Dear Larry,

I hope you are well. Here I am in Iran once again with a group of seventeen wonderful people. They are so present, curious and engaged. This trip has just been amazing. Something new has unfolded every day.

The group has just loved the trip and the warmth and hospitality of the people. In Yazd our hotel manager put a U.S. flag on the reception desk to greet us. In a restaurant four soldiers who were dining near us, came to our table to welcome us and wish us peace. In Persepolis we had the most beautiful, charming and helpful guide!

A hotel added a U.S. flag to make American visitors feel more welcome.

The Mausoleum of Hafez was magnificent at night and we gathered around Hafez’s tomb reciting poetry. Brooke, our eighteen year old tour member has been the center of attention.

In a restaurant Iranian soldiers at a nearby table introduced themselves and welcomed the tour group.

Yesterday we toured the magnificent mosques of Esfahan. Last night under the Khajoo bridge the youth entertained us with their songs and dance!
What an amazing journey!

Here are some photos for you.

Peace,
Abdi

The photos used here are a couple of the ones he sent.

And here is some info about Abdi, taken from his travel web site: www.solhtours.com

“Five years before the Islamic Revolution, I left my native Iran for the United States, where I studied filmmaking at the University of Southern California.

“I have always had great love of documentary filmmaking, although most of my professional career has been in film production and studio management… Recently, I returned to my documentary roots when I traveled to Iran with Rick Steves to help produce a documentary for PBS. View my photo essay about the making of this film.

“I have also had a longstanding interest in peacemaking, which I have pursued as a consultant to Mercy Corps, a non-profit organization committed to turning crisis into opportunity around the world…

“Having traveled to more than 30 countries around the world, I know firsthand the transformative power of travel. I offer only a few tours every year and accompany every tour myself. This way, I can make sure that every tour nurtures travelers on many levels, providing deeply meaningful interaction with the friendly people of Iran and stimulating dialogue among tour group members. ”

Anyone interested in travel to Iran can contact Abdi at abdi@solhtours.com or call him at 206-709-9552.

And, no, this isn’t an ad for Abdi. It’s just a post about a nice guy doing some nice things.

Also, I’m happy to report that there was nothing sinister about the removal of the artwork. The library’s position was that all of the art should be displayed at once, and, apparently, there was one section of the exhibit that had not been posted yet. So, the library took down the work on display until Ayyad could get the remainder of the art ready.

“It breaks my heart to see this (the exhibit) take off this way,” Library Director Jill McKinstry said late this afternoon, adding that Ayyad had been working very hard to make this project work. She said the library certainly had made mistakes in posting the artwork without resolving all of the issues.

McKinstry said the “war” part of the exhibit was up but not the “resilience and peace” part, and she said there were concerns about traumatizing students who have to use the library and who have no choice about what they see on display.

“We didn’t want to throw it in their faces,” she said.

Ayyad, who has been doing all of the grunt work of getting the exhibit ready, said today that she is pleased that the library director “has finally met with her in person to bring forward a comprehensive list of the library’s concerns though I am unhappy about the unnecessary ongoing requests to change content of the exhibit and to omit educational contextual information.

“I am glad we reached an agreement to bring the exhibit back on display,” Ayyad said.

“Despite the fact that there will be fewer photos than were on display the past two weeks and other altered content, the exhibit will provide information to students that is rarely presented at the university,” she said.

“It is of great importance to spread knowledge about the devastating effects of war and health, especially mental health, and peacebuilding through health,” Ayyad said. “I apologize to the university and the larger community for not having the exhibition on display temporarily, and hope they will come and view it after April 21.

“I’m very thankful to the library staff for their support and for sharing their concerns with me.”

For now, however, please disregard the previous post. There is nothing to see at the UW library. As soon as the exhibit is back up, I will post about it here. Meanwhile, if anyone has any questions or concerns, it probably would be helpful to direct them to the library. The administration phone number is 206-685-3752. The general information number is 206-543-2990.

The exhibit, “Global to Local: Narratives of War, Resilience and Peace,” is curated by Palestinian-American Seattle area artist and public health worker, Amineh Ayyad, a UW graduate. The show features four separate exhibits (to view exhibits, please click on titles below): “The Way I see It,” “Fragile and So Strong,” “Besieged,” and “Where Should We Go After the Last Frontiers?”

The art exhibit is timed to be on display during the 8th Annual Western Regional International Health Conference: War & Global Health which runs April 23-25 at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Amineh Ayyad, right, with Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, during community solidarity work in the Palestinian village of Nilin. Barghouthi, president of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society and one of the most prominent leaders of the Palestinian struggle, has been nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

“I wanted to curate an art exhibit as a way to display qualitative and quantitative data about war, siege and displacement and their impact on health,” Ayyad says. “I believe this is an effective method to communicate such information to the university community, especially to the thousands of undergraduate students who visit the library daily.

“I choose diverse mediums deliberately, in an attempt to capture the visible and invisible narratives of people,” she says. “Photojournalism to show a portrait of daily life realities in Gaza through the lenses of Gazan photographers, encaustic paintings of refugee youth to tell narratives of war and its cross-generational effects, a photo-essay documenting the delivery of health services and peace building amidst conflict through the perspective of a health worker; and a stone sculpture of the mythological character, Icarus, to give meaning to an attempt to escape imprisonment and defy limitations.”

The images from “The Way I See It” are from award winning Palestinian photojournalists Khalil Hamra and Eman Mohammed. Hamra and Mohammed’s work document the events in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, the 23-day attacks launched by the Israeli military in December 27, 2008 and the continuing Israeli blockade.

Ayyad included the original captions to weave a narrative of the realities of daily life in Gaza, the way Khalil and Eman see them, but she has had to make a number of changes to the captions to satisfy various people connected to the exhibit. While Khalil’s work depicts more of the ravaged Gaza, Eman’s work captures the resilience and determination of people to carry on with their lives amidst destruction in the aftermath of war and ongoing violence and siege.

The photo exhibit is accompanied by educational panels on Gaza, and the mental health effects of war and siege on civilians, but the exact language of those panels or whether they will even be included in the exhibit, is the subject of ongoing discussions with those in charge of the library.

“Fragile and So Strong” includes the work of refugee youth from Bhutan, Bosnia, Burma, Kenya, Somalia, and Ukraine. The purpose of this project is to empower refugee youth and to create peace and healing through health and art programs. Ayyad has been working with Jewish-American artist Janet Nechama Miller. Ayyad and Miller use unique mixed-media encaustic painting methods to capture the diverse narratives of the participants, as well as Ayyad and Miller’s own expressions.

In “Besieged,” Ayyad writes about the Palestinian Medical Relief Society’s (PMRS) teams in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The essay captures the bravery and camaraderie of a group of doctors, community health workers and volunteers who are determined to reach the most remote villages under siege. Ayyad says her essay shows PMRS’s commitment to peace and justice through empowering communities at the village level, and collaborating on medical relief & health research with diverse groups including the Israeli Physicians for Human Rights. In addition, she says her narrative sheds light on the psychological impact of war on these medical teams.

Ayyad is trying to raise money to bring Khalil to Seattle from April 24th to the 28th from New York where he will have just picked up the 2010 Robert Capa Gold Medal for his photography. To make a donation, contact Amineh Ayyad at amineh.ayyad@gmail.com.

Ayyad is a public health worker, filmmaker and artist whose work and research interests include international understanding and peacebuilding through health, and cultural and art exchange programs. She is currently working on Peace Through Health collaborative training curriculum for community health workers in Palestine and is the founder and director of Adapt International, a nonprofit organization that aims to design, deliver and evaluate community-based psychosocial interventions serving refugee youth through health and art programs locally and in the Middle East.

Reprieve
April 6, 2010

Reprieve launches emergency legal action for Guantánamo prisoner Ahmed Belbacha as US government makes worrying deal with Algeria

Lawyers for former British resident Ahmed Belbacha yesterday submitted an emergency plea to the US courts seeking to prevent his forced return to persecution and torture in Algeria.

Ahmed’s legal team is deeply concerned by the Obama Administration’s Easter weekend announcement of a deal with the Algerian government.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will travel to Algiers tomorrow (Wed., April 7) “to discuss cooperation on combating terrorism and enhancing law enforcement coordination” and to sign a “mutual legal assistance treaty” with the Algerian Minister of Justice.

Ahmed, a 39 year-old accountant, was visibly terrified during his attorney visit last week and remains a tragic figure in Guantánamo. Cleared of all charges by the Bush Administration, he has consistently chosen to stay imprisoned rather than face his fate in Algeria, a country he originally fled after threats on his life by the terrorist group Group Islamique Armé (GIA).

Ahmed’s plight, together with his gentle nature, has attracted private offers of help from both sides of the Atlantic, but no government has come to his rescue. Reprieve is appealing worldwide – to the governments of Britain, Ireland and Luxembourg – for help.

Ahmed’s attorney, Reprieve’s Tara Murray said:

“As Attorney General Holder travels to Algeria, all signs now point towards Ahmed’s imminent forced transfer to torture and persecution. We implore the European nations of Ireland, Luxembourg and the UK to stand up and put an end to Ahmed’s agony.”

BACKGROUND:

Ahmed Belbacha lived for years in the seaside town of Bournemouth, UK, where he studied English and worked; during a Labour conference he was responsible for cleaning the hotel room of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, from whom he received a healthy tip and note of appreciation. He is now in his eighth year of imprisonment without charge in Guantánamo Bay.

Ahmed’s fears about Algeria were confirmed by an alarming “conviction” delivered in absentia by an Algerian court last November. In a disgraceful show trial, where no lawyer was appointed to defend Ahmed, the court sentenced him to 20 years in prison for belonging to an “overseas terrorist group.” Despite repeated requests and extensive investigation, Reprieve’s lawyers have been unable to discover what exactly Ahmed is supposed to have done. No evidence has been produced to support his “conviction,” which appears to be retaliation against Ahmed for speaking out about the inhumane treatment he would be subjected to if sent to Algeria.

Ahmed had been protected by an injunction barring the U.S. government from repatriating him against his will, but a U.S. judge dissolved the injunction in February. Reprieve immediately requested the decision be reversed, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ongoing consideration of a related case, Kiyemba v Obama (Kiyemba II), in which it was decided that U.S. courts could not prevent the Obama Administration from forcibly repatriating prisoners to countries where they face persecution. Worryingly, on Monday, 22nd March, the Supreme Court decided not to review Kiyemba II; Reprieve then submitted another plea to D.C.’s federal district court on 24th March, followed by an emergency motion over the Easter weekend following Holder’s announcement.

Ahmed has been given a room in a flat by a Bournemouth resident, and the Massachusetts town of Amherst has offered him refuge in defiance of Congress. So far, however, no government has come forward to help.

For more information please contact Katherine O’Shea at Reprieve’s Press Office: katherine.oshea@reprieve.org.uk 020 7427 1099/ 07931592674 or go to http://www.reprieve.org.uk/ahmedbelbacha.

(Reprieve, a legal action charity, uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay. Reprieve investigates, litigates and educates, working on the frontline, to provide legal support to prisoners unable to pay for it themselves. Reprieve promotes the rule of law around the world, securing each person’s right to a fair trial and saving lives. Clive Stafford Smith is the founder of Reprieve and has spent 25 years working on behalf of people facing the death penalty in the USA. Reprieve’s current casework involves representing 33 prisoners in the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay, working on behalf of prisoners facing the death penalty, and conducting ongoing investigations into the rendition and the secret detention of “ghost prisoners” in the so-called “war on terror.”)

“The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-sight, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.”

The Guardian reported today that, “The footage of the July 2007 attack was made public in a move that will further anger the Pentagon, which has drawn up a report identifying the whistleblower website (Wikileaks) as a threat to national security. The US defence department was embarrassed when that confidential report appeared on the Wikileaks site last month alongside a slew of military documents.

“The release of the video from Baghdad also comes shortly after the US military admitted that its special forces attempted to cover up the killings of three Afghan women in a raid in February by digging the bullets out of their bodies.”

WARNING: This video shows graphic violence.

According to the Institute for Public Accuracy, Beau Grosscup, the author of the book “Strategic Terror: The Politics and Ethics of Aerial Bombardment” and a professor of international relations at California State University in Chico, said today: “The video demonstrates that, with helicopter gunships flying overhead, the people below (allegedly armed fighters) show no fear nor any attempt to run or hide. This should be strong evidence that they were engaged in normal peaceful activities yet the gunners choose to assume otherwise. If the rules of engagement allow the shooting of wounded recovery efforts as clearly demonstrated here, then those rules need changing. There was a clear intent to attack – ‘engage’ – the recovery vehicle and personnel. The chatter of U.S. military demonstrates … excessive attitude of lethal intent; anxiousness to shoot while being under no threat whatsoever; blaming Iraqis for wounded children …”

The email included a post from another blogger, Layla Anwar.

“Following my previous post here (on the tribunal site), I just received fresh information regarding Hiba Al-Shamaree, the fellow Iraqi woman writer/blogger who has been kidnapped/arrested by the Iraqi forces on the 20th of January 2010 in the Sayyediya neighborhood in Baghdad.

“Her sister has just updated her blog with the following.”

“Hiba Al-Shamaree is arrested and detained by Baghdad’s security forces on the charges of supporting the Iraqi Resistance (through her writings), she will be presented to the Criminal/Penal Court…

“I am now authorized by Hiba to reveal her true identity to you.

“Her name : Hanan Ali Ahmad Al Mashadani
Age : 33 years old
Profession: Doctor in Ophthalmology

“The charges pressed against her : Inciting to violence and supporting the Resistance and according to informed sources this is a charge that falls under the clause of Terrorism as per the Iraqi law.

“Hiba lived in Amman with us, but she insisted on going to Baghdad on a humanitarian mission/assignment, for a project financed by an Indian NGO called HMOK and which dealt with deaf and mute Iraqi children. Hiba was working as a consultant for this Indian NGO.

“They discovered her pen name Hiba Al Shamaree because when they arrested her she had her laptop with her which they confiscated and they saw the articles she has been posting on her blog.”

The tribunal ended their email with this plea:
PLEASE, THIS IS AN URGENT PLEA –THEY WILL DESTROY HER. THEY WILL PUT HER THROUGH THE MOST HORRENDOUS OF TORTURES, including RAPE. I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. I KNOW.

The BRussells Tribunal is a group of “intellectuals, artists and activists who denounce the logic of permanent war promoted by the American government and its allies, affecting for the time being particularly one region in the world: the Middle East. It started with a people’s court against the PNAC (the right-wing Project for a New American Century) and its role in the illegal invasion of Iraq, but continued ever since. It tries to be a bridge between the intellectual resistance in the Arab World and the Western peace movements.”

The three-week trial made it sound like Siddiqui, who U.S. authorities had previously described as an al-Qaida sympathizer, had suddenly appeared in Afghanistan where she was arrested and then interrogated by Afghan and U.S. officials. (It was during that interrogation that Siddiqui allegedly staged her attack using a rifle a U.S. officer had left unattended in the room.)

The truth is Siddiqui had been “disappeared” in Pakistan by Pakistani intelligence forces in 2003 (She likely was picked up because U.S. intelligence agencies were saying she had terrorist links).

A report in the Pakistani press said that Siddiqui and her kids, then 7, 5, and 6 months old, had been seen being detained by Pakistani authorities. Days later, a spokesman for Pakistan’s interior ministry and two unnamed U.S. officials confirmed that she was in custody and being interrogated. Several days later, however, Pakistani and American officials apparently changed their minds, saying it was unlikely she was being held.

Siddiqui’s mother, Ismet, has said that a few days after Siddiqui’s disappearance, a man on a motorcycle arrived at her house and told her Aafia was being held and that she should keep quiet if she ever wanted to see her daughter and grandchildren again.

Interestingly enough, on July 7, 2008, only a few weeks before Siddiqui’s arrest in Afghanistan, Yvonne Ridley, an award-winning British journalist and patron of Cage Prisoners, a human rights organization, had sparked an uproar by calling a press conference in Islamabad to demand that the United States hand over an unidentified female prisoner being held at the U.S.-run Bagram prison in Afghanistan.

Ridley said the woman, whom she called the “Gray Lady of Bagram,” had been held in solitary confinement for years. And while no one knew for sure the identity of that prisoner, Ridley said she thought it was Siddiqui. Several former U.S. captives have also reported that a female prisoner, known only as prisoner 650, was being held in Bagram. And according to news reports, the former captives said she had lost her sanity, and cried all the time.

Ridley had written previously about “Prisoner 650″ and her four-year ordeal of torture and repeated rapes, saying that her cries had prompted the male prisoners to go on a hunger strike. And, at the Islamabad press conference, Ridley said she called her a “Gray Lady” because she was almost a “ghost, a specter whose cries and screams continue to haunt those who heard her.”

At her trial in New York, Siddiqui said she had been tortured and held in a secret prison before her detention. AP reported that she said charges that she attacked U.S. personnel who wanted to interrogate her were “crazy.” “It’s just ridiculous,” Siddiqui told the court.

And it is ridiculous. More likely this woman has been charged, and now convicted, of these crimes to cover up years of U.S. torture. The United States will never regain a position of trust in the world as long as a miscarriage of justice like this is unchallenged and uncorrected.