Health Crisis in Guantanamo?

The news has been a-buzz this past week with stories about Andrew Speaker, the 31 year-old man with an aggressive strain of TB. Despite the fact that his father-in-law works for the CDC and specializes in TB, there is a more interesting TB case that is being overlooked by the media.

Saud Memon died May 18, 2007 in Pakistan. His name might become more familiar in late June with the release of A Mighty Heart, the Daniel Pearl Story. Memon owned the property (a shed and nursery) where Pearl's body was eventually found.

Caught in 2003 in connection with Pearl's murder, Memon was quietly shipped to Guantanamo. He was held in the detention center for four years, then returned to his home in Pakistan the month before his death. No charges are known to have been filed against him.

His death was ruled as a result from a combination of TB and meningitis. It is not surprising that he died, his family claims that he weighed only 40 pounds when returned to them.

Yet, no investigation of Guantanamo exists. The abuse and torture of detainees has been decried around the globe since prisoners were first shipped to the island. Now, it appears logical to assume there could be multiple raging epidemics in the prison. Epidemics that endanger more than just 550 dirty "enemy combatants."

Soldiers, lawyers and humanitarians working and visiting the prison can be infected and unknowingly spread TB to the general population here and abroad.

The prison has offered nothing but shame for the United States. It's time to close Guantanamo and treat the inmates to the respect they deserve under our nation's laws.

~Lila Schow

Because Responsible Citizens Clean Up After Their Government

http://goodusgov.org/