Will Potter: The secret US prisons you've never heard of before
ويل بوتر: السجون الأمريكية التي لم تسمع عنها من قبل
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
that "writing about prisoners
" الكتابة عن السجناء
we treat prisoners as ghosts.
كأنهم أشباح.
goes to great lengths to keep them hidden.
ببذل جهد لإخفائهم ومحو وجودهم.
when no one is watching,
لا يوجد من يراقبهم
that we need to tell.
يجب سردها على المسامع.
prison units in the United States,
بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية،
Communications Management Units or CMUs.
وحدة إدارة الاتصالات.
"Little Guantanamo."
"غوانتنامو الصغير".
right here, at home,
موجودة هنا، في بلدنا،
in Terre Haute, Indiana,
بمقاطعة إنديانا،
in Marion, Illinois.
بمقاطعة إلينوي.
the formal review process
المراجعة الرسمية
when they were opened.
been convicted of crimes.
بجرائم.
and some involve threats and violence.
تشمل التهديد والعنف.
or innocence of any prisoner.
مذنبا أو بريئا.
Thurgood Marshall said,
مارشال، أنا هنا لأنه
their human quality."
has said there are three flecks of light
أنه يوجد ثلاثة أشياء تبعث على الأمل
but they radically restrict all of these
إنفراديا ولكنها تقيد كل هذا جذريا
extreme prisons in the United States.
المتحدة الأمريكية أو لتتجاوزه.
to 45 minutes a month,
إلى 45 دقيقة في الشهر،
other prisoners receive.
to six pieces of paper.
ليصل لست صفحات.
to four hours per month,
4 ساعات في الشهر،
like Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph
منفذ التفجير بالحديقة الأولمبية
which means prisoners are not allowed
الاتصال، يعني أنه لا يتم السماح للسجناء
except psychologically."
who is imprisoned here.
open records requests
وطلبات فتح السجلات
and former prisoners,
into the CMUs have opened.
وحدة إدارة الاتصالات.
60 to 70 prisoners here,
رافيل ظافر،
on Iraq by sending medical supplies
بإرسال الإمدادات الطبية
from Saddam Hussein's Iraq as refugees.
العراق إلى نيويورك كلاجئين.
as part of an FBI sting.
مكتب التحقيقات الفدرالي.
to bear witness to a loan,
بشهادة من أجل الحصول على قرضٍ،
involved in the loan was trying to enlist
القرض كان يحاول ضم
to a terrorist group.
إرهابية.
some non-Muslim prisoners.
سجناء غير مسلمين.
the racial numbers,
الأرقام العنصرية،
and environmental activists
والناشطين في مجال البيئة
of participating in two arsons
مفتعلين
that he would be sent
إرساله
weren't supported by any facts.
hasn't fully explained
توضح تماما
هذه الوحدة،
for these decisions.
talking about environmental activists.
عند الحديث عن الناشطين البيئيين.
prisoners in US prisons
في السجون الأمريكية
are in the CMUs.
الاتصالات.
at a low-security prison
منخفض الحراسة
الاتصالات.
for an answer, a hearing,
وبالنظر في الدعوى،
shows how those requests are viewed.
يتم التعامل مع هذه الطلبات.
"أخبره أن ذلك لن يحدث."
recommended McGowan's transfer
بنقل ماكغوان
سلوكه الجيد.
Counterterrorism Unit,
لمكتب السجن،
Task Force of the FBI.
الإرهاب من مكتب التحقيقات
was really sent to a CMU
هذه الوحدة
cited McGowan's "anti-government beliefs."
أن "ماكغوان ناشط معارض للحكومة".
about environmental issues,
البيئية،
reflect on their mistakes
any time at all in Washington, DC,
بعض الوقت في واشنطن العاصمة،
concept for the government.
الخاص بالحكومة.
McGowan in the CMU.
الموجود داخل الوحدة.
on this stage before,
على هذا المسرح،
monitoring my work.
برصد أعمالي.
and only journalist to visit a CMU.
يزور وحدة إدارة الاتصالات.
Counterterrorism Unit,
about CMUs, like this one.
إدارة الاتصالات، كهذا الخطاب.
be approved to visit?
out to the prison, I got an answer.
حصلت على الإجابة.
as a friend, not a journalist.
وليس كصحفي.
that if I asked any questions
أنه إذا قمت بطرح أي سؤال
for my reporting.
لتقارير.
the guards reminded me
الحراس
and knew about my work.
to interview McGowan,
بمقابلة صحفية مع ماكغوان،
as "self-contained housing units."
الاتصالات بأنها "وحدة سكنية قائمة بذاتها".
of describing black holes.
أورويل.
checkpoints that you would expect.
على تفكيرك.
to the visitation room is silent.
غرفة الزيارة.
the rest of the prison is on lockdown.
تأمين بقية أرجاء السجن.
could touch each wall.
الجدران عند مدّ ذراعيّ.
orb in the ceiling
by the Counterterrorism Unit
مكافحة الإرهاب
have to be in English for CMU prisoners,
زيارة سجين بالوحدة،
for many of the Muslim families.
الأسر المسلمة.
bulletproof glass
attached to the wall
المعلقة على الجدار
while in the CMU,
داخل وحدة إدارة الاتصالات،
that I was secretly the president
الرئيس السري
now thinks that Bella and Edward
الفيديرالي أن اسم ادوارد وبيلا
and at length about his niece Lily,
ابنة أخيه ليلي،
it feels to never be able to hug them,
قدرته على ضمهم إلى صدره،
was transferred out of the CMU
خارج وحدة إدارة الاتصالات
he was sent back again.
إعادته إلى هناك.
CMU documents on my website
على وقع الويب الخاص بي
that McGowan had called his wife
اتصل بزوجته
was saying about him,
بشأنه،
at the end of his sentence,
for the Huffington Post headlined,
بعنوان:
a CMU for my Political Speech."
لوحدة إدارة الاتصالات بسبب خطابي السياسي."
back in jail for his political speech.
أخرى بسبب خطابه السياسي.
by the Bush administration,
إدارة بوش،
how and why CMUs were created.
والسبب من ذلك.
with "inspirational significance."
these are political prisons
سياسية
because of their race,
بسبب العرق،
political beliefs.
characterization is too strong,
الوصف مبالغ فيه.
of the government's own documents.
الخاصة بها.
by the CMU, the sender was told
الموجهة لماكغوان، تم إخبار المُرسل
"for political prisoners."
سياسيين".
activist Andy Stepanian,
حقوق الحيوان أندي ستيبانيان
anti-government and anti-corporate views.
لكونه معاديا للحكومة وأرائه ضد للشركات.
may be hard to believe,
يصعب تصديق ذلك،
and in the United States.
الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية تحديدا.
is that the US has a dark history
المتحدة الأمريكية تملك تاريخا مظلما
because of their political beliefs.
ويعود ذلك لمعتقداتهم السياسية.
was home to the CMU,
إلى وحدة إدارة الاتصالات،
بسوء سمعتها.
in solitary for 22 hours a day.
لمدة 22 ساعة في اليوم.
was to "control revolutionary attitudes."
هو "السيطرة على السلوكيات الثورية".
the Lexington High Security Unit
تًدعى "وحدة الأمن بليكسينغتون"
to the Weather Underground,
"Weather Underground"
independent struggles.
لاستقلال بورتوريكو.
communication and used sleep deprivation,
طرق لحرمانهن من النوم،
"ideological conversion."
"التحويل الايدولوجي".
but only through the campaigning
فقط عبر الحملات
advocates, like Amnesty International.
حقوق الإنسان كمنظمة العفو الدولية.
with the Center for Constitutional Rights
من مركز الحقوق الدستورية
of their due process rights
ضمان الحق
and religious speech.
never come to light without this lawsuit.
الوثائق مخفيةً لولا الدعوة القضائية.
and my message for you today
to what is being done to these prisoners.
لهؤلاء السجناء.
of the values held beyond prison walls.
وراء أسوار السجن.
to human rights.
repeating the mistakes of our past.
السابقة.
described as the stories of the dead,
في قصصه،
the stories of ourselves.
I learned about the Bill of Rights,
وثيقة الحقوق،
about 25 other laws and rights
the number one question I get
التي أحصل عليها
that people don't know.
على علم بذلك.
of situations, any rights abuses,
انتهاك للحقوق،
that it's actually happening
to actually make a change.
what's happening at all
disenfranchised populations
محرومين من حقوقهم
not native English speakers.
ليست الانجليزية لغتهم الأم.
representation that I mentioned,
التمثيل الذي ذكرته،
of what's happening.
that you have right to council
الحق في الحصول على استشارة
convicted of a crime,
جريمة،
was bogus or legitimate,
وهمية أو قانونية،
after that is warranted.
and dangerous narrative that we have,
مدمرة حقا وخطيرة،
of things to happen,
بأن تحدث،
kind of turns a blind eye to it.
were all real documents, word for word,
الشاشة حقيقية، كلمة كلمةً،
all of them to my website.
على موقع الواب الخاص بي.
a footnoted version of the talk,
وهي نسخة من الهوامش للمحادثة،
without the little snippets.
بدون المقتطفات الصغيرة.
on primary source documents
with former and current prisoners,
السابقين والحاليين،
with this situation every day.
there myself, as well.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Potter - Investigative journalistAward-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.
Why you should listen
Independent journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter is based in Washington, D.C.; his current work examines how whistleblowers and non-violent protesters are being treated as terrorists.
The author of Green Is The New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, Potter has extensively documented how non-violent protest is slowly being criminalized. His reporting and commentary have been featured in the world's top media outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, Rolling Stone, El Pais, and Le Monde. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about his reporting, as the only witness opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act -- and he is a plaintiff in the first lawsuits challenging so-called "ag-gag" laws as unconstitutional.
Will has also lectured at many universities and public forums about his work, including Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, and the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. International speaking tours have included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Spain, and he was the international guest lecturer for Australia's 2014 animal law lecture series.
His reporting has overturned criminal prosecutions, and it has both been praised in Congressional reports and monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Unit.
Will Potter | Speaker | TED.com