The four Uighurs from Guantánamo Bay celebrated a month of freedom in Bermuda at the weekend — and their lawyer says they have loved every minute of their new-found liberty.

Richard Horseman told The Royal Gazette that the former prisoners are happy, eager to learn English as quickly as possible and grateful to the Island for giving them refuge after more than seven years at the detention camp in Cuba.

They are also keen to ensure Bermuda Police Service is able to complete a security review of them as soon as possible — a process Governor Sir Richard Gozney said last week had been hampered by inadequate information from the US.

"Right now, the important thing is the security review by the Police," said Mr. Horseman. "They are trying to give what information they can to allow them to conduct the review.

"A lot of the information that the Police and the British Governor need can't be provided by the Uighurs themselves or the lawyers. It needs to come from the US Government.

"A lot of the information that they want, that the Police want and that Britain wants, is information that's in the hands of the US."

Mr. Horseman said the men, who were twice cleared of being enemy combatants by American authorities, have written a letter to the Governor.

"They have said that they are willing to help out wherever they can and answer any questions. They also wrote that they are extremely grateful to the people of Bermuda for the warm welcome."

He described the moment when Khalil Mamut, Abilikim Turahun, Abdullah Abdulqadir and Salahidin Abdulahat first met the Premier.

"I was present," said Mr. Horseman. "They expressed their gratitude to the Government and the Premier when one said through the translators: 'All we have are empty words to say thank you but we promise we will not disappoint you'. All that were present agreed with Dr. Brown's reply that: 'Your words are not empty'.

"It was an extremely touching moment to see these men express their gratitude for having been freed. Their words were not empty but full of emotion and appreciation.

"The meeting then shifted to a lighter moment when the men were asked if they liked sports. The translator replied that they love football and Dr. Brown asked whether any of them were as good as Ronaldo, to which one quickly replied as he pointed to his friend: 'He's better than the Ronaldo at Guantánamo!' It was the funniest joke I have heard in a long time."

Mr. Horseman was asked by the men's law firm in the States to do some pro bono work to help them settle into Bermuda and, potentially, deal with any legal issues arising from their being offered the chance to settle here.

Premier Ewart Brown said on June 11, the day he announced their arrival: "These men are landed in Bermuda in the short term, provided with the opportunity to become naturalised citizens and, thereafter, afforded the right to travel and leave Bermuda, potentially settling elsewhere."

The UK, which was not told by Dr. Brown that the men were coming, is now in talks with the US about their future.

"Hopefully, they'll arrive at the decision that they can be granted Bermudian status or refugee status," said Mr. Horseman.

"The men are hopeful that the immigration/Great Britain issue will be worked out so that their presence here is lawful. That's what they want.

"They also want their presence to be uncontroversial, as much as it can be."

He added: "What the Governor has said is they are looking for a reasonable solution and that's what we are hoping for: a reasonable solution that would allow the men to stay here and perhaps help clarify matters [for political refugees] moving forward."

The Wakefield and Quin partner said he had met his new clients four or five times and understood their desire was to stay on the Island in the long-term.

"By all indications, they would love to remain here. They want to stay here on a permanent basis."

All four are single, though one has an ex-wife and young son in China. "They want to, like any other men, like to have a family and get married."

The lawyer joked: "So if there are any single ladies out there that want to date a Uighur, get in touch!"

The men's translator, Rushan Abbas, has gone back to the US and Mr. Horseman said getting them an English teacher was now the first priority.

"When we were talking about two lessons a week to start off with, they quickly asked if they could get three lessons a week," he said.

"We may be looking at having someone come in from the States that's Uighur but English-speaking.

"And there is someone here who is willing to start teaching them. One of them speaks fairly good English. Obviously any integration is going to be based on them taking basic instructions so they can get jobs and be self-sufficient, which is important for them to do.

"People aren't going to be too happy if they are sitting living off the taxpayers' dollar."

He added: "I know they don't have any money at this point. Their goal is to work and become productive citizens.

"The immediate goal is to teach them English and get them jobs and a proper residence.

"People are trying to teach them as much as they can at the moment. I will say that I think the job that the Government is doing in that regard is commendable, the job that they are doing to try to take care of them after bringing them here."

The Uighurs are living in temporary accommodation in Hamilton Parish and are spending the majority of their time being shown around the Island by Bermuda Housing Corporation manager Major Glenn Brangman.

Mr. Horseman said the men were touched by the "true Bermudian spirit" they had encountered on the Island.

"When they walk around, they get people that come up to them and shake their hand and hug them. I think one of the important things is to separate the men themselves from the process by which they arrived here.

"I think a lot of people are grasping that. The [anti-Dr. Brown] protests, for example, were not so much against the men themselves but against the way they ended up here."

Mr. Horseman said the men were all too aware of the "firestorm", as Dr. Brown described it, that their arrival prompted.

"These poor guys were thrown on an aeroplane," said the lawyer. "They feel bad. They are glad to be free but the last thing they want to do is ignite a firestorm.

"They are concerned about that. They have apologised to everybody and anybody that they can.

"What I think people need to understand is that they didn't have a whole lot of choice in this matter. They were flown here at night and ended up here. I'm sure they'd never heard of Bermuda before that night."

He added: "I know that they are aware that it has caused a considerable amount of political strife for Bermuda and abroad.

"They want to assure everybody that they only want to live a peaceful life."

The Muslims, he said, were experiencing guaranteed human rights for the first time in their lives. They were in their early 20s when they fled China due to persecution, before being captured by bounty hunters in Pakistan and handed over to the States "They have religious freedom and human rights," said Mr. Horseman. "Once you land in Bermuda, the Human Rights Act applies to you, the Constitution applies to you; you have a right to political and religious freedom."

The hardest thing for the men at the moment, according to Mr. Horseman, is the difficulty they are having speaking to their families in China.

Telephone contact was initially made when they landed here but now appears to have been blocked by the Chinese authorities.

Meanwhile, massive unrest is unfolding in their homeland as clashes between Uighurs and Han Chinese continue. Many have been killed in the past week.

Mr. Horseman said the men were concerned for their families, particularly in light of the recent events.

He said all four were keen to ride a bike and learn to drive a car. "They are anxious to fit in and be working as soon as possible and be regular citizens."

The issue of employment can't be decided until they have permission to stay, though several job offers of work have been made.

The men, none of whom are professionals, have indicated a desire to eventually open a Uighur restaurant. "When they were cooking dinner, it smelt very good," said Mr. Horseman. "They invited me for dinner and I wish I could have stayed!"

He added: "The one thing that I want to convey to the Bermudian people is that they are grateful to be here and they are experiencing a warm welcome from many Bermudians and they are hopeful that they can remain."

l More on the Uighurs, Pages 1 & 9