Turning a deaf ear to suffering (The Age re: Mamdouh Habib)

[struggle4progress]

Nina Philadelphoff-Puren
June 16, 2007

PRIMO Levi, the great witness to the Holocaust, was plagued by a recurring nightmare while in Auschwitz. It would begin as an innocent dream. In it, he is sitting at a table with people who know him. With intense relief, he tells them of all that had happened during his imprisonment: beatings, hunger, unspeakable suffering. But as his tale unfolds, he notices something dreadful — his audience is no longer paying attention. Unbearably, they have turned away from him, indifferent to his story. And at this point, Levi's nightmare begins: the nightmare of finally uttering his testimony, only to find that his listeners refuse to hear it. ~snip~

In providing a public examination of his claims, the Canadians fulfilled their responsibility as ethical listeners. The Arar case begs comparison with Mamdouh Habib, detained in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere for more than three years without charge, before his release to Australia in January 2005.

Consider the following attempts to make Habib fall silent. Former Opposition Leader Kim Beazley opposed his request to address a Senate committee about his experiences in Guantanamo Bay. Former Education Minister Brendan Nelson condemned a university for permitting him to speak to students about what had happened to him. Three men in Sydney stabbed him outside his home, saying only that "you better keep quiet". ~snip~

Habib is currently suing the Commonwealth in the Federal Court, claiming that the Government was complicit in his kidnap, false imprisonment and torture. The Government has tried to have his case struck out. Beyond the serious legal ramifications of this situation, the cruelty of the official obfuscations in this matter cannot be overstated. It is well known that torture attacks the voice as well as the body. A key aspect in any torture survivor's recovery is the ability to tell their story and have it acknowledged. Years of government denials have deprived Habib of that recognition. ~snip~

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/turning-a-deaf-ear-to-suffering/2007/06/15/1181414545991.html