A former Guantánamo Bay detainee has spoken of his continuing
struggle to adjust to life as a free man, warning of the challenges that
face Shaker Aamer a week on from his release after 13 years of imprisonment.
Ahmed Errachidi, 49, told the Guardian that readjustment to normal life after his five-and-half year imprisonment has not been easy. “Now when you walk down the street you keep asking yourself: ‘Do these people know who I am? Do they know I came from Guantánamo?’”, said Errachidi, who was born in Morocco but worked in Britain as a chef before he was arrested on the Pakistan-Afghan border in 2002.
“Plus you have nightmares. The worst is when a prisoner will see an orange uniform and see himself back in Guantánamo. That is a nightmare that a lot of detainees have.”
Errachidi, who now resides in Morroco where he owns a restaurant and cafe, said: “The big problem I have faced here is that everybody is very cautious when they are talking to me. No one asks for my phone number. No one asks me about Guantánamo. Perhaps they feel it will bring back the pain, but I actually wish that they would ask me questions.”
Errachidi was detained without charge for five years, during which time he earned the nickname “The General” by guards, after he was cast as the unofficial leader of more than 700 detainees – organising protests that included hunger strikes, a role he says occurred largely because he was one of the few English speakers.
“I’ve wanted to keep a low profile and wanted my privacy, but now I feel an obligation to talk about Guantánamo. I want to talk to people, I want to englighten them, to go in front of Congress and tell the people of America and the world about the truth of what happened.
Ahmed Errachidi, 49, told the Guardian that readjustment to normal life after his five-and-half year imprisonment has not been easy. “Now when you walk down the street you keep asking yourself: ‘Do these people know who I am? Do they know I came from Guantánamo?’”, said Errachidi, who was born in Morocco but worked in Britain as a chef before he was arrested on the Pakistan-Afghan border in 2002.
“Plus you have nightmares. The worst is when a prisoner will see an orange uniform and see himself back in Guantánamo. That is a nightmare that a lot of detainees have.”
Errachidi, who now resides in Morroco where he owns a restaurant and cafe, said: “The big problem I have faced here is that everybody is very cautious when they are talking to me. No one asks for my phone number. No one asks me about Guantánamo. Perhaps they feel it will bring back the pain, but I actually wish that they would ask me questions.”
Errachidi was detained without charge for five years, during which time he earned the nickname “The General” by guards, after he was cast as the unofficial leader of more than 700 detainees – organising protests that included hunger strikes, a role he says occurred largely because he was one of the few English speakers.
“I’ve wanted to keep a low profile and wanted my privacy, but now I feel an obligation to talk about Guantánamo. I want to talk to people, I want to englighten them, to go in front of Congress and tell the people of America and the world about the truth of what happened.
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