In March 2003, Center for Constitutional Rights client Majid Khan was captured, forcibly disappeared, and tortured by U.S. officials at overseas "black sites" operated by the CIA. He was brought to Guantánamo in September 2006, where has been detained since. During his imprisonment, Majid wrote several poems reflecting on his life, his wife and daughter, and his torture and detention. These have been cleared for public release.
Frank Antonio Lopez (Lumi) of the Peace Poets performed "Drama" and "I Dream About You," two poems by Majid Khan, at the January 11, 2021, vigil to mark 19 years since the prison opened.
"Soul"
It feels like a body without a soul
To my daughter I wish I could call
Precious years of her life from me they stole
She never got to see me playing a father's role
Her very first steps and watching her fall
Her playing with dolls, I missed it all
These things may seem little and small
To us, this is it, and that is all
God willing, in dignity, I'll walk tall
In summer, winter, autumn and in fall
Years of life passed away without feeling
Wounded heart bleeding without healing
Precious times of my life have been stolen
My own people have become foreign
I used to be happy and I used to smile
To my daughter I wish I could dial
I love her. I wish I could see my wife
If not here then it will be in hereafter life
I lost the war before I even fought
Cast away in the sea I float
Drop by drop can drive one nuts
Death by thousand paper cuts
**********
Untitled
Dark chapter in history of Americans
Lack of rights. Rendition and detention
Do as I say but don't do as I do
Tail win I. Head lose you
They asked. How it felt to be tortured
It's like being skinned and butchered
OMG. OMG!, I'm going to die
Can't breathe. I'm drowning, bye bye
A hood wrapped around over my face
Water pouring down pace by pace
Heart pounding panicking sensation
Stop it, but they had no intentions
Filling up lungs. Swallowing water through nose
Waterboarding, a justifiable American cause
So much pain. Here we go again and again
Is it for real or have I gone insane?
Losing mind, losing control of my bowel
No more, no more. Oh Allah, take my soul
We ain't gonna let you die. They said
You gonna wish, you were dead
I made up things, I wanted it to be stopped
They wanted more, but it never stopped
The more I made up, the more I got in trouble
Body of pain, mind popping like bubble
There is the world after 9/11
Hanging naked in a cold, pitch dark cell 24x7
It wasn't one method of torture at a time
Over half a dozen methods applied same time
Giving this world, a fair trial impression
Decisions were made before even our detention
Putting security over liberty only created more fighters
I prefer pen over sword pen is much mightier
**********
Untitled
Sitting on chair, covered by duct tape
American enema or medical rape
Not a medical tube but water hose
In my rectum while I'm naked and exposed
I screamed and bled in tears
My hemorrhoids are proof of scars that I bear
Not in hospital but in my cell
Medical procedure, what a tell