Article of the Week 15: IRB Section 3

I really could not stop reading this book. It was extremely compelling in that it showed the dark underbelly of the government. This section was dedicated to Zeitoun's experiences after his arrest by the New Orleans police. Zeitoun was arrested and taken to the city train station where an outdoor prison had been built. Zeitoun was housed in these circumstances with little regards to his medical, dietary or religious needs. Zeitoun was even forced to use part of a can to open up his infected foot to remove a piece of metal which had caused infection.  He was then sent then to a real prison, Hunt, where he was still subjugated to more humiliation and the treatment was only slightly better. After a few weeks there, a missionary called his wife and Kathy finally was able to post bail for Zeitoun after much time spent fighting the judicial system. The book ended mentioning the psychological effects this experience put on Zeitoun and Kathy. Most notably, Kathy at times would lose the ability to interact with the world around her, even losing her understanding of English and memory of what she had been doing a few seconds earlier.

Throughout this section, the reader is struck by the unnecessary dehumanization of the prisoners who did not necessarily do anything wrong. Killers were mixed with petty thieves and all were treated as if they were terrorists. Randomized searches for drugs, pepper spraying if not obeying quickly enough, and the lack of available doctors further the exploitation of these people. Overwhelmingly, however, throughout this section was the idea that no one was in charge. The prisoners were always someone else's problem, even while in prison. There was a lack of communication between all parties, and even the trials of prisoners were kept secret. The imagery and juxtaposition were the most impressive features of this book. The juxtaposition came in many forms, including: American government versus Siberian, American versus Muslim religions and prejudices, the government before and after the hurricane, and also Zeitoun's family before and after he was jailed. Throughout all of this the imagery plays a large role in emphasizing these differences and also making the reader care about the people in the book as it was such a short read. I would recommend this book to anyone. It was excellent.