Home > Author > Mohamedou Ould Slahi
41 " I didn’t believe that Americans torture, even though I had always considered it a remote possibility. "
― Mohamedou Ould Slahi , Guantánamo Diary: Restored Edition
42 " How could you possibly be defending freedom, if you’re taking it away? "
43 " I figured the guy was completely blinded by the rich world that deliberately shows us poor Africans a “paradise” we cannot enter, though he had a point. "
44 " I was like, what the heck is going on, I’ve never been in trouble with the guards, and I am answering my interrogators and cooperating with them. But I missed that cooperation meant telling your interrogators whatever they want to hear. "
45 " ■■■■■■ was aware that he was committing heavy war crimes, and so he was ordered by his bosses to cover himself. "
46 " The Doctor once more gave me a bunch of medication and checked on my ribs. “Done with the motherfucker,” he said, showing me his back as he headed toward the door. "
47 " But I realized he was in the Army for a reason: he was good at being inhumane. "
48 " So why was I so scared? Because crime is something relative; it’s something the government defines and re-defines whenever it pleases. The majority of people don’t know, really, where the line is that separates breaking the law from not breaking it. If you get arrested, the situation worsens, because most people trust the government to have a good reason for the arrest. "
49 " They were speaking in Arabic. I enjoyed the comfort of understanding the talk, while the interrogators had to put up with the subtitles. After a short conversation between UBL and the other guy, a TV commentator spoke about how controversial the tape was. The quality was bad; the tape was supposedly seized by U.S. forces in a safehouse in Jalalabad. But that was not the point. “What do I have to do with this bullshit?” I asked angrily. “You see Usama bin Laden is behind September 11,” ■■■■■■■■■ said. “You realize I am not Usama bin Laden, don’t you? This is between you and Usama bin Laden; I don’t care, I’m outside of this business.” “Do you think what he did was right?” “I don’t give a damn. Get Usama bin Laden and punish him.” “How do you feel about what happened?” “I feel that I’m not a part of it. Anything else doesn’t matter in this case! "
50 " What are you going to do for him? Reduce his sentence from 500 to 400 years?” I asked wryly. People in the other parts of the free world like Europe have problems understanding the draconian punishments in the U.S. "
51 " Because crime is something relative; it’s something the government defines and re-defines whenever it pleases. The majority of people don’t know, really, where the line is that separates breaking the law from not breaking it. "
52 " For the next several nights in isolation, I got a funny guard who was trying to convert me to Christianity. I enjoyed the conversations, though my English was very basic. My dialogue partner was young, religious, and energetic. He liked Bush (“the true religious leader,” according to him); he hated Bill Clinton (“the Infidel”). He loved the dollar and hated the Euro. "
53 " Because crime is something relative; it’s something the government defines and re-defines whenever it pleases. The majority of people don’t know, really, where the line is that separates breaking the law from not breaking it. If you get arrested, the situation worsens, because most people trust the government to have a good reason for the arrest. "
54 " Look, you kidnap me from my home in Mauritania, not from a battlefield in Afghanistan, because you suspected me of having been part of the Millennium Plot—which I am not, as you know by now. So what’s the next charge? It looks to me as if you want to pull any shit on me. "
55 " We’re gonna put you in a hole the rest of your life. You’re already convicted. You will never see your family. "
56 " I hate waiting on torture; an Arabic proverb says, “Waiting on torture is worse than torture.” I can only confirm this proverb. "
57 " So why was I so scared? Because crime is something relative; it's something the government defines and redefines whenever it pleases. "
58 " I’ve been interrogated throughout the last six years by over a hundred interrogators from different countries, and they have one thing in common: confusion. Maybe the government wants them to be that way, who knows? "
59 " Aren’t you ashamed to work for these evil people, who arrest your brothers in faith for no reason than being Muslim? "
60 " But how can you believe in something you don’t understand? "