TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ROLLING FAST, WE ARE ASKING YOU TO DO THREE THINGS ON THE DAY YOU
SIGN UP:
Fast from midnight to midnight
Write to one prisoner at Guantánamo
Download and send this letter to a man detained in Guantánamo. (Arabic version also available.)
Make four phone calls
Call the White House and insist that President Obama fulfill his promise to close Guantanamo: 202-456-1111, 202-456-1414 or submit a comment online.
Call the U.S. Southern Command to decry the conditions at Guantanamo: 305.437.1213
Call the Department of Defense: 703-571-3343
Call your Congressperson: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
Talking points: “I am concerned about the expanding hunger strike and I appreciate General Kelly’s (Southcom Commander) recent acknowledgement before Congress of the “devastating” situation at Guantanamo. We are concerned over the costs associated, both financially and what it does to America’s image, and concerned about the repercussions for our troops and what it means to ask young kids to force feed people we admit are innocent. I ask that, in the face of the failure of our elected officials to close Guantanamo, our Military will refuse to participate in force feedings.”
Additionally, if you have the time and the inclination, we encourage you to take a photo of yourself holding a sign indicating what day of the hunger strike you are fasting on (or just a photo of the sign) AND/OR to write just a couple of sentences reflecting on the day’s experience. Send the photo or brief reflection to [email protected], or post it directly on to our facebook page, Witness against Torture. WAT would like to be able to use the photo and/or reflection on this site and Tumblr.
Lastly, if you do some public recognition of the fast, please let us know.
If you would like to participate in the rolling fast, please look at the calendar below and send an email to [email protected] indicating which day/s you can fast, make phone calls, and write a letter to a prisoner at Guantánamo. Once you sign up, you will receive a confirmation email and a then a reminder email the day before you fast.
For photos and past reflections from participants please visit:
http://closegitmo.net/rollingfasters/
by 
Hunger Striker's Blog
U.S. Faster in Solidarity w/Gitmo & Pelican Bay Prisoners
Foreground: EMT prepares the tool for the nasal intubation. Background: U.S. Embassy, Buenos Aires, Argentina Middleground:...agony awaits.
The feeding demo is extremely painful, yet it is done with consent. The long-term solidarity fast continues with nasogastric nourishment in front of U.S. governmental symbols of power. The twice-daily force-feeding of Gitmo hunger strikers is nonconsensual and therefore real torture by the standards sponsored by U.S. taxpayers and authorized by members of Congress who just raised the debt ceiling to nearly $17 trillion. President Obama's actions continue to belie his empty words "Close Guantánamo." As Commander-in-Chief, he could easily order an end to what the Pentagon refuses to call "forced-feeding." The force-feeding is premeditated relentless forced penetration of plastic into their innermost sacred cavities !
Andrés Thomas Conteris - fasted on water and coconut water with vitamin and electrolyte supplements. Solidarity fast began July 8, 2013 with 30,000 hunger striking California prisoners urging fulfillment of 5 Core Demands of the Pelican Bay supermax prisoners. Force-feeding protests began Sept. 6 & Sept. 25 in front of the White House & later in front of the Oakland Office of CA Dept of Corrections and Rehab (CDCR) to depict how prisoners in Guantánamo are tortured with force-feeding twice-daily and how CA prisoners as future hunger strikers have been threatened with a court order authorizing force-feeding. On Oct 4 and Oct 8 he was tube-fed in front of the U.S. Embassies in Montevideo, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina. On Oct 15 a similar protest took place in Santiago, Chile. On Friday, Oct 18 the feeding protest returns to Washington, DC outside a Federal Court hearing on the lawsuit challenging force-feeding in Guantánamo. He is now on a maintenance fast losing about 1 pound per week, unlike the 5 pounds/week the first 11 weeks. In January 2014 with the anniversary of Guantánamo on Jan. 11, the force feeding protests will recommence. Please spread the word.
U.S. Hunger Strikers who have suspended their fast
Diane Wilson - Water only 58 days (lost 48 lbs). Diane, co-founder of CodePink and member of Veterans for Peace, suspended her hunger strike on June 27, 2013 after detention following her arrest for scaling the White House fence the day before. She faced a jury trial in DC District Court on Sept. 5th, 2013.
S. Brian Willson - Suspended Hunger Strike on June 10, 2013 after 31 days on 300cal/day, when a car accidentally hit him. Supporters continue a vigil with a rolling fast, in Portland, OR.
Elliott Adams - Went 80 days on 300 cal/day from May 18, to August 4, 2013 losing 45 lbs. He is past President of Veterans for Peace.
Tarak Kauff - Ended fast on August 4, 2013 after 58 days on 300 cal/day since June 7. He lost 29 lbs. On Board of Directors for Veterans for Peace.
Cynthia Papermaster - After 84 days on 300 cal/day, Cynthia suspended her hunger strike on Sep. 6 which began June 15, 2013. Code Pink member, lost 35 lbs. The transfer of two Algerian prisoners on Aug. 29, 2013, inspired her to suspend her fast.
Collaborative of CloseGitmo.net Organizations
- Campaign for Alternatives to
- Meta Peace Team: "Pursuing peace
- Metta Center for Nonviolence
- NRCAT
Daily Updates
- Articles: Guantánamo: Where Being Cleared for Release Means Nothing January 26, 2014
- Articles: Video: Washington D.C. Protest on the 12th Anniversary of the Opening of Guantánamo January 16, 2014
- Articles: Join Us in Washington D.C. on Jan. 11 to Tell President Obama, "Close Guantánamo Now!" January 6, 2014
