Letter to Clive Stafford-Smith, December 27, 2007

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Wednesday, December 27, 2007

Dear Respected Members of the Reprieve Organization
London, United Kingdom, SB 52742,

It is with great pleasure that I pass on my warmest greetings and gratitude for all your respected efforts defending us, both in the courts and in the society at large, in regards to the case of the prisoners in Guantánamo Bay.

I would also like to greet you and your beloved ones and pass on my best wishes for the New Year, asking God to make it a successful and prosperous one, and guide you to what satisfies Him.

Also, I would not miss thanking you for your last message of December 5, 2007, which included the latest developments in our case and the news about our dear country.

As for our news, after being here for more than six years, we are still suffering under tyranny, oppression, suppression, and humiliation under those who proclaim themselves to be callers for democracy and who present themselves as defenders of rights, liberties, and peace in the world.

What really hurts is that all of this takes place in a world which knows what is happening but remains silent and does little more than watch this sorry theater, motionlessly, for all these years (this assuming the world had good intentions in the first place, and did not actually lend a hand for parts of the show).

By now, surely everyone realizes the truth: they apply their imaginary greatness to oppress us and present themselves as purveyors of peace. But the Guantánamo grave is the clearest evidence of the opposite.

We, prisoners, entered Guantánamo alive. There we were buried alive. A few have been released, but many remain, seemingly alive. Those who remain die every day. Every second, in fact. God wills for some of us to stay alive, but we suffer new physical pains, and our injured hearts suffer from a psychological pain that cannot be described.

All of this happens while the world remains calm and still. As it has been truly said,

    Your call will be delivered if you call the living
    But those you call are in fact all dead
    And if you blew now at the embers they would light up
    But wait and you will find that you blow into ashes

All praise is due to God. Only to Him I complain. Only on Him I rely. And there is no power or strength except with God. God knows our intentions and only He guides us to the true path.

    Sami al-Haj [signed]