Hamzah Saleh

We all know of the effects torture has on our physical bodies. We can see the bruises and wounds left by torture. That pain is instantaneous and even a person looking at the wounds on some one else will cringe as he tries to imagine the pain that was felt. But can torture do more than just damaging our physical bodies? Can torture also impact our minds and damage our well being psychologically? Many are surprised to find that the real pain of torture is what remains in the mind, somewhat forever.
Definition of torture: First off, torture can be separated into two different categories. Physical torture, and Psychological torture. Physical torture is defined as the Infliction of severe physical pain as a means of punishment or coercion. Psychological torture is defined as the intentional infliction of suffering without resorting to direct physical violence. There have been many debates on which is worse physical? or Psychological? I’m here to say that torture is torture. It is wrong whether it is done with physical force or without. Either way it leaves a horrifying impact on the victims. Since we already know how torture can harm a person physically, I will focus on the psychological harm of torture in general. Research proves that the psychological affects of torture are greater than the physical affects. Torture has been shown to have “destructive health consequences on detainees.” Studies done on the Guantanamo Bay prisoners prove that the pain doesn’t end when they return home. One case that has made it into the news is the story of Adeel, a former teacher and father of five who was released from Guantanamo bay after 4 years of imprisonment without having been charged with anything. Even though he is now in the comfort of his home, Adeel, like many other detainees say, “I feel like I am in a big prison and still in isolation. I have lost all my life.” Psychologists working for the non-profit Physicians for Human Rights have diagnosed him as having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severe depression. Of course that is just one case of many.
Types of torture and their affects: Victims of torture have been proven to show signs of difficulties in concentration, increase in nightmares, insomnia, weight loss, fatigue, memory loss, anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder. The different forms of torture inflicted on the victim cause these. For example sleep deprivation, which is commonly used has been shown to cause significant cognitive impairments. These include losses in memory, learning, logical reasoning, complex verbal processing, and decision-making. Mood alterations, decrease in psychomotor performance, increase in depressive orders, and risks of suicidal thoughts and actions are also common in victims who have suffered through sleep deprivation. Solitary confinement is another form of widely used psychological torture. Most prisoners view this as the most difficult torment to withstand. Some prisoners even went so far as to say that “Electricity is mere child’s play in comparison to prolonged solitude.” It’s no surprise that this inhumane method can result in severe psychological damage including: sleep disturbances, anxiety, panic, rage, loss of control, paranoia, hallucinations, self-mutilations, cognitive dysfunction, depression and emotional breakdown. There are many other psychological methods of torture used worldwide. These include making petty insults, threats to family members, intimidations, petty harassment, forced light 24 hours a day, lack of privacy and the playing of annoying and loud sounds. These may not sound like extremely horrible actions if done alone research shows that when grouped together they ultimately break down a person’s senses and personality. Also these methods are most commonly used just to set the environment and are paired with harsher methods of torture. Those were just some of the psychological methods used in torturing victims but how about the physical methods? Well how would you like to have someone repeatedly dunk you in fences or urine polluted water until you are nearly drowning, only to pull you back out and constantly repeat this horrifying act? This method has been coined “submarino" and was widely used for interrogating the victim. “submarino” and other variants of it have been known to cause acute brain damage due to lack of oxygen as well as death from asphyxiation. Even after the experience is over, victims often suffer from recurring “drowning nightmares.” Another form of physical torture is sexual abuse. Actually sexual abuse can consist of both physical and psychological torture. For example a victim of sexual torture might have to undress and remain naked in front of members of the opposite sex. This is considered as psychological torture. On the other hand, groping, sexual rough treatment and rape are considered forms of physical torture. All kinds of sexual abuse are often linked with PTSD, depression, nightmares, flashbacks and a feeling of shame or self-loss. Rape can also lead to pregnancy if the victim is a woman, and sexually transmitted diseases. Most victims also hold themselves responsible for what happened to them and others are reluctant to get help because of fear of cultural taboos. Of course these are just a few of the ways physical torture can be afflicted. Physical torture in general can lead to brain injuries, dementia, epilepsy, Masco-skeletal problems and chronic pain syndrome. Although this paper is only talking about the psychological effects, I felt like it was important to list the physical effects because they too can have damaging impacts not only to a person’s body, but to their over all health, mood, and personality. These are just the effects of torture on the victim’s health, but you’d be surprised to find out that the person being tortured isn’t the only victim. Research proves that the children of tortured parents have more psychosomatic symptoms, headaches, depression, learning difficulties and aggressive behavior. They are also most likely to get ADHD and developmental delays. Maybe that’s something an aggressor of torture should think about. Scientist’s have also found that torture techniques affect the biology of the brain. Even non-violent forms of torture can cause brain loss by suppressing the regeneration of brain cells. The hippocampus can also be impaired which can affect spatial navigation and long-term memory. Brain waves have also been shown to be slower which is a sign of brain pathology and dysfunctional neural tissue.
What we can do: It’s sad to hear that even in our mainly civilized world, these things can still exist. Human beings are losing their personalities and mental health to these inhumane and unethical techniques. Some might argue that these techniques are only being used on criminals, but is that really a good excuse? Can we really succeed in fighting violence with violence? Also can we really rely on the evidence produced by these cruel torture techniques? I speak for myself alone but I feel that if was put in any one of these positions, I would say whatever the torturer wants to hear most, Whether it may be true or not. Also another argument against torture is what about the torturer? Does he not lose himself to these inhumane techniques? Maybe by trying to get rid of criminals, we’re creating monsters in the process. A person with that power should feel like he exists to uphold the law and order not to lose his own morals and humanity by committing these horrible acts. That’s why I feel that we as a civilized and educated people should step up. We need to make sure victims of torture are properly recognized and treated. We also need more people and laws making sure that even in the deepest darkest prisons, whether they are criminal or war related, these things are not happening. It’s easy to act as if people in prisons aren’t a part of our society but we need to wake up and realize that they are. They are just as human as we are, and sure they do need to be punished for whatever act they did but that should happen according to the law and that’s it. Prisons should help them realize their mistakes and make them better people not the other way around. That way when they are ready to enter back into society, which will eventually happen, they can enter back as more human not less. I mean do we really want, people coming out of prison even crazier?

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