THE HUNGER GAMES
AT GUANTANAMO
troublemakers convinced the others to join the protest, because living relatively comfortably “is not
going to remind the world” about
Guantanamo Bay.
“We never stopped improving
the living conditions. We got to the
point where detainees are living
comfortably, nobody is shooting
at us, we eat meat, we eat chicken,
and they were telling their families
that,” Zak said.
“The 10 percent of the detainees
got up and said, ‘Come on, guys,
you’ve been asleep since 2008.’
Everybody was bragging about how
good life was and everything, people in the outside world say, ‘How
can I talk about your case, how can
I move your case if you’re just living
comfortably?’” Zak said.
The hunger strike hasn’t halted
the production of those meals the
detainees were allegedly writing
home about. In an aging kitchen
without air conditioning overlooking the Caribbean Sea, four military
contractors in hairnets continue to
spoon meals — spiced beef, tomatoes and rice on the day reporters
HUFFINGTON
06.09.13
visited, one of six meals on the rotating menu — into white styrofoam
containers. Each prisoner’s inmate
number, along with any dietary
restrictions, is written on each container in black marker. Before the
raid, staffers prepared much of the
food buffet-style. But now that detainees have been restricted to their
cells, it’s served almost entirely
as individual portions, which also
helps medical personnel monitor
the status of the hunger strikers.
Most of the meals are stacked
into insulated containers and
driven a quarter-mile east to
Camp Five and Camp Six, where,
hours later, they’ll be tossed into
the garbage, uneaten.
“Nothing changed at our end,”
said Sam Scott, who’s been working
food prep since 2003, of the daily
meal routine. “It bothers me,” she
said of the hunger strike, “but we
cannot do nothing about it.”
A different kind of meal is now
prepared for the hunger-striking
detainees who are in the worst
shape. At least twice a day, military personnel pump a can of
“THERE WILL BE MORE
THAN ONE DEATH.”