Rose By Any Other Name Is Still A Rose

The plaintiff, Emad Abdullah Hassan, says he has been force-fed more than 5,000 times since 2007. The 34-year old has been held at Guantánamo Bay since 2002 without charge and is said to be gravely ill.

“All I want is what President Obama promised – my liberty, and fair treatment for others. I have been cleared for five years, and I have been force-fed for seven years. This is not a life worth living, it is a life of constant pain and suffering. While I do not want to die, it is surely my right to protest peacefully without being degraded and abused every day.”

“When liquid is forced into him at excessive speed, [Hassan] vomits on himself. The feeding process starts again, but the vomit remains. With the nutrient mix comes the forcible administration of medication to counteract his inevitable constipation. The most humiliating aspect of the whole process, he says, is when he defecates on himself and is forced to remain seated for an hour or more before being returned to his cell — where he will be refused clean clothes,” Clive Stafford Smith, the founder and director of Reprieve who is representing Hassan, wrote in an op-ed for Al-Jazeera.

If the above statements are true it makes me ashamed to be American. As Congressman I will not be quiet about torture of any individual whether friend or foe. This behavior at Guantanamo is unnecessary and un-American!! It must stop now. This is the link to the complaint filed https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1070301/2014-03-07-clive-stafford-smith-declaration.pdf 

Representative Andre Carson, I must ask, do you support this type behavior on the part of our government? If not, why haven’t you spoken out? If you do support this behavior, shame on you!! Your grandmother, our beloved Julia Carson would not be happy with your silence. Silence is consent. Our honored Julia, your grandmother, spoke out loudly for the least of these. You appear to standing on her shoulders but not following her honorable path. That truly is not what your grandmother would have you to do!! You are carrying on her name, but not her legacy. My brother, QUIT IT!!

I am unbought, unbossed, unafraid and unleashed to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, SO HELP ME GOD!! I do not apologize for being Christian. As a Christian and your representative in Congress I will not support the torture of anyone!! I need your support May 6^th. If you live in the 7^th Congressional District of Indiana the time is now!! YOU READY??

(Campaign Statement at Statehouse