For instance, migrants detained at Guantanamo Bay have described traumatic and inhumane conditions such as unsanitary living spaces, lack of adequate hygiene, and moldy infrastructure. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised alarm about the deplorable conditions into which these people are thrust. They detail in particular deficiencies in Camp 6, the high-security units, which restrict communication and movement, exacerbating isolation. The group’s mission is to ensure that migrants are treated humanely, whether they are fleeing danger or seeking opportunity.
Things have gotten out of control. In addition, law enforcement has continued to detain some migrants after they crossed the southern U.S. border, frequently choosing to detain them based on their nationality or identifiable tattoos. These tattoos are a calling card of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal gang. This disturbing relationship makes for some troubling questions regarding the standards of detention and treatment.
Unsanitary and Inhumane Living Conditions
Monitoring reports have found that the treatment conditions in Guantanamo Bay are indisputably punitive — counter to human dignity and the hygiene requisite for any human life. Migrants have described the difficulty they experienced in accessing basic hygiene facilities. To only be able to bathe every 3 days causes individuals to feel dirty and disheartened.
64 Camp 6 holds most of the detainees there in overtly oppressive and overcrowded conditions. The cells hardly more than two by three meters, with a very rudimentary concrete bed and sink-and-toilet combo. The men, mostly in pre-trial detention, live 23 hours a day in small cells. They only receive one hour of outdoor time per day in an enclosed courtyard.
“That’s what torture is, confinement. You are not alive. You are there and you are not alive, where you don’t know if it is day or night, you don’t really know the time, you are eating poorly, every day that you are there you are dying little by little. I cried every day during those 15 days.” – José Daniel Simancas Rodríguez.
The disconnection increases their isolation. The inability to communicate with other migrants worsens their isolation. Detainees are prohibited from associating with each other, further increasing their collective despair and hopelessness.
Nutritional Deficiencies and Health Concerns
Food quality has received recent criticism as migrants claim they have been served inadequate and rotten food. This is evident in the food supplied, which often includes food like rancid rice and beans that do not fulfill adequate nutritional standards.
José Daniel Simancas Rodríguez, who suffered 15 days of detention, lost 26 kilos because the food was never provided. Importantly, his testimony addresses the extreme consequences of inadequate nutrition on detainees’ health.
“I was hungry all the time, and my stomach hurt.” – Migrant (name not specified).
This substandard nourishment poses serious health threats to those incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay. Rising food insecurity and poor housing conditions make for a deadly environment. This state of affairs endangers the lives of the most vulnerable among us, those fleeing danger in search of refuge.
Calls for Change and Humanitarian Treatment
Human Rights Watch strongly condemned the inhumane treatment of migrants at Guantanamo Bay. In light of the crisis, they are calling for immediate reforms to end the backlog. Juanita Goebertus, HRW’s Americas director, added that migrants need to be treated with humanity.
“No immigrant or asylum seeker who leaves their country in search of protection should be taken to a place like this.” – Juanita Goebertus.
Goebertus further emphasized that access to basic human rights is not a privilege but rather a fundamental right for all individuals. The organization has repeatedly and urgently warned authorities to address these problems. Furthermore, they do not shy away from demanding that all individuals who are detained be afforded basic standards of care and human dignity.
