Sixteenth Anniversary of a Disgrace

According to the speakers at this beautifully-planned vigil: “Today is the sixteenth anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It is a continuing symbol of state sanctioned violence and human rights abuses at the hands of the US government. Forty-one men are still housed in the prison, five of whom have been cleared for release yet are still behind bars.... It is our duty to fight against this symbol of US imperialism and to stand in solidarity with all those who have been unfairly detained.... It is essential that we organize and agitate against a rising tide of Islamophobia. We must stand in solidarity with each other and stand firmly against the forces that would deprive us of our freedom and dignity. We must never lose hope. We have no time for despair. The road is dark, but hope is a torch we carry from one generation to the next.”

There were candles. There was a reading of the names of detainees. There were readings of poems written by prisoners at Guantanamo. There was a free Zine with the history of the prison, some poems, the speeches, and some statistics. There were silences. And there was a short march along the sidewalk surrounding Pioneer Square. I've added a couple of extras.