Ivana Osuna

Portfolio Entry #1
Treatment of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay
"Hell-hole or Paradise?" The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 20 Mar. 2004. Web. 16 Apr.
2015. <http://www.economist.com/node/2520865>.

Summary:
This article gives the reality about what it was like to be a detainee at
Guantanamo Bay. It starts out by stating, Detainees shackled hand and foot
for up to 15 hours at a time in wire cages open to rats, snakes and scorpions.
A foul diet of yellow water and food up to ten years past its shelf-life.
Interrogations at gunpoint. Punishment beatings. Amputations of limbs.
Forced injections with unknown substances. Psychological torture.
Humiliations, including the parading of naked prostitutes in front of devout
Muslim prisoners. These are a few examples of methods used to torture
detainees. Some detainees that left Guantanamo Bay decided to speak and
let the world know what cruel things were done to them. The British
detainees who were let out claimed that they had human rights and decent
living standards. This is where the question hell-hole or paradise? arises.
The Pentagon stated that their allegations are "simply not credible" because
the U.S. does not tolerate torture. They also claimed that the detainees were
not kept shackled in their cells. No human rights groups have been allowed
inside but reporters have been and they weren't allowed to look at the
detainees. Shortly after this happened, a human-rights group, issued a report
on Afghanistan in which it accused the Americans of carrying out arbitrary
arrests, subjecting terror suspects to inhuman and degrading treatment, and
of failing to explain the deaths of three detainees in custody. This resulted in
the British detainees stories to be discounted about how they were treated.
Reflection:
This article did a good job at deciphering how the detainees at Guantanamo
Bay are treated and solving the answer to if they were treated well or cruel.
They received valid facts and sources to support their argument. It is hard for
an outsider to be able to give a valid opinion whether or not they were
mistreated or tortured. This article has a lot of importance behind it because
there are people who will try to claim that this camp is just a facade but
there are valid facts that support this otherwise. It is vital for everyone to

know what methods of interrogation are being used on the detainees at

Guantanamo Bay.

Portfolio Entry #2
Treatment of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay
Knefel, John. "Guantanamo Bay: Stories From Inside the World's Most
Infamous Jail." Rolling Stone. 17 June 2013.
<http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/guantanamo-bay-stories-frominside-the-worlds-most-infamous-jail-20130617>.
Summary:
This article summarizes what the facility is like and how the living conditions
are inside of Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Several journalist went to
Guantanamo Bay to cover a pre-trial hearing and get a tour of an abandoned
facility at the camp. The article stated that, The U.S. is currently holding
166 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, 86 of whom remain here despite having
been cleared for transfer. But journalists are severely limited in what they
can learn about the day-to-day realities of the prison as it operates today."
According to the press office, there are chain-link cages where detainees
were held and measured eight feet on each side. The journalist were
skeptical of the facility because they were not allowed to tour any of the
current detention centers. What they did learn was that, "Since early
February, a growing number of Guantanamo prisoners have been on hunger
strike to protest their treatment here. As of Monday, 104 detainees in Camps
5 and 6 were on strike, 44 were being force-fed through tubes and two were
hospitalized." The detainees are using this approach as a form of protest to
stop the ongoing torture the receive.
Reflection:
This article did a great job at showing the inside perspective of the facilities
at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. It gives off actual feedback from
journalist who got the experience to learn how and where the detainees are
treated. Although they did not get to see the active prison or the detainees
there, the journalist got an outside look of the abandoned prison that held
some of the spaces and items used on the detainees. It is evident that there
are secrets and conspiracies that lie behind the doors of Guantanamo Bay

and since the journalist were limited on what they were able to learn. This
article has good information on what the inside is like and information they
received while being at Guantanamo Bay, not just stories that are told by the
officials instead.

Portfolio Entry #3
Treatment of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay
Naji, Saminar. "Gitmo Inmate: My Treatment Shames U.S. Flag - CNN.com."
CNN. Cable News Network.
<http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/opinion/guantanamo-inmate-naji/#>.
Summary:
This article was conveyed by Saminar Naji, a former detainee at Guantanamo
Bay and he reveals his appalling experience at the detention camp. His story
began and ended in a tiny, freezing cold cell. Naji learned how to ignore the
confusion that had happened to him and feared for what might be happening
next. His first period of interrogation lasted three months. He stated that,
"Each session begins with shouting, to wake me up. Then they hit me on the
face and the back. I am so desperate for sleep. There are photographs of
faces stuck all around the walls of this room. The shouting and the insults get
louder, and then they nod to a man in the corner. He injects me twice in the
arm with some unknown substance They later take him to the pornography
room. He is stripped naked and has his beard shaved to insult to his religion.
He's shown pornographic pictures of women and told to make different
animals noises and hit him when he refuses. Then four years ago, U.S.
government security agencies reviewed his case, concluded that he was
innocent of any crime, and could be released. He endured dirty and sadistic
methods that were taken to Abu Ghraib, but achieved nothing, except to
shame that American flag hanging in the prison corridor that he was forced
to salute. He stated that there are 136 detainees still being held at
Guantanamo, at the same time as the politicians argue over how to black out
the Senate report.
Reflection:
This article delivered a great denotation about an actual inmates story at
Guantanamo Bay. America cannot keep hiding from its past, and its present,
like this. It is demoralizing to read what Naji had to endure as well as every

other detainee that is held at Guantanamo. If he was cleared of any charge

that he was accused of, he would not have to be a victim of unjustifiable
torture. He did a great job at describing his experience at the detention camp
and is making it fully aware what sort of treatment the inmates get when
they are getting interrogated. The United States senate tries to hid the
disturbing truth that lies at Guantanamo Bay.

Portfolio Entry #4
Treatment of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay
"Current Conditions at Guantanamo Bay." Amnesty Australia. Web. 17 Apr.
2015. <http://www.amnesty.org.au/hrs/comments/20595/>.

Summary:
This article reflects the condition that detainees at Guantanamo Bay
detention camp are currently in. It describes the facilities that the detainees
at Guantanamo are living in and how their everyday lives are schedules. The
majority of men held in Guantanamo Bay are living in maximum security
facilities knows by Camp 5, Camp 6, and Camp Echo. It states that, "the
small cells are made from steel and concrete and their food is delivered
through a metal slot in the door. If the men yell loud enough, they can speak
with each other, but they risk punishment if they chose to do so." Weeks can
pass by without being able to see sunlight and the everyday reality for these
men is sensory deprivation, environmental manipulation, sleep deprivation,
daily psychological, and physical torment. Another form of punishment is
taking away toothbrushes, blankets, soap and deodorant because they are
considered privileges . Recreation time for "submissive" detainees consists of
two to four hours outside of the cell, sometimes during the night so they do
not see sunlight or have contact with any living thing. In Camp 6, recreation
time is spent in a pen surrounded by two storey high concrete walls with wire
across the top.
Reflection:
This article gives the facts about their living arrangement and other forms
abuse that the detainees have to live through. This article is important
because it focuses on the other treatments that the detainees at

Guantanamo Bay receive besides the interrogation techniques. These are

facts that many people are probably not aware of and it is good that this
article described what the detainees go through on a daily basis. It is
inhumane that they could get their toothbrushes and soap taken away as a
form of punishment since it is personal hygiene. It also shows how the
detainees have to live in a constant state of fear due to the risk of physical,
emotional, and psychological torture.

Portfolio Entry #5
Treatment of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay
"Red Cross Cites 'Inhumane' Treatment at Guantanamo." Washington Post.
The Washington Post. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A212622004Nov30.html>.
Summary:
This article is about International Committee of the Red Cross that found
cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees at the United States military
prison in Guantanamo Bay. They discovered this during some inspections
there last summer and issued a formal report in July that claimed some
interrogation tactics that are basically torture. The article explained how the
human rights group condemned the tactics used on detainees that included
severe loud music and other sounds, the sharing of medical information with
interrogators, and forced nudity. Then a Pentagon spokesman argued that
defense officials "vehemently deny any allegations of torture at
Guantanamo, and reject categorically allegations that the treatment of
detainees at Guantanamo is improper." The spokesman also claimed that
there were numerous investigations of operations at the prison that found no
credible instances of detainee abuse.
Reflection:
This article does a great job at showing evidence and showing how the
Committee of the Red Cross got so involved with trying to prevent the
treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Although the defense officials
deny that there is any type of abuse, it is clearly evident that abuse occurs in
this facility. This article really depicts how the United States will always deny
the cruelty that the military officers and CIA do to the detainees. From

dietary manipulation to forced nudity, there is an endless list of what the

detainees are forced to do. This article did a great job at showing how human
rights groups will fight for the detainees rights since they cannot.

Portfolio Entry #6
Treatment of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay
"Torture in Guantanamo." Global Research. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.globalresearch. ca/torture-in-guantanamo/2725>.
Summary:
This article is about the Center and Constitutional Rights publishing the first
report citing declassified principal accounts from current detainees at
Guantanamo Bay and their American attorneys to detail torture and
inhumane treatment by U.S. officials the prison. Prisoners being interrogated
at Guantnamo have been held in solitary confinement for periods exceeding
a yea, deprived of sleep for days and weeks and, in at least one case,
months, exposed to prolonged temperature extremes beaten, threatened
with transfer to a foreign country, for torture, tortured in foreign countries or
at U.S. military bases abroad before transferred to Guantnamo, sexually
harassed, and raped. This article shows the betrayal of our laws here at the
United States.
Reflection:
This article gives the inside look from a detainee and his lawyer's
perspective. It gives important information that deciphers what it really is
like to be a detainee at Guantanamo Bay. All the threats and harassment that
a detainee goes through is unimaginable. All of the information here is from
former detainees at Guantanamo and information they released to their
lawyers. This article does a good job at getting a good amount of sources
and having them to support their evidence. It has an important role of giving
the outside world what kind of cruelty the detainees go through and the
people responsible for this should be held accountable for their actions.

Ivana Osuna
Portfolio Entry #1
Law of Nature
What is John Locke's law of nature? What is his social contract? Do
the law of nature and social contract relate to the human rights
issues? Explain.
John Locke's law of nature is a philosophy law that is universal and it refers to
the use of reason to analyze human nature. Natural law is an idea that
certain rights or values are inherent in or universally cognizable by virtue of
human reason or human nature. Locke's social contract is a theory that
addresses the questions of the origin of society and the legitimacy of the
power of the state over the individual. This includes citizens being able to
their political leaders, citizens accepting laws and penalties of the

government as long as the government upholds natural laws by protecting

the citizen's rights and freedoms, and if the government doesn't protect its
citizen's rights and freedoms, the people have the right to abolish the
government and set up a new one. The law of nature and social contract do
relate to the human rights issue because they all have a sort of foundation to
basic human needs. With human rights, there must be natural rights because
it every human being deserves life happiness, freedom, right to basic
necessities, etc. The social contract also contributes to it because of the
basic necessity to have a functional government and one that can provide
the principal necessities that a human being needs. If the political leader of
the state is not providing the necessary essentials, then the citizen's should
have the full right to overthrow him. Also, if the government is not protecting
the citizen's rights or freedom, then they should have the right to overthrow
them too.

Portfolio Entry #2
Violence
What does Hannah Arendt say about violence and power? Has
violence or power been used to stop human rights violations? What
would Arendt think of the active campaigns to stop violation of
labor rights? Explain.
Hannah Arendt believes that violence is distinguished by its instrumental
character and power corresponds to the human ability not just to act, but to
act in recitation. Violence is defined as a substitute through the use of
authority, being in the means-end category, and unpredictable. It is only to
be used when power and authority are failed and is used when people do not
get what they want. Power is a metaphor for "strength" that an individual can
enact over a group and it is when people take action whether they are
together or united. These factors have a big contribution in both politics and
war. She believes that violence can always destroy power but it is entirely
incapable of creating it. Violence and power have both been used to stop
human rights violations, for example, it has been used with war crimes,
stopping human trafficking, genocides, etc. This only occurs when strength
fails which happens most with human right violations. I believe that Arendt
would think that the active violation of labor rights are an abuse. She would
be in favor of the active campaigns to stop the violation of labor rights
because it is not violent and there is not authority. But in some situations,
she says that rage and violence are justified, only if and when all other
factors do not work. The active campaigns are happening though the use of

power because they are groups of people campaigning and protesting to put
an end on the violation of labor rights.

Portfolio Entry #3
Machiavelli
What are political ideas offered by Machiavelli? What would he say
about the human rights violations that you are researching?
Some political ideas that are offered by Machiavelli are his theory of
republicanism, his new political method, and the theory of republicanism. His
idea of a democratic republic includes, citizens being able to elect
representatives that make decisions, separation of powers, a system of
checks and balances, rule of law, an educated public and liberties for the
people. This is the governmental system that the American Republic has
been using since 1789 until today's time and Machiavelli looked at the
Roman Republic as a model. I feel that he would completely condone the
treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay human rights violations that I am
researching because he believes that extreme cruelty could sometimes be
used for good as well as used for evil. Although it is inhumane and cruel in
this situation, he would view this cruelty as being used for a justifiable cause
and it is necessary to use for interrogating. In his book, The Princes and the
Discourses, he believed that it was better for a prince to be feared than
loved because then his people would turn against him and try to rebel. In this
case, I think that is what Machiavelli would propose because the detainees at
Guantanamo would take advantage of the United States Military and attempt
to rebel against the officials. I think that he would say that the detainees at
Guantanamo Bay human rights are being violated because they do not have
rights that fall under his democratic republic that includes a rule of law.

Portfolio Entry #4
Human Rights Violation
Find a website that is used to combat a human rights violation.
Explain whether, and if so how, this website works.
The website that I found to combat human rights violation is
www.endhumantrafficking.org/#! and the title of the website is The Project

To End Human Trafficking. This websites main purpose is to promote the

human rights violation of human trafficking and different projects, donations,
and getting help. I do think that this website works because it is a great
method to get people interacted and be more aware of human trafficking.
There are stories about real people's experiences about being in the human
trafficking system, there is options on how to socially get involved, donating
to the cause, and announcement. Also, there are videos and pictures that
distinguish the real and explicit reality of sex trafficking. The website
includes the story of how the website began and it explains how it is a
project to eliminate human trafficking through awareness. It works in many
ways especially since people in today's world is always on the internet, it is
easier to see the website than any other source. There are different
documentaries to watch and this gives the opportunity to see what is in
reality going on in the human trafficking industry. There are many websites
that are used to combat human rights violation, but I think that they would
be used in a more effective way if there were advertisements to be more
socially aware. What I like about this website is that it is about human
trafficking all over the world and not just in one country. It shows how cruel
and inhumane human trafficking has taken place all over the world and
uniting all together is one step closer to putting an end to it.

Portfolio Entry #5
Humanization and Dehumanization
Paulo Freire focuses on humanization and dehumanization. What
does he say about these terms? How are victims of the human rights
violations/atrocities you are researching, and people who cause
these human rights violations, dehumanized?
Paulo Freire talks about humanization being the humankind's central
problem. Humanization leads to the recognition of dehumanization. Then he
defines dehumanization and marking not only those whose humanity has
been stolen, but also those who have stolen it. It is a distortion of the
vocation of becoming more fully human. Humanization and dehumanization
are possibilities for a person as an uncompleted being conscious of their
incompletion. Victims of the human rights violations/atrocities I am
researching and people who cause these human rights violations are

dehumanized because of the oppression that occurs within them. My

research is on the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and I learned
that the United States military officials and the CIA oppress and dehumanize
the detainees by using cruel and atrocious interrogation techniques used on
them every day. The victims, being the detainees, are getting their human
rights violated everyday that they are there because they do not get any
rights under the United States Constitution, not even the right to a fair trial
to try to prove their innocence. They are on United States soil that is located
in Cuba, and since they are under U.S. military control, it is only fair that they
fall under the constitution as well. The atrocities that are done to the
detainees include physical, mental, and emotional abuse that is being done
by the U.S. officials and I do believe that they are violating the detainees
rights because they always have the possibility of being innocent. Paulo
Freire is right when he says that dehumanization is humankind's central
problem because if it really did not exist, then the detention camp would be
nonexistent.