After Guantanamo, starting over in Bermuda

HAMILTON, Bermuda — They are still on a tropical island, far from their homeland. They remain in a kind of limbo, awaiting the next chapter in their lives.

But life has been suddenly, unimaginably, transformed for four Chinese Uighurs who spent seven years in prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and are now settling in Bermuda, where their presence has sparked protests and a political fight.

Their days, previously circumscribed by the razor wire that confines terrorism suspects, are now spent on such pleasant tasks as learning to fish and play tennis in tranquil Bermuda.

Morning is still prayer time, but now they worship at their pale pink bungalow overlooking the sea. Later, they swim in clear Atlantic Ocean waters and stroll through the well-manicured streets of the British territory. Locals approach and shake hands, welcoming them to the island. The men marvel at linen napkins and cutlery in a restaurant. They stare at the sea as if stunned.

Ex-prisoner Khelil Mamut smiles and sums up their new life in a single word: “wonderful.”

But he grows serious when talking about the fellow prisoners he left behind, asking what will become of them.

Mamut and the three other former prisoners were among nearly two dozen Uighurs (pronounced WEE’-gurs) imprisoned by the U.S. military along with hundreds of other Muslims accused of terrorism or having links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

The Uighurs, who fled repression in western China, always maintained they were never enemies of the United States. The U.S. eventually agreed and an American judge ordered their release.

But they became a diplomatic nightmare: The U.S. was prohibited by law from returning them to China, where they could face torture or execution, and dozens of other countries refused to accept them, either for fear of angering the Chinese or unwillingness to accept refugees the United States wouldn’t allow within its own borders.

The U.S. managed to settle five in Albania. After Bermuda’s surprise decision to accept four, there are 13 left at Guantanamo, awaiting a possible move to the Pacific island nation of Palau.

Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown said he accepted the Uighurs as refugees for humanitarian reasons, a decision he took without consulting the British government that sparked protests and calls for a no-confidence vote.

Brown says he regrets the controversy sparked by his decision but expects to weather the vote, expected late Friday in parliament, since he still has the support of his party, which has a solid majority in parliament.

But he told reporters Thursday that he stands by his decision to allow the men to live in the island and seek full citizenship, with with the right to travel abroad and work.

“There are parts of it that I would review but taking the step, the humanitarian step, was consistent with everything I’ve ever stood for,” Brown said.