Guantánamo Diary and African Studies

First excerpted in Slate magazine, the 466-page work, edited by Larry Siems, was published as Guantánamo Diary in January 2015, and it became an immediate international bestseller. During the panel and the wider discussion that followed, panelists and audience members collectively observed that in public commentary and debates there appeared to be a deficiency of materials with which to contextualize and teach Guantánamo Diary as a work of non-fiction by an African. Insofar as the responsibility for most of his experience lies with the United States government and its citizenry, who, at the time of writing, continue to permit the operation of a prison and military base in an enclave of a sovereign nation, the Republic of Cuba, in violation of international law, it behooves Africanists to bring his story to the attention of our students and colleagues.