmuffs and
facemasks have been described as “sensory deprivation”. Being subjected to
sensory deprivation, no matter for how short a period of time, is extremely
damaging. In addition, keeping prisoners in chicken wire cages, forcefully
shaving their heads and beards in defiance of their religious beliefs, and
parading them for the press can only be considered abuse.
The
detainees have no privacy. One can see into the prisoners’ cellblock quite
clearly, as the walls are made of chain-link fencing; and at night the whole
compound is lit up by arc lights. Such exposure exploits human dignity and can
lead to more psychological damage, possible even causing sleeping disorders.
Putting
them in outdoor cages surrounded by minefields, mosquitoes and shark infested
waters is not only a disgrace to the democracy and civilization the West
preaches, but also it is extremely dangerous for the physical health of the
prisoners.
As
a result of the 30 o C heat, the prisoners in their bright orange jumpsuits
spend most of their time sitting on the floor or lying on the foam sleeping
mattresses in order to try to keep cool. This can cause bone disease and
exposure to the heat can cause a whole slew of problems.
By
the end of the day there is a faint smell of sewage and chemicals that drifts
from the prison – all the prisoners have waste buckets in their cells. This
can cause breathing problems and possibly lung diseases in the long run.
An
International Call for Humane Treatment
The
treatment of Afghan captives has become the subject of international
controversy. The human rights group Amnesty International (AI) voiced concern
about the “cages” used for accommodation, saying they would “fall below
minimum standards for humane treatment.”
In
addition, a human rights spokesman has said the photographs of inmates chained,
blindfolded and kneeling before their guards are reminiscent of torture methods
used in Eastern Europe in the 1970s. Furthermore, the 1.8 m by 2.4 m open-sided
wire cells in which the men are being kept have been described as “kennels”
and “cages” by critics and dubbed “a scandal” by the a Human
Rights Watch spokesman.
As
one health expert put it: “Although prisoners in Western jails - which are
equipped with gymnasiums and facilities for outdoor exercise- are protected by
constitutional laws, most of them suffer from a number of physical and mental
problems. Thus, I’ll leave you to imagine the health conditions for a prisoner
who is experiencing a tough detention measures and has, so far, no rights
neither by the Geneva Conventions nor under the general international law of
human rights. It is worse more than you can think.”
Sources:
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Anderson,
Kevin. “Harsh Detention for Afghan Prisoners” The Mirror newspaper.
January 23, 2002.
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Greene,
Richard. “Prison Is Bad For Your Health” Current Science. January 10,
2002.
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Lister,
Richard. “Grim life at Guantanamo” Austria Today. January 23, 2002.
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Silverman,
Jon. “Cuba Captives Held Below U.S. Standards” Vienna Express. January
25, 2002.
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Snelling,
Mark. “ Destination Guantanamo Bay” Discover. January 15, 2002.
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