Day 26
Blank sheet of paper
This is a copy of a blank sheet of paper in a letter sent to me at Guantanamo. People wrote from all over the world. What I received were photocopies, each marked with the censor’s stamp. I missed the envelopes, the colour of the postage stamps, the smell and feel of the letters. Everything was copied and stamped. The fronts of cards and backs of envelopes, even blank sheets of paper would be copied and stamped and passed on. The amount of post became bewildering. Some of the images and messages were very strange as well. It got to the stage where I could not believe that it was all genuine; I thought it was a prank by the interrogators. I had become so paranoid that I thought they were faking the letters.
Omar Deghayes, ex-detainee
22nd January 2010 – The date by which President Obama ordered the detainee camps to be closed
79 years old – The age of the oldest detainee on his release after three years at Guantanamo
400 miles – distance from Guantanamo to Miami, Florida
$26 million – Spent on eight miles of road at Guantanamo Bay
$39 million – Cost of building Camp 6 for 200 detainees
174 – Approximate current number of detainees, from 24 countries
5 – Current number of detainees with prosthetics (22.7.2010)
The US Naval Base at Guantanamo was first leased from Cuba 1903
15 years old – the age of Omar Khadr when he first arrived at Guantanamo. He is now 24
5,900 – Approximate size of the US Naval Base population
5 – Number of detainees convicted by the military commissions at Guantanamo
In 1994, up to 45,000 refugees occupied secure camps at Guantanamo
Guantanamo Bay is the largest and oldest US Naval Base outside national borders
2003 – Largest captive population, about 660 in November
$15 million – Cost of building Camp 5 for 100 detainees
11th January 2002 – The date the first detainees arrived at Guantanamo
45 square miles – Size of US Naval Base
$116 million – Annual cost of maintaining and running the camps at Guantanamo
Military service at the detainee facility at Guantanamo may lead to the award of The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, created by George Bush on March 12th 2003
The US Naval Base at Guantanamo has nine restaurants and seven bars
48 – Number of men currently listed for indefinite detention without trial
$30 million – Cost of building Camp Delta, comprising Camps 1-3
At least $500 million has been spent renovating facilities at the US Naval Base since the opening of the detainee camps
6 – Number of detainees who have died at Guantanamo
$7.3 milliion – Spent on baseball and football fields at US Naval Base


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