As Battersea’s Shaker Aamer met fellow British ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees outside the American Embassy on Monday, January 11, his unusual methods to keep spirits high were revealed, writes Joe Roberts.

Mr Aamer would often sing Bob Marley to himself and fellow prisoners, becoming Guantanamo’s crier-in-resident as he sang ‘Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!’ Speaking at the reunion, he recounted the three months back in Battersea and his 14 year struggle.

January 11: Battersea's Shaker Aamer pays tribute to those who campaigned as he settles into life in Wandsworth

November 4: "Now we campaign for the last 54": Supporters of Battersea father Shaker Aamer turn their attention to remaining Guantanamo prisoners

October 27: Shaker Aamer could be reunited with family in Wandsworth in days

Mr Aamer said his mental strength comes from the people around him but his happy nature is not always the case.

He said: "When you look at an egg you don’t know if it’s really boiled or raw, you have to smash it.

"I lived a lot of hardship when I was young and that prepared me for the future.

"I came out of Guantanamo stronger."

Mr Aamer's smiling, joking and endless talking sat starkly in contrast with the monolithic embassy behind him as he brought Barack Obama’s seven year failed promise to close Guantanamo to attention.

Wandsworth Times:

Mr Aamer joked he had forgotten how to speak softly in Guantanamo so can now only talk loudly, perfect for speaking to large groups and bringing justice for the detainees he left behind.

He said: said: "I was one of the loudest in Guantanamo.

"I used to shout a lot."

"My lower level in my voice has gone so it’s always loud."

The three months since his release has seen the father of four return to Battersea and take on the new challenge of living in a council house on an estate and being unable to afford a move out. He said: "It is not easy on my wife. She is always scared and we are trying to move out.

"I wish they can afford to give us somewhere else."

Mr Aamer's financial problems raise the issue of compensation from the American Government.

He said: "Honest to God I don’t look at things like that.

"I am the kind of guy who looks to the future and doesn’t live the past." Mr Aamer is still coming to terms with his new found fame and told the Wandsworth Guardian about a recent encounter he had in Lavender Hill in Battersea after getting recognised.

He said: "I was arguing with one woman at the bus station, she said don’t be negative, you’re a figure now, you are somebody important."

But Mr Aamer maintains it is the people who campaigned to bring him out of Guantanamo Bay who are important.

He said: "They are the ones who have been fighting and fighting, they deserve the recognition."

One of the Tipton three released from Guantanamo Bay in 2004, Shafiq Rasul, was in the opposite cell block to Mr Aamer and remembered his effect on the detainees.

He said: "He was inspirational.

"If you were down, he would bring you up.

"It was difficult to speak but we could shout across to each other.

"He used to quote Bob Marley and would sing emancipate yourself from mental slavery before being told to quieten down."

Friend of Mr Aamer and fellow detainee who was released in 2004, Moazzam Begg, said: "He has single handily re-invigorated the discussion about Guantanamo again.

"He was kept in there because of his personality and advocacy for the prisoners."

Mr Begg expects Mr Aamer to be a lightning rod for justice helping the more than 40 detainees in Guantanamo who are cleared for release see that end.