In case you have missed this op-ed piece by Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel about Gitmo that was published today in the NYT:

“I will never forget the first time they passed the feeding tube up my nose. I can’t describe how painful it is to be force-fed this way. As it was thrust in, it made me feel like throwing up. I wanted to vomit, but I couldn’t. There was agony in my chest, throat and stomach. I had never experienced such pain before. I would not wish this cruel punishment upon anyone.
I am still being force-fed. Two times a day they tie me to a chair in my cell. My arms, legs and head are strapped down. I never know when they will come. Sometimes they come during the night, as late as 11 p.m., when I’m sleeping.”

(Read the complete article here.)

I visited Guántanamo Bay in 2007. (Read an excerpt from the reportage here.)

One of the army doctors told me that detainees sometimes asked to be force-fed. I thought then that this was highly unlikely and after reading the piece by Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel I’m even more convinced that detainees don’t ask to be force-fed. A decent solution for Gitmo is not near, it’s not high on anybody’s priority list, but it’s good that the NYT published this piece. Against forgetting.