The Mauritanian (Guantánamo Diary)

1.

In October 2016—as Slahi fantasized about Hurricane Matthew destroying the Guantanamo Bay prison compound—he got the news of his release: “Only then I could say to myself, Now it’s official: I’m leaving the prison after so many years of pain and humiliation” (xxiii). The news came from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Slahi recalled some of his experiences—such as interrogations in the Gold Building—while in captivity at Guantanamo (since 2002) as detainee number 760. He informed the guards that he’d like to take his four manuscripts, in addition to this text, and other small sentimental items like chessboards and books. The author showered, shaved, and was very nervous. Slahi crossed the red line out of the camp, took a bus to a ferry, and boarded an airplane to Mauritania. He was blindfolded and earmuffed for the journey, just as he was in 2003 from Bagram Air Base to Cuba: “This time, though, there was no beating, harassment, or degradation” (xxxi).

2.

Slahi has enjoyed writing since childhood. At Guantanamo, he started documenting his experiences in Arabic in the spring of 2003. During solitary confinement in the summer of 2003 in the India Block, he studied English. Eventually, Slahi considered his story “a kind of self-advocacy addressed to readers outside of Guantánamo” (xxxiv).