Just past Bhutan and Texas, and a stone’s throw away from NASA, stood Guantanamo Bay, ablaze in vibrant orange.
On the outskirts of the Smithsonian Folk-life Festival recently, alive with bluegrass music and monastic dancers, members of Amnesty International quietly presented a more somber message.
With a 7×8 ft brightly colored replica of a Guantanamo Bay prison cell, the exhibit announced “Welcome to Guantanamo: a global symbol of torture, presumed guilt, unfair trials, and no legal rights—courtesy of the U.S. government.” Life-sized orange cutout figures lined the fence around the exhibit, symbolizing the detainees in their jumpsuits.
The cell’s design was simple, with a steel toilet and a thinly padded cot illuminated by fluorescent tube lighting.
But against the patriotic backdrop of the Washington Monument, some tourists were uncomfortable with the antithetical message they stumbled upon during their spirited excursions to the nation’s historical wonders.
“In D.C. we are getting mixed reactions,” said Meghann Ellis, Logistics Assistant for the Cell Tour. “It’s not really consistent with the kind of thing people want to see on their way to the capitol.”
One tourist from Philadelphia saw no injustice toward the Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
“I think they should be held there. Twenty years wouldn’t be long enough,” said onlooker Bob Dawson.
“Some people were very impacted by 9/11 [so] that it’s hard for them to reconcile their feelings with what we’re saying here,” Ellis said. “They say things like we love terrorists. But most who take the time to step inside the cell are receptive to our message.”
Other observers found the prison cell replica to be disgraceful and unsettling, and eagerly signed the petition urging the U.S. government to close Guantanamo Bay.
“There is a definite shock value associated with it,” said James Sheen, a D.C. resident. “Hopefully it has an impact.”
Volunteers at the site had motivations ranging from a passion for human rights to common cultural identity.
“I’m half Arab, so I know a lot about Guantanamo,” said Norah Alariafi, an intern with Amnesty International. “We want to reach a lot of people because the image speaks louder than the literature.”
Visitors were presented with postcards to send to President Bush, asking him to “immediately end these human rights violations and hold accountable all those who authorized and implemented them.”
The petition calling for the close of Guantanamo is aiming for 500,000 signatures, and with 135,711 currently, they are just shy of one-third the goal. But with Guantanamo-on-the-go’s next stop being Denver, CO, scene of the Democratic National Convention, it’s a pretty safe bet they will be able to round up a few more.
Brooke Rieder is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.
