The toll of Guant=E1namo
Sabah el-Banna
June 29, 2006 05:50 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/sabah_elbanna/2006/06/sabah_elbanna_the=
_wife_of_jami.html
I address these words, a mother with five children suffering because of
the injustices of others, to everyone who cares about human rights. For
three and a half years, since the abduction of my husband from Banjul
Airport, my heart has been overcome with sadness, anxiety and fear for
the poor, innocent man who has been deprived of hearing the voices of
his children, despite committing no crime. My heart aches for his
children, who are growing every day. The questions about what happened
to their father and when he will return grow within them too. They are
increasingly difficult and painful for me to answer: "When will dad
come back?" "Does he look different?" "Does he still speak the same
language?" "Why doesn't he call?" "Why doesn't he send us a picture?"
"Maybe he doesn't know our new address." "Mummy, I don't want my
passport; maybe the lawyer can take it and give it to dad so he can
come back." "When will dad come back so I can give him a big hug?"
Their questions are now changing and becoming increasingly difficult
and complex: "Am I an orphan?" "Is my dad still alive?" One of my sons
said he heard the children at school say that they torture people at
Guant=E1namo and asked if his father was being tortured there. Their
questions make me cry inside. I don't know what to tell them. The truth
is hard for them to bear and so I always try to reassure them. Were it
not that I always feel that God is with me, protecting me, my children
and my husband, I would have fallen apart a long time ago and my
children would have fallen with me. Thank God that hasn't happened. I
do not claim that I am strong but the truth is that I am proud to be a
good mother to my children. I am proud that I am a good and patient
wife who is loyal to her husband. My tears pour out before words.
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