Don't Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantanamo
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-17 19:21:12
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Mansoor Adayfi
- ISBN：B08PV42H84
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Summary
The moving， eye-opening memoir of an innocent man detained at Gauntánamo Bay for 15 years: a story of humanity in the unlikeliest of places and an unprecedented look at life at Gauntánamo on the eve of its 20th anniversary
At the age of 18， Mansoor Adayfi left his home in Yemen for a cultural mission to Afghanistan。 He never returned。 Kidnapped by warlords and then sold to the US after 9/11， he was disappeared to Gauntánamo Bay， where he spent the next 15 years as Detainee #441。
Don't Forget Us Here tells two coming-of-age stories in parallel: a makeshift island outpost becoming the world's most notorious prison and an innocent young man emerging from its darkness。 Arriving as a stubborn teenager， Mansoor survived the camp's infamous interrogation program and became a feared and hardened resistance fighter leading prison riots and hunger strikes。 With time though， he grew into the man prisoners nicknamed "Smiley Troublemaker": a student， writer， and historian。 With unexpected warmth and empathy， he unwinds a narrative of fighting for hope and survival in unimaginable circumstances， illuminating the limitlessness of the human spirit。 And through his own story， Mansoor also tells Gauntánamo's story， offering an unprecedented window into one of the most secretive places on earth and the people-detainees and guards alike-who lived there with him。
Twenty years later， Gauntánamo remains open， and at a moment of due reckoning， Mansoor Adayfi helps us understand what actually happened there--both the horror and the beauty--a vital chronicle of an experience we cannot afford to forget。
At the age of 18， Mansoor Adayfi left his home in Yemen for a cultural mission to Afghanistan。 He never returned。 Kidnapped by warlords and then sold to the US after 9/11， he was disappeared to Gauntánamo Bay， where he spent the next 15 years as Detainee #441。
Don't Forget Us Here tells two coming-of-age stories in parallel: a makeshift island outpost becoming the world's most notorious prison and an innocent young man emerging from its darkness。 Arriving as a stubborn teenager， Mansoor survived the camp's infamous interrogation program and became a feared and hardened resistance fighter leading prison riots and hunger strikes。 With time though， he grew into the man prisoners nicknamed "Smiley Troublemaker": a student， writer， and historian。 With unexpected warmth and empathy， he unwinds a narrative of fighting for hope and survival in unimaginable circumstances， illuminating the limitlessness of the human spirit。 And through his own story， Mansoor also tells Gauntánamo's story， offering an unprecedented window into one of the most secretive places on earth and the people-detainees and guards alike-who lived there with him。
Twenty years later， Gauntánamo remains open， and at a moment of due reckoning， Mansoor Adayfi helps us understand what actually happened there--both the horror and the beauty--a vital chronicle of an experience we cannot afford to forget。
Reviews
Nicole Sampaio
，
heartbreaking story… MUST read！！！！！
Amanda Hupe
，
Thank you， Mansoor Adayfi and Hachette Books for the opportunity to read this book。 It releases August 18th， 2021。“Imagine if American boys， eighteen years old or even younger， had spent five， ten， twenty years in a foreign prison without being charged with a crime， where they are tortured， punished for practicing their religion， experimented on， and forced to live in solitary confinement。 This is Guantanamo。”DON’T FORGET US HEREDon’t Forget Us Here by Mansoor Adayfi is a memoir like no other。 I Thank you， Mansoor Adayfi and Hachette Books for the opportunity to read this book。 It releases August 18th， 2021。“Imagine if American boys， eighteen years old or even younger， had spent five， ten， twenty years in a foreign prison without being charged with a crime， where they are tortured， punished for practicing their religion， experimented on， and forced to live in solitary confinement。 This is Guantanamo。”DON’T FORGET US HEREDon’t Forget Us Here by Mansoor Adayfi is a memoir like no other。 I will never forget September 11th， 2001 even though I was only 13 at the time。 It wasn’t only the Americans who think back on that day in horror。 Mansoor Adayfi was only eighteen when he was traveling to Afganistan from Yemen when he was kidnapped and sold to the United States。 He was sent to Guantanamo Prison and became detainee #441。 There he experienced torture and injustice at the hands of the United States government and military， even though he was innocent。“Obama made life better at Guantanamo instead of closing it。 We all knew this， but we didn’t know what this meant for our freedom。”DON’T FORGET US HEREIt is true， our government wanted justice。 They were consumed with finding the man behind the attacks and all those who helped him。 But it came at a cost， the freedom and lives of those who were innocent。 Because they technically weren’t Americans， they never received lawyers or a trial–which is a huge part of America。 We claim liberty and justice for all。 But it has never been for all， only for some。Mansoor was never a fighter or associated with Osama Bin Laden。 But he went from a young farm boy to an assumed criminal in an instant because he was Muslim。 He lays out the torture he endured and also the hunger strikes for better conditions。 There is so much emotion as he discusses how much he misses his family and the grief he feels for the loss of his future。 It is also inspiring how he and other detainees bonded together。Memoirs like this are important because this way we don’t forget and we can learn not to repeat our mistakes。 There is no such thing as a perfect justice system but we must do better。 I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars。 。。。more
Sarah
，
An absolutely striking and unforgettable account of years spent imprisoned for no reason。 What shines through is Mansoor’s attempt to find beauty， humor， and shared humanity in a place that was built to strip away all sense of self。 I felt both his anger and his joy on the page and was brought to tears by his stories of reaching out to fellow humans whenever possible。
Laura Snell
，
Mansoor， unlawfully detained at Guantanamo Bay for 15 years tells about his experience and the experiences of his brothers who suffered along side him This book was hard to digest and process。 Often leaving me gutted at what humans are capable of。 Leaving me wondering how people could possibly be conditioned to be so cold and callous to other humans I frequently had to put this book down because of how horrific things were This isn’t fiction。 This is reality。 And everyone should read it because Mansoor， unlawfully detained at Guantanamo Bay for 15 years tells about his experience and the experiences of his brothers who suffered along side him This book was hard to digest and process。 Often leaving me gutted at what humans are capable of。 Leaving me wondering how people could possibly be conditioned to be so cold and callous to other humans I frequently had to put this book down because of how horrific things were This isn’t fiction。 This is reality。 And everyone should read it because being ignorant about what has and continues to happen just makes you part of the problemMansoor， the US took 15 years from you。 Not only that it gave you only one option upon release， to go to Serbia， further imprisoning you。 The world owes you more， you deserve better Please don’t stop writing Your life is valuable and your story should be heard This is one of those things that will sit with me for years 。。。more
Danielle M
，
Mansoor was 18 yo when he left Yemen to go on a short investigative expedition to Afghanistan on behalf of a writer who held the reference he needed to attend college in UAE。 It was 2001。Mansoor was kidnapped by warlords and sold to the US as a high up leader and recruiter of Al Qaeda。 A 40 yo Egyptian general， who looks nothing like 18 yo Mansoor。 And how can you convince agents that are looking to extract info from you when they believe you are lying as a trained agent？ You can't。 Because when Mansoor was 18 yo when he left Yemen to go on a short investigative expedition to Afghanistan on behalf of a writer who held the reference he needed to attend college in UAE。 It was 2001。Mansoor was kidnapped by warlords and sold to the US as a high up leader and recruiter of Al Qaeda。 A 40 yo Egyptian general， who looks nothing like 18 yo Mansoor。 And how can you convince agents that are looking to extract info from you when they believe you are lying as a trained agent？ You can't。 Because when you still don't confess after months and years of torture， they "reason" that it must be because of superior training in counter interrogation which makes them ramp up their counter-counter interrogation。Mansoor spends over 14 years in Guantanamo in the most degrading， dehumanizing unending cycles of pain， torture， and abuse。 It's not really living。 It's forced slow death at the hands of sadists。 Having recently read My Time Will Come， I knew how hard of a read this would be。 But there were new depths of despair I didn't think possible。 Mansoor is known throughout Guantanamo as Smiley Troublemaker。 And he fights back with the only thing prisoners can， by protesting with their body。 This book is very rough to read， but it is extremely worth it。 What do we give up when we refuse to see the humanity in others？ What do we give up when we insist that the only way to freedom or justice is by any means necessary？ 。。。more
Montzalee Wittmann
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