“En Guantánamo luchaba por mi libertad; aquí lucho por mi vida”: Una conversación con Mansoor Adayfi

Hace poco tuvimos el placer de sentarnos a conversar virtualmente con Mansoor Adayfi, autor de “Don’t Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantánamo” [“No se olviden de nosotros: De cómo me perdí y me encontré en Guantánamo”]. Mansoor es activista, ex-prisionero de Guantánamo y actualmente reside en Serbia. A la edad de tan solo dieciocho años, fue secuestrado en Afganistán y vendido al gobierno de los Estados Unidos. Retenido en Guantánamo por catorce años, fue torturado y despojado de sus derechos más básicos.

Hablamos con Mansoor sobre lo que le diría a la versión más joven de sí, si pudiera volver en el tiempo, sobre su vida en Serbia y su reciente graduación de la universidad. Como gestor de proyectos de la ONG llamada CAGE, Mansoor y sus antiguos compañeros de prisión, o sus “hermanos”, han publicado un plan de ocho puntos para instruir al Presidente Biden sobre cómo cerrar Guantánamo de forma apropiada. Alrededor del cuello, Mansoor portaba un pedazo de tela naranja para simbolizar su solidaridad con sus hermanos y explicó sus planes para defender el cierre de Guantánamo hasta que sus hermanos fueran libres. Mientras Mansoor hablaba con convicción y humor, llamando al silencio “la herramienta de los opresores”, poco a poco se volvió claro que su voz será un instrumento poderoso de la justicia en los años venideros.

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“At Guantánamo, I was Fighting for my Freedom, but Here I’m Fighting for my Life:” A Conversation with Mansoor Adayfi

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down virtually with Mansoor Adayfi, the author of Don’t Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantánamo. Mansoor is an activist and former Guantánamo detainee now residing in Serbia. At the age of only eighteen, he was kidnapped in Afghanistan and sold to the U.S. government. Held in Guantánamo for fourteen years, he was tortured and deprived of his basic human rights.

We talked with Mansoor about what he would go back and tell his younger self, his life in Serbia, and his recent college graduation. Now the Guantánamo Project Manager at the NGO CAGE, Mansoor and fellow former detainees, or “brothers,” have published an eight-point plan to instruct President Biden on how to properly close Guantánamo. Wearing a bright orange cloth around his neck out of solidarity for his brothers, Mansoor explained his plans to advocate for the closure of Guantánamo until they were free. As he spoke with conviction and humor, calling silence “a tool of the oppressors,” it became increasingly clear: Mansoor’s voice will be a powerful instrument of justice for years to come.

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“All the Living World is Interdependent:” A Q&A with Artist Barbara Crane Navarro

Barbara Crane Navarro is a French artist, author, and activist who currently lives near Paris. Over a period of 12 years, she spent the winter months with the Yanomami people in Venezuela and Brazil, an experience which has inspired her artistic practice and her decades-long effort to draw attention to the devastation of the Amazon Rainforest. From creating burning art installations to writing and illustrating a children’s book series, Crane Navarro is a prolific artist who has the power to instill a sense of urgency, responsibility, and connectedness in all those who interact with her creations.

We spoke with her about her biggest inspirations, what she is currently working on, and what makes the rainforest invaluable.

The following photos belong to Barbara Crane Navarro and have been republished with her permission.

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Compartir su voz: Una conversación con Néstor Gómez

Hace poco nos sentamos con Néstor Gómez, cuarenta veces ganador del Moth Grand Slam, y conductor del podcast de historias, 80 Minutes Around the World.

Néstor, que antes tartamudeaba, proviene de Guatemala y encontró su voz después de migrar a Chicago, entrar al bachillerato, y aprender a moverse dentro de una nueva cultura. Actualmente usa su plataforma para animar a otros a contar sus historias.

“Cada lugar, cada persona y cada cosa me inspira una historia o poema distinto,” dice.

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Open Americas Statement on Racism & Police Brutality

Over the past two weeks, crowds across the United States and the world have taken to the streets to protest a series of recent killings of black US Americans.

On February 23, 25-year old Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed while on a run after being pursued by a former police officer and his son. The following month, police in Louisville, Kentucky executed a search warrant to force themselves into the home of 26-year old Breonna Taylor, an E.M.T. They shot her at least 8 times, killing her in her own bed. Last month, a Minneapolis police officer was charged with homicide after pinning George Floyd on the ground and kneeling on his neck for almost 9 minutes.

The day after Floyd’s death, protests began in Minneapolis as citizens called for the police officer responsible for Floyd’s death, along with the three other officers present at the time, to be held accountable. Quickly, solidarity protests spread throughout the nation, with marches taking place in all 50 states and participants demanding an end to police brutality and systematic racism in the United States. Some protests have led to looting and destruction of property, which has been met by violence from police with the use of rubber bullets, tear gas, arrests, and beatings. Reports of police indiscriminately tear gassing, striking, and arresting peaceful protestors has led to concern and outcry. In one instance, peaceful protesters were removed from Lafayette Square in front of the White House with tear gas and rubber bullets so President Donald Trump could walk to a photo op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. The American Civil Liberties Union is now suing Trump and other federal officials involved.

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