THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO

*WARNING*spoilers*WARNING*

Thanks to youth.sg, I got two free tickets to watch this movie. I went with my friend Mares and later dined in Kenny Rogers! It has been years since I ate there! This is the first time I watch a movie in Marina Square and my oh my, how small the screen is! It has big cineplex room size but the size of the screen is pathetic! OK, back to the movie.

This drama + documentary combo movie was the story about 3 Pakistan friends who were in Afghanistan after the aftermaths of 9/11. They went through the bombing phases from the Americans to the overpowering of Afghanistan until their capture in the camp and final destination in Guantanamo, Cuba for interrogations of any relations to Al-Qaeda. The movie shows some footages of the real scene in Afghanistan at that time as well as interviews going on with this 3 British-Pakistani friends.

Half of the movie is spent in the American camp. How they were tested for years to force those who are linked or related to Al-Qaeda to come out and confess. The innocent ones suffered the most in the ordeal as they are accussed in different ways to get them to confess. It is basically to force those related to come out finally from all the different methods of treatment. My Singaporean friend told me the treatment is considered appropriate since the main objective is to instill discipline and fear in the detainees.

One wonders whether the state of mind, the emotional breakdown and the depression state of mind may force some of them to admit something they don't do at all. Not everyone can stand the long suffering to find the possible links to Al-Qaeda. Some may just go wild like someone dying of thirst in the desert who are easily swayed by the imaginations of an oasis in front of them! They could just reach their limits and admit defeat by getting the easy way out! It is basically the survival of the fittest! Think Survivor.

Are people to be detained for years if there are no evidences against them? There are no official charges too. They are just at the wrong place at the wrong time and because they can speak English! What are the human rights?

The first half of the movie shows the scenery in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the aftermaths of the bombings in Afghanistan by the United States. The life in the streets and the atmosphere in their towns show us some pictures of one of the most restricted countries in the world. The chaos when the war starts, the deaths from the bombings, the mistreatments of captives and so on are all documented in the movie.

Overall, the documentary-drama movie is alright for me. It shows the tension at that time in Afghanistan after September 11 and how the world, especially the British and the American view the Middle East very suspiciously. It shows how the unlucky are being punished and those who are still undergoing the process even until today in Guantanamo. Moral of the story? Being at the wrong place at the wrong time can really bring bad consequences to your life and change it forever. I am sure this movie will get 100% approval to be shown in a Muslim country like Malaysia!

This whole terrorist thing has shifted the trust so much that most of the people from the Middle East come to visit and study in this part of the world far more now. Middle Eastern cuisines just keep on mushrooming all over the region and I even ate in a Middle Eastern buffet in Genting Highlands!!! I even get to meet some Middle Eastern in university.