Welcome to Guantanamo Bay

Guantanamo Bay prison is coming to a city near you, courtesy of the Cell Tour, an offshoot project of Amnesty International. The Cell Tour is transporting a replica of a Guantanamo Bay prison cell across the USA, and set up shop in the Nation’s Capitol last week, demanding that the U.S. government shut down the controversial prison due to alleged human-rights violations.

The bright orange cell was plopped down a mile or two from the Washington Monument and a block away from the Washington Folk Festival, attracting over 1,000 curious tourists and raising eyebrows from local D.C. residents.

Some people were uneasy seeing the prison cell so close to the monuments, Cell Logistics Assistant Meghann Ellis said, but she also noted that many were receptive to hearing the Tour’s message, which was “counter terror with justice” and “protect human rights in the fight against terrorism.”

The exhibit features one life-size Camp 5 maximum-security prison cell replica, apparently similar to the prison cells at Guantanamo Bay where terrorist suspects are held. Inside the 10.17 x 6.89 foot cell is a toilet, a seat and a Cell Tour guide spouting off supposed facts about the conditions in which detainees live—like the fact that they are held in isolation in the cell for up to 23 hours daily.

Although semi-anti-climatic, some observers thought the prison cell was a powerful, creative way to protest the conditions of detainees. D.C. resident James Sheehan thought it provided “shock value,” and said the cell “engages people and brings them in, and, hopefully, it will have an impact.”

But most others just walked by, ignoring the orange block purposefully. One such person was tourist Bob Dawson from Philadelphia who said, “I personally feel [the detainees] are not being discriminated against…there was enough evidence to bring them in there.”

Alongside the cell was a booth where people could sign a petition calling for President Bush to close down the detention facility. The petition has garnered 150,000 signatures since the Cell Tour campaign started.

One signaturee was Beatrice Ingram who felt compelled to sign because “not giving people a chance to defend themselves, I think that’s terrible.”

The exhibit has already traveled to D.C., Miami, Philadelphia and Maine, and is expected to visit Denver, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and St. Louis next.

Emily Miller is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.

Emily Miller