Renowned alt-rock musician PJ Harvey has recorded a protest song to raise awareness of the last British prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay.
Polly Jean Harvey, one of England’s most treasured and acclaimed female artists, holds the distinction of being the only act to win the prestigious Mercury Prize twice, and was awarded an MBE in June for services to music. Her last LP, the superb, ‘Let England Shake’ was critically acclaimed as a savage exploration of a nation built on war and bloodshed. Her latest effort, ‘Shaker Aamer’ is no less potent, aiming to stir up public awareness to a cause far too long overlooked.
Shaker Aamer, a Saudi-born British resident, who formerly worked as an Arabic translator for a London law firm was imprisoned on suspicion of leading a unit in Afghanistan under the orders of Osama Bin Laden in 2002. He has been held at Guantanamo for 11 years and 5 months, without charges or trial, despite repeated efforts to return him to the UK.
Aamer has been held without charge at Guantanamo for nearly 12 years.
The lyrics to Harvey’s track highlight the cruel treatment received by prisoners, including, ‘No water for three days, I cannot sleep or stay awake’, as well as discussing the hunger strikes (and resultant force-feeding) Aamer and his fellow prisoners have partaken in, and ending with the haunting couplet, ‘Like an old car I’m rusting away, your friend Shaker Aamer, Guantanamo Bay’.
Clive Stafford Smith, lawyer for Shaker Ameer released the following statement regarding Harvey’s song:
‘We hope that people listen to this song and think about Shaker Aamer’s plight: detained for eleven long years at Guantanamo, without charge or trial – despite having been cleared for release by both Bush and Obama. The UK Government must do everything it can to bring Shaker back home to his wife and kids in London, where he belongs. PJ Harvey has written a wonderful song – I know Shaker will be deeply moved by it – and I only hope that, with the support of the public, he will one day be able to listen to it in freedom.”
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, established in Cuba in 2002 as a detainment facility for terrorist suspects, has been the subject of intense scrutiny over the years for a number of appalling human rights violations. Reports of torture, including sleep deprivation, waterboarding and sexual humiliation, are rampant, and while making headline news, have resulted in little action. US Congress have strongly opposed any efforts to close the facility, with the atrocities occurring justified in the name of national security. As of now, 166 detainees, including Aamer, remain incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay.
Listen to the song below:
