Don't Forget Us Here

Lost and Found at Guantanamo

De: Mansoor Adayfi

Narrado por: Roxanna Hope Radja, Mansoor Adayfi

This moving, eye-opening memoir of an innocent man detained at Guantánamo Bay for fifteen years tells a story of humanity in the unlikeliest of places and an unprecedented look at life at Guantánamo.

At the age of 18, Mansoor Adayfi left his home in Yemen for a cultural mission to Afghanistan. He never returned. Kidnapped by warlords and then sold to the US after 9/11, he was disappeared to Guantánamo Bay, where he spent the next 14 years as Detainee #441.
Don't Forget Us Here tells two coming-of-age stories in parallel: a makeshift island outpost becoming the world's most notorious prison and an innocent young man emerging from its darkness. Arriving as a stubborn teenager, Mansoor survived the camp's infamous interrogation program and became a feared and hardened resistance fighter leading prison riots and hunger strikes. With time though, he grew into the man nicknamed "Smiley Troublemaker": a student, writer, advocate, and historian. While at Guantánamo, he wrote a series of manuscripts he sent as letters to his attorneys, which he then transformed into this vital chronicle, in collaboration with award-winning writer Antonio Aiello. With unexpected warmth and empathy, Mansoor unwinds a narrative of fighting for hope and survival in unimaginable circumstances, illuminating the limitlessness of the human spirit. And through his own story, he also tells Guantánamo's story, offering an unprecedented window into one of the most secretive places on earth and the people—detainees and guards alike—who lived there with him. Twenty years after 9/11, Guantánamo remains open, and at a moment of due reckoning, Mansoor Adayfi helps us understand what actually happened there—both the horror and the beauty—a stunning record of an experience we cannot afford to forget.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"In this landmark work, Mansoor Adayfi gives us a guided tour through the nightmarish landscape of Guantánamo. He tells a tale of both casual cruelty and organized sadism that should make every American politician redden with shame. But this memoir offers much more than just a gruesome portrait of a bureaucracy gone berserk, for it describes the fierce resistance and ultimate redemption of an innocent Yemeni man consigned to a hellish prison. Let us hope that Don't Forget Us Here will spark a long overdue reckoning with the horrors of Guantánamo and its many victims."—Ron Chernow, former president of PEN America and bestselling author of Grant and Hamilton

"This is a wholly enthralling, relentlessly enraging, and unexpectedly funny book about one man caught in the absurdist world of the War on Terror. With his mordant wit and astonishing perseverance, Mansoor is impossible not to root for. This is a contemporary Unbroken with vital lessons for the American military-intelligence complex, exposing how an ostensibly moral nation becomes a state sponsor of torture."—Dave Eggers, Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

"An incredible story! I am grateful to this joyously heartbreaking book for reminding me of what it means to be not just human, but humane."
—Azar Nafisi, bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran

"Powerful…An important record of prisoner mistreatment as a national reckoning over Guantánamo continues to loom."—Kirkus (starred review)

"Searing...This poignant testament strikes a devastating chord."—Publishers Weekly

"Mansoor’s plight is unfathomable, but his strength most certainly is enviable. His powerful, unforgettable story is a must read in every way."—Booklist

"A profoundly moving and immensely important tribute to the intelligence, resilience, and humanity with which its author, Mansoor Adayfi, survived fourteen years as a detainee in the notorious Guantanamo prison camp."—Francine Prose, bestselling author of Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932

"After years of hearing and reading only the ‘official’ version of his story, as told by his captors, at last Mansoor himself speaks. Speaking at all after such experiences, which included 14 years of the most serious human rights violations and daily humiliations designed to break the human spirit, is a victory. Speaking as Mansoor does here, of the struggle of Guantánamo's prisoners to assert their humanity, turns the official story about these men on its head, and shows Guantánamo for what it is: a terrible shame and a pointless failure."—Mohamedou Ould Slahi, bestselling author of Guantánamo Diary

Amazing Story

This was a truly heartbreaking story told beautifully. Filled with information and presented honestly and a incerely.

One tragic tale!

I am happy he able to write his story for the world to read too!

The Ring of Truth is Clear

I thought this book would be painful to hear and while parts of the narrative were heartbreaking, Mansoor Adayfi’s deep faith in Allah and his own integrity shone through making it a testament to the human spirit which can be tested but can survive. Thank you to the author who has given us this account.

Encapsulating

I was encapsulated from the very beginning right until then end. Mansoor endured so much yet never let it compromise his principles or break his spirit. It left me truly heartbroken

excellent read

I couldn't stop listening to this audible book. May the writer live in peace and find love.

Incredibly powerful

Our country destroyed the lives of so many due to ignorance, racism and the stupidity we allow to lead our government. Truly a great listen if yoyr education is purely from the US education system where we ignore so many of this countries errors, evil acts, and even slight faults. I have been suggested many a leadership book in the military, but nothing could have been nearly as eye opening as your writing. Thank you for sharing your story, and I am so deeply sorry for the way this country has treated you and your brothers.

heart breaking

what I heard was horrific, I can't imagine anybody going through this and not go insane. Even if he was guilty, he does not need to be tortured, we have to have evidence, and we never did, that's why we released them. it's a shamed time.

Read it, now listening to it on drives

This book is a must read or listen. I gobbled it up in 2 days, and now I listen to it in the car. I will never forget you or our brothers, Mansoor. Thank you for courageously sharing your story.

A must listen

This is an amazing story of survival, compassion and resilience in the worst imaginable conditions

Awe inspiring

Prior to listening to this book, I had a very superficial knowledge of what took place in the prison camps in Guantanamo. Listening to the 1st hand account of the harrowing details of the torture and barbaric mistreatment suffered by one of the innocent victims of this operation was beyond disturbing. The fact that someone could survive this nightmare and produce an autobiography filled with a message of love, hope, perseverance and inspiration to the world is a testament to the spirit of a man grounded in his faith and dedication to his creator.