For the Guantánamo Public Memory Project, we are examining the building of the base from approximately 1903 to 1964. Two things especially impress me in the research that we’ve done so far. First, how the landscape of Guantánamo Bay has been used and imagined by human beings and how uses and visions for the place…

The passage of the current National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December 2011 was intended to keep Americans safe for the foreseeable future. It stipulated the amount of federal spending on defense for the fiscal year 2012, while laying the groundwork for counter-terrorism operations currently undertaken by the United States. However, this bill contained controversial…

Srebrenica, January 1995. Her country in the midst of a civil war, pregnant Hava Muhic, staying in the UN-designated Safe Area, was confident that she would give birth to a healthy and safe child. Half a year later, in July 1995, the baby Hava gave birth to wasn’t breathing and was taken away by the…

The most interesting fact I learned about GTMO was the presence of family and their daily lives on the military base.  I am ex-military and knew about dependent life on a military base.  However, the presence of family at GTMO was not something I had previously considered.  One hears about the current history and tends…

Guantánamo. What does this word call to mind?  Until starting the Guantánamo Public Memory Project, my mind conjured up several thoughts upon hearing this word — injustice, torture, the War on Terror — and then went blank, only to be replaced by feelings of confusion and ignorance.  I like to think that I’m a well-informed…

There is certainly no lack of information on the relatively short history of relations between the Cuban and American governments, or of the development and operations at GTMO. While conducting such research I discovered that obtaining more knowledge of GTMO’s past can easily strike up various negative feelings and emotions. What is perhaps the most…

Guantánamo is an anomaly, a place on the radar screen of politics and of international attention – both positive and negative. Its legacy has been the cause of international conflict throughout much of the past one hundred years. It’s centrality in the perpetration of alleged atrocities against human rights is something that will resonate throughout…

I am not alone when I ask, “What is torture?” In fact, many presidents have asked that same question. In attempting to answer this question, and decide for myself if I agree with the two people in this photo, I have stumbled deeper into confusion. I have become even more confused about the prospect that…

When I first joined the Guantanamo Public Memory Project I assumed that it would focus solely on the controversies that have developed over the past several years. Since that time my team and I have listened to countless interviews and gained a wonderful insight as to what living on the naval station meant to those…

Have the September 11th terrorist attacks changed how you view or treat others? For many, unfortunately, the answer is probably “yes.” The events of 9/11, the United States government’s response to them, and an increasing public misunderstanding of Islam have created a culture of collective suspicion and prejudice towards Muslims (or those perceived to be…