Magnum Blog / In the machine - the photo blog of Magnum Photos

On a tightly restricted press tour around the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Magnum’s Paolo Pellegrin photographed, as best he could, the detention center for terrorism suspects. Here he talks of how the limitations affected his work.

Immediately as you set your foot on the ground, you start going through the bureaucracy of the place. This military person welcomes you, you go through the X-ray machines, there’s a press person that is assigned to a particular journalist or a team, as we were, [Pellegrin was on a New York Times Magazine assignment with writer Tim Golden] that’s there to greet us. So you’re immediately in the machine.

It’s not particularly difficult to go to Guantanamo, very many journalists do, the problem is that the tour, the press tour as it’s called, is extremely controlled, obviously, by the military. So you go through the motions of this staged mechanism which normally lasts 2-3 days and basically you are shown what they want to show you.

There’s pretty strict instructions especially in a situation or place where you’re close to detainees. You’re absolutely not allowed to talk to them and obviously not hand over anything. There has to be a complete distance….

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 2006. An arrow showing the direction of Mecca. Paolo Pellegrin/Magnum Photos

It happened to me several times that I was addressed by the detainee with a question or also with eye contact. The instruction that we had all received was ‘absolutely no communication’ because it would imply the end of the visit, basically….

You also have to understand the nature of our presence there. There are roles: there are [the] detainees, the prison authorities and we are the journalists. So they would recite the party line which had been rehearsed probably a hundred times over. The whole difficulty that I found, and felt strongly in Guantanamo in my two visits, was how to go beyond this pre-fabricated experience and I don’t know if I succeeded, I probably didn’t. There were a couple of moments where I felt I was approaching something a little bit beyond the normal tour.

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 2006. Terrorism suspects. Paolo Pellegrin/Magnum Photos

There was one moment especially, actually the last day of my last trip, where I was able for a few moments to take some pictures which I felt were a little bit more real, depicting a real sort of ongoing situation. It was still in Camp 4 but it was just a moment where somehow the apparatus, the control was slightly less present. For example, the pictures that you normally see, they become part of our visual reference of detainees in Guantanamo. A detainee handcuffed, maybe blindfolded, maybe not, being carried away by two robust soldiers. And I actually took those pictures myself, because it is what the whole tour is engineered to make you do. But there was this one particular moment where, for a few minutes, I could photograph this group of detainees coming and going from a common area in Camp 4. They were initially aware of me but then they kind of lost interest. The military minder with us at all times, also must have decided that it was ok [for me to photograph]. So it wasn’t really the protocol – and those images actually became the most real or true, where I feel I managed to go beyond the system.

Paolo Pellegrin was interviewed by Ann Tornkvist and Bjarke Myrthu for an upcoming Magnum In Motion multimedia essay produced by Tia Dunn.

Reader comments (20)

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"… you are shown what they want to show" is a every day experience of a photojournalist.
Nevertheless it is essential to try to find one's own sight.
Perhaps the pictures do not show the facts of every-day-life in Guantanamo. But they give us the feeling, that there is no real possibility to find the truth, that we can never have an open view on the reality there. For me, that's the essence of these photos.

Comment posted by Martin Storz on February 8, 2007

It seems that knowing there is a facade that is projected for journalists and understanding the necessity in going beyond this seems (to me) more important than the content. By that I mean: if there is a strict structure in place at Guantanamo to show journalists one thing, then that implies there is something else entirely we (Mr. Pellegrin, etc.) are not supposed to see, much less know.

And I think that is far more important than any images the tour was meant to provide journalists.

-Mustafah

Comment posted by Mustafah Abdulaziz on February 9, 2007

Sometimes not seeing exactly what exists is sometimes enough to see what could be there. Your experience just highlights the fact how truth is sometimes "manufactured" to be shown to the world. This press tour into the bay is the prime example of such happenings. How sometimes restrictions are imposed only to hide the "not" so little details. But your experience and photos not only break away from the "generated" truth but bring out this sense of uneasiness. An emotion evident in the shadowed detainees and blurred wire fences. It only leaves us wanting to know more and question things again and again.

Comment posted by Sana Manzoor on February 10, 2007

An indefinite rage.....too far away.

Comment posted by Filippo on February 13, 2007

The staged reality... the recited "party line"... the minders and the press tour coming from another world... how history gets repeated in a tragic way. I grew up in a totalitarian country (Bulgaria) and Paolo Pellegrin's descriptions sound instantly familiar to me. Although I have to personal impression from it's prison system back then I am in little doubt that the state repressive apparatus is essentially the same: inhumane, sadistic and often, beyond the law.

Comment posted by Ivaylo Iordanov on February 14, 2007

Sometimes a small caption or a basic explanation are welcome . In this case , even if i was far from thinking "what a strange way to shoot",through his words i 've realized Pellegrin has made a great job with a few ingredients . One can feel the frightening lack of the basic human Rights as an oniric presence on every picture . Another drama of humanity created by ignorance and blind intolerance . We better avoid from watching obsolete talk shows on the TVs . The policy is the same : we are not allowed to enter the labyrinth of truth.

Comment posted by Paolo Romani on February 15, 2007

I was going to write some thing about the detainees and terrorism , but i fear this maybe insulting.
The photographs are great an all most toy camera holga stlye they are really atmospheric which is great. The photographs give a sence of being trapped.

Patrick Moran

Comment posted by patrick moran on February 19, 2007

Hi Paolo, i'm Riva from Indonesia. first congrats for winning one category in worldpress photo 2007. there's one thing i want to ask you for long time, do you use a film or digital camera to do your assignment. cause i really like the black and white color.

Comment posted by antonius riva setiawan on February 21, 2007

I was a military photographer in Gitmo for a year.I worked for the military. It was my job to document the detainees for the Dept of Defense. The majority of the images I shot were classified as "Secret".That's not because we were doing anything illegal to the detainees, at least from what I saw. It's because of the security of the operation. A lot of detainees don't want their picture taken! I’ve never been in an American prison, but, their overall health care and food is a greater quality then what I’ve seen on TV about American prisons.

Comment posted by David P. Coleman on March 11, 2007

Hi Paolo! It's great to see your works, always. I've seen your work Shadow which is made in China and they are great too. I would love to see more your works on China in the near future. Have a wonderful day and great photo!
Gang--a Chinese photographer who is working in Auckland

Comment posted by Gang on April 17, 2007

i just wish your photos would be seen by each person if this planet ...

Comment posted by maja on May 26, 2007

I'm asking to myself :where it is the border between photjournalism and art. Even if the conditions were not of the best ones to shoot the place, at least let's'distinguish the journalism from other.

Comment posted by roberto on June 13, 2007

I'm asking to myself :where it is the border between photjournalism and art. Even if the conditions were not of the best ones to shoot the place, at least let's'distinguish the journalism from other.

Comment posted by wslmwps on September 2, 2007

Comment posted by estetik on November 28, 2007

Great works

Comment posted by Prefabrik on January 25, 2008

I'm asking to myself :where it is the border between photjournalism and art. Even if

Comment posted by estetik on January 29, 2008

I'm asking to myself :where it is the border between photjournalism and art. Even if

Comment posted by malta on February 10, 2008

Great works.. Thanks

Comment posted by Yigit on February 20, 2008

Hi Paolo,
AMAZING work-ALL
Boza Ivanovic

Comment posted by Boza Ivanovic on March 25, 2008