Jessica Murphy Speaks at Close Guantanamo Vigil
January 11, 2024
Good afternoon. I am here representing September 11 Families for Peaceful
Tomorrows, an organization founded by family members of those who died in the 9/11
attacks who advocate for alternatives to violence in counter terrorism. Our organization
was founded in the aftermath of the loss of our loved ones–– out of a concern that the
US response to 9/11 would lead to further civilian death. — a concern that tragically
became a reality.
On September 11, 2001, my father Brian Murphy was killed in the attacks on the World
Trade Center, along with nearly three thousand others. Just three months later, on this
day in 2002, the Bush administration established the detention center at Guantanamo
Bay to illegally and indefinitely detain Muslim men and boys with the purported goal of
counter terrorism. As we have heard today, these individuals have spent decades
unlawfully detained— an entire lifetime behind bars, the majority without any
justification.
I was five years old on 9/11 and was not old enough to understand the actions taking
place in the name of my father and other victims. As I grew older, I learned more about
the violence and torture that the US enacted in the name of the 9/11 victims–– in Iraq,
Afghanistan, at Guantanamo, and beyond.
In 2017, I discovered Peaceful Tomorrows and learned about atrocities that occurred at
Guantanamo Bay and beyond in the aftermath of 9/11. The following year, I traveled to
the naval base at Guantanamo to watch pretrial hearings in the 9/11 case, against five
men accused of planning the attacks.
My trip to Guantanamo confirmed my suspicions that the legal charades taking place —
for over 16 years with no end in sight — were no substitute for justice. I saw firsthand
that in addition to representing one of the major human rights abuses of our generation,
the torture enacted by our government actually delayed and ultimately prevented any
meaningful opportunity for justice or accountability for 9/11 victims.
The prosecution claimed to represent people like me and my family; they claimed that
they are seeking justice. But all I saw was an attempt to justify what the U.S. did and to
avoid any accountability for its own crimes.
Today marks the 22nd anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay detention
center–– twenty-two years too many. We must be clear: war crimes by one do not justify
war crimes by another, especially when those who are targeted are also innocent.
We must learn from the legacy of 9/11 and its tragic aftermath. It is time for the US
government to acknowledge the torture that took place, take accountability for the racist
policies that enabled and justified it, and close Guantanamo once and for all. The case
against the 9/11 accused must reach a plea deal and the other detainees must be
released in order to move beyond and end the cycles of violence and war.