Guanatanamo Detainees Still in Limbo

Jan. 12 -- The detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are marking a strained anniversary.

It's been one year since the first prisoners began to arrive at the detention facility at the U.S. naval base there as part of the war on terrorism. And neither the detainees nor their families back in Afghanistan nor the U.S. government can say when their confinement will end.

It's something of a ritual now for the Al-Odah family in Kuwait — reading and rereading the few letters they already know by heart, going through family photos to remember better days — days when their son was not a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay.

"I am really confused. You know, I love the United States," said Khalid Al-Odah, father of detainee Fawzi Al-Odah. "I have friends in the United States. I don't understand what is happening now."

Relief Turns to Shock

The elder Al-Odah is a former Kuwaiti air force colonel who trained in America and provided intelligence to the United States during the Gulf War. He said his 25-year-old son did regular charity work during his summers off from teaching, and was in Pakistan teaching local children when the U.S. air raids began in neighboring Afghanistan. Al-Odah insists his son had no terrorist connections and says Fawzi was helping Afghan refugees get across the border when he was detained.

When Al-Odah first learned his son was in U.S. custody, he was confident Fawzi would be able to explain his circumstances and that he would be quickly released.

"When I learned he'd been handed over to the Americans, I was really partially relieved because this is a civilized country and a civilized nation," the father said.

Al-Odah says he was then shocked to learn from Kuwaiti officials that Fawzi had been shipped to Guantanamo Bay and locked up in a temporary holding cell at what was then called "Camp X-ray."

Government officials told ABCNEWS they were unable to comment specifically on particular detainees like Fawzi Al-Odah. With little public information coming out of Guantanamo, there are many families like the Al-Odahs who wonder why their sons and husbands are being held and why they can't see a lawyer.