by Jamison Maeda
Chelsea Manning has ended her hunger strike after the US Army finally agreed to provide her gender affirming surgery.
“I am unendingly relieved that the military is finally doing the right thing,” says Manning. “I applaud them for that. This is all that I wanted — for them to let me be me. But it is hard not to wonder why it has taken so long.”
Manning’s lawyer made a statement saying “This is a monumental day for Chelsea, who can now enjoy some peace knowing that critically needed medical care is forthcoming. This medical care is absolutely vital for Chelsea as it is for so many transgender people – in and out of prison – who are systemically denied treatment solely because they are transgender.”
Manning was an intelligence analyst in the US Army, and was arrested in 2010 for leaking confidential government and military documents to the public via Wikileaks. She says her objective was to remove “the fog of war and reveal the true nature of 21st century asymmetric warfare.” But she accomplished much more.
Manning was believed to be responsible for the Wikileaks release of cockpit gun sight footage of an American airstrike in Baghdad in 2007. The video shows a United Sates Army AH 64 Apache helicopter killing a group of men including a Reuter’s journalist and photographer, and a civilian who stopped to assist the wounded. (Preventing those who attempt to assist wounded in battle is a violation of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and considered a war crime.)
She is also believed to have provided Wikileaks with video of the Granai Airstrike in 2009. Up to 147 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed during the strike in the Farah province of Afghanistan. (Deliberately directing an attack on a civilian population or on individual civilians not taking part in direct hostilities is also considered a war crime.)
But arguably the most horrifying of the crimes leaked by Manning was the alleged involvement of US contractor DynCorp in child trafficking and providing children as entertainment for a sex party for Afghan security recruits. In multiple reports, boys between the ages of 8-15 were forced to dance for men and afterward were purchased for sex. The Guardian reported that two Afghan policemen and nine others were arrested for “purchasing services from a child.”
Manning, who is serving a 35-year prison term for passing these classified files to WikiLeaks,began her hunger strike in response to the bullying she receives from prison guards and other inmates, and to demand “minimum standards of dignity, respect and humanity.”
Chelsea Manning’s hunger strike as well as her years of bravery in the face of enormous adversity have blazed a trail that will benefit thousands of transgender people. Manning’s willingness to trade her freedom to uncover the truth make her a true hero. Her supporters around the world will continue to ensure that her voice is heard, and that her sacrifices are not in vain.