Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Indiana U. group raises awareness of human rights with Gitmo film
By Maria Srour
Indiana Daily Student (Indiana U.)
12/08/2006

(U-WIRE) BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — President Bush, newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Richmor Aviation President Mahlon Richards will be hearing from Indiana University Amnesty International in the next few days.

About 30 people lined up Wednesday in Wylie Hall to sign petitions being sent out to various political figures after a showing of the film, "The Road to Guantanamo."

The movie is a graphic, dramatized documentary of the experiences three British Muslims say they had at the U.S. interrogation and detainment camp in Cuba. They spent nearly three years in the prison without ever being charged for a crime, the film says.

Viewers at IU found the film to be moving enough to spark interest in seeing drastic changes to the system.

"It makes you realize how horrible the situation is," sophomore Emily Roberts said. "I want to be a better advocate."

Others said simply watching is not enough.

"This is the same thing we accuse other countries of doing," said David Keppel, a member of the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition. "If our society stands for anything, it has to stop this."

While most agreed the film is graphic and even gory at parts, some feel it is still not an issue to be ignored.

"It's not a pleasant film to watch," Keppel said. "But anyone who isn't willing to watch that needs to get out and spend all their time trying to stop it."

According to a May 17 Washington Post article, the Motion Picture Association of America censored the film's poster, which depicts a man with a burlap sack on his head handcuffed to the ceiling. Because the burlap sack implied torture, the MPAA blocked the poster before the film's U.S. release.

The film served as a vehicle for IU Amnesty International to get the word out and let people around campus know about the issues surrounding the U.S. prison, the group said. The IU chapter says it will send out letters and petitions to state representatives, senators and other political leaders in an attempt to take action against these violations.

"So many of these human-rights violations are going on," said Andrew Iyengar, a post-doctoral student who helped put the event together. "You just hope to be the most effective with your government."

The film suggests that the story of the three British men, now nicknamed the Tipton Three, reflects those of other Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

But what some found of the film's portrayal as most frustrating was the secrecy of the situation.

"What is it that (a U.S. guard) tells his family that he does day in and day out?" Iyengar asked. "Does he say he kicks the guy till he bleeds and that's a day?"

IU Amnesty International called the showing of the film a success.

"It did a good job of raising awareness on campus," said Joshua Horwitz, president of the IU group. "People have to do more and get more involved. When you sign the letters you're joining thousands around the nation."

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