I was betrayed for 4,000 pieces of silver
the price on my head, a fortune in dollars
Be my voice.
Bound I was dragged away
herded with others onto the back of a truck
Be my voice.
Bounty hunters, Peshawar police
called me a terrorist, Al-Qaeda
Be my voice.
I am a tradesman, a shopkeeper,
a farmer, a teacher
Be my voice
I am a son, a husband,
a brother, a father
Be my voice.
I was a boy, a stray
men thrust a rifle in my hand
Be my voice.
In a cramped cell I turned 18
my rite of passage, the trip to Guantánamo
Be my voice.
I heard men screaming at Bagram
dogs barking at Abu Ghraib
Be my voice.
In an orange suit, a bag over my head
I was forced to kneel for hours
Be my voice.
They interrupted my prayer
roused me from sleep
Be my voice.
Blasted music into my ears
bright lights into my eyes
Be my voice.
Stood me naked in the cold
naked before a woman
Be my voice.
They attached electrodes to my genitals
raped me with a stick
Be my voice.
Until I said what they wanted
and signed their documents
Be my voice.
For 5 years I have not seen
my family, my children
Be my voice.
Imprisoned without term
condemned without proof
Be my voice.
Wasted and sick
depressed and despairing
Be my voice.
No advocate, no defender
no rights, no hope
Be my voice. Set me free.
Brothers and sisters, let us pray:
O Lord, in their desperation prisoners deprived of human and legal rights call to you. Subjected to humiliation and torture they cry out: Why have you forgotten me? Infuse us with your Spirit, make us instruments of your compassion, that we may work tirelessly for their deliverance. Lord, like the widow whose dead son you restored to life, we too long to rejoice when prisoners are restored to freedom and reunited with their loved ones. Only then will we have peace with God, the source of all life. Amen.
Image: Abu Ghraib 72, by Fernando Botero
0 Responses to “Litany of the Tortured Detainee”