Mohammed Bin Nahif Rehabilitation Counseling and Care Center is “the world’s first rehabilitation center for terrorists,” according to the documentary, “Unredacted Film.”
Former Guantanamo detainees were transferred to the rehabilitation center to complete a quarterly-phased program that generally takes up to 18 months to complete, teaching interpersonal skills and art as a form of rehabilitation.
The recreational center allows liberties similar to the free world, offering Ping-Pong, a sauna, gym, and a pool.
Teaching prosocial skills, emotional intelligence, and financial literacy keeps detainees focus on life after punishment.
Fear is normal and those released spoke of the shame they experienced over killing people and how it wasn’t something to be proud of. Seeking forgiveness for what they did, they talked about their successes after rejoining society.
Independent film producer Meg Schaffer, Public Information Officer Guim’Mara Berry, Mount Tamalpais’s Jody Lewen, and nearly 100 residents gathered in the Protestant Chapel for the documentary film showing men from Yemen and Saudi Arabia who participated in the program.
The film brought out the humanity of participants, in stark contrast from their life trajectories that led to their choices prior to incarceration. Khalid, a program participant who used to create bombs, now makes car alarms and key remotes for cars.
Participants talked about wanting to fight injustice and the systemic torture of being in Guantanamo. The goal of the program is to have the incarcerated ready for reentry at the end of the program. Some participants are sent back to prison if they don’t show certain signs of reform.
This was filmmaker Schaffer’s first visit to San Quentin. She discussed her experience as a firefighter in New York City prior to the 9/11 attacks. She realized the messages about Islam and the Middle East on mainstream news contradicted what she saw.
“I didn’t know what to believe. I had all these questions; I started watching the news furiously. Mainstream [news] was not reporting what was being represented,” she said.
Schaffer decided that she needed to tell the story of such individuals outside of what was being shown on American television. She moved to Yemen and studied Arabic and Islam and started traveling around the world speaking directly to those who were being talked about on American television.
When the men are released from the Mohammed Bin Nahif center, they cannot be in contact with anyone currently at the center, or other graduates. This is in contrast to when someone is released from San Quentin, as people released from SQ can hope to have a support group of formerly incarcerated individuals to assist them.
In an effort to change the negative stigma of those incarcerated, former terrorists shared examples of humanity and what it means to meet someone important that cares about you.
Schaffer said that her motivation for the film was to view offenders from a victim-holistic angle and share perspectives not explored in mainstream media.
“They’re not psychopaths. They’re human beings with a life trajectory that led to their choices,” she concluded.
