Guantánamo Public Memory Project

What can we learn from GTMO’s past? What should we remember about what’s happening now? Hear from those who were there.

Thousands of Americans have called GTMO home: military personnel, contractors, and their families. It’s where many people grew up, went to high school, and met their future spouses. “GITMOites” often remember their time on the base as a unique and formative experience.
In the 1990s, more than 30,000 Cubans and 20,000 Haitians seeking asylum in the US were rescued from the sea, then held at GTMO in tent cities behind barbed wire. Some called it a “safe haven;” others, a “prison camp.”
In the 1990s, more than 30,000 Cubans and 20,000 Haitians seeking asylum in the US were rescued from the sea, then held at GTMO in tent cities behind barbed wire. Some called it a “safe haven;” others, a “prison camp.”
During World War II, thousands of Cubans worked on the base every day; after the Cuban Revolution, they had to choose sides. Many got caught in the middle of a global struggle.
In 2002, the first “enemy combatants” were brought to Camp X-Ray, first built for criminal refugees. Today, 172 prisoners remain at GTMO; others were released without charge.

Do you have a story?

Do you know someone who has a story to share?
Is there a perspective you’d like to hear?
Please let us know. We are collecting all the time.

Go to Interview Archive >
Lieutenant General Raymond Ayres at GTMO: Oct 1994 - Feb 1995
Moazzam Begg at GTMO: 2003 - 2005
William Brazzell at GTMO: 1961-1965
Patricia Page at GTMO: 1954-1959
Lindy Aven and Ruth Patterson at GTMO: 1961-1995
Conrado Basulto at GTMO: 1994-1995
Ira Kurzban at GTMO: 1991-1996
Natalie and Gregory Beaubrun at GTMO: 1992
David Frakt at GTMO: 2008-09
George Walls at GTMO: 1991-1992
Aldama Family at GTMO: 1961-1995
Guarione Díaz at GTMO: 1994
Winston and Nelda Williams at GTMO: 1965-1967
Omar Deghayes at GTMO: 2002 - 2007
Sergio Lastres at GTMO: 1994-1996
Eugenio Rothe at GTMO: 1994-1995
Anita Lewis Isom at GTMO: 1962-1977
Raul Hernandez at GTMO: 1994
Dee Riley at GTMO: 1960-1965
Gerry and Phyllis Robinson at GTMO: 1960s and 1970s
Danelia Stewart at GTMO: 1966-1979
Bisher Al-Rawi at GTMO: 2002 - 2007
Ronald Aubourg at GTMO: 1992

Creative: Picture Projects & Tronvig Group