CHILDREN OF GUANTANAMO

Presented by John Adams Project, ACLU
Curated by Postprint Media

Temporary Storage Gallery @ Brooklyn Fire Proof
119 Ingraham Street #104 (ground floor)
Brooklyn, NY 11237

Dates:
10 October 2018 - 01 November 2018

Hours:
Tuesday - Friday
4pm - 8pm

Children of Guantanamo: An exhibition of drawings soundscapes by the children of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay. This exhibition explores their experiences and how they have captured meaning from the indefinite captivity of their fathers. Children of Guantanamo focuses, for the first time, on the children whose voices are not heard in discussions on Guantanamo Bay. 

For 16 years, while men have been detained at Guantanamo Bay, their children have grown in a world of uncertainty –never knowing if they can speak to their fathers or knowing if they will see them again. A number of these children were born after their fathers were captured, and in some cases despite a seventeen-year absence, have never met them. The fathers and their children communicate through letters and drawings that have to go through several layers of security checks before reaching their loved ones. Often, parts of the letter or drawing have been redacted with no explanation. 

The drawings and letters in this exhibition are displayed anonymously. This is to protect the identities of the children and their families. This exhibition intends to spur discussion and thought about the children who are bound together by their common experience of having their fathers in captivity in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. This exhibition is not about their fathers, and it is not about the specificities of each father’s case. Children of Guantanamo is about the children who have been affected as a result of incarceration in the so-called War on Terror, as well as presenting an opportunity for all of us to consider the wider impact of indefinite detention.  

Children of Guantanamo is the result of a collaborative effort between the John Adams Project of the ACLU and Postprint Magazine. The exhibition was curated by Charles Shields and Luz Damian. Special thanks to Angelina Dreem and Marium Begg.

Panel Discussion

October 16th, 2018
7:00pm - 8:00pm

Join us for an evening where we will be discussing artwork made by these children who are bound together by their common experience of having their fathers in captivity in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. We will be tying this into the wider impact that the War on Terror has had on communities and the separation of families. Children of Guantanamo is an exhibition of drawings, letters, and a soundscape by the children of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay. This exhibition explores their experiences and how they have captured meaning from the indefinite captivity of their fathers. Children of Guantanamo focuses, for the first time, on the children whose voices are not heard in discussions on Guantanamo Bay.

Pardiss Kebriaei: Pardiss Kebriaei is a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. Pardiss works on challenging U.S. government abuses in the national security context. She has represented former and current detainees in Guantanamo, and she represents the families of two detainees who died in Guantanamo in 2006 as a result of reported "suicides."

Major James Valentine, USMC: Major James Valentine is the detailed military defense counsel for Hambali and Mohammad Rahim al Afghani, High Value Detainees who have been imprisoned at a secret location in Guantanamo Bay for the purpose of concealing the history of torture committed against them by the CIA.

Murtaza Hussain: Murtaza Hussain is a national security reporter at The Intercept. He has reported from Turkey, Jordan and Egypt and covered the post-9/11 war on terrorism in the United States. His work has previously been featured in the New York Times and The Guardian.

Aliya Hussain: Aliya Hana Hussain is an Advocacy Program Manager at the Center for Constitutional Rights. Aliya manages CCR’s advocacy and campaigns on indefinite detention at Guantanamo, the profiling and targeting of Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities, and accountability for torture and other war crimes. Aliya travels to Guantanamo regularly to meet with CCR's clients.

Ramzi Kassem: Ramzi Kassem is a Professor of Law at the City University of New York. He has represented former and current detainees at Guantanamo, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, at so-called “Black Sites,” and at other detention sites worldwide.