S5 Ep. 16: ‘One of the Worst Places on Earth’: Mansoor Adayfi on the 20th Anniversary of Guantánamo Bay Prison

fiction/non/fiction

Author and former Guantánamo detainee Mansoor Adayfi joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss his 14 years of systematic torture in the military prison. Adayfi reads from his memoir, Don’t Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantánamo; recalls being ambushed, kidnapped, and sold to the U.S. by warlords; and explains the hunger strikes and protests he and other detainees participated in in defense of their lives and rights. Adayfi, who was ultimately found innocent and released, urges President Biden to work toward closing Guantánamo, which he describes as a place of lawlessness, oppression and injustice.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Selected readings for the episode:

Mansoor Adayfi

• Don’t Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantánamo
• "An Open Letter to President Biden About Guantánamo" by Mansoor Adayfi, et al., The New York Review of Books, Jan. 29, 2021
• Opinion | In Our Prison on the Sea - The New York Times, Sept. 15, 2017

Others

• Guantanamo Reports (Seton Hall University)
• Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp | American Civil Liberties Union

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