Ms. Smith Goes to Washington

June 28, 2006

Check Out 'This Is Death - Ed Kashi's Journal of Captivity in the Niger Delta'

MS. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
by Shirley Smith

BuzzFlash,  

While reading the journal of this photojournalist held captive in the Niger Delta, he mentions that he dreamed he was with Saddam ... the poignancy of this article is that it is a reminder of what the captives of the US have gone through with years of captivity and torture. Places where they were just kidnapped and flown to secret prisons, where they were completely at the mercy of their captors ... and, all we have is "their word" (US Bush GOP government) as to how many might have been held captive, how many might have committed suicide, and how many have died due to their treatment, and of course, if they really were terrorists, they would have been charged. Torture chambers are incubators for terrorism and hate ... that is a fact we can count on.  

As this photojournalist writes about his three days and his own feelings ... we can multiply that by years, to get a sense of why prisoners either bait their captors, in order to be killed, or they commit suicide.

The most frightening thing about the experience is once they have you they can do what they want with you. Strip you of all rights. This is the part that constantly haunted me while I was being held. The not knowing. An SSS guy said to me, while seeing me in a state of fear and exhaustion, "You are an international journalist, so this should be normal for you … Be a man." My response was, I am those things, but I am also human and afraid. But such words seemed to have no effect on him or any of my other captors.

'This is death' / Ed Kashi's journal of captivity in the Niger Delta (SFGate.com)

The reference by his captors, in the above paragraph, as this being "normal," is something the world should worry about ... and, the US leads in this kind of suppression of human rights and with their usual response of propaganda, tell us it's for our protection against terrorism, a word that I would really like to stuff, you know where ...

Thanks BuzzFlash,

Shirley Smith