ISSUE #15 CONTENTS:
- Dream Deferred: 2008 Essay Contest Launched
- Look out! Moroccan Civil Leaders Take a Stand
- Disappeared: Lost in Libya’s Prison System
- QUIZ: She Drives Me Crazy
- Become a Partner in CRIME
SPOTLIGHT CASES:
“Dream Deferred Essay Contest” Launches 2008 Edition
HAMSA announces the launch of the third annual Dream Deferred Essay Contest. The contest asks young people to take a stand on the struggle for civil rights in the Middle East. Young writers from over 20 countries are welcome to enter the contest and can submit essays in English, French, Farsi, and Arabic.
This year’s contest offers $10,000 to ten winners, as well as 50 book prizes for other outstanding essays. Top essays will be reviewed by a panel of celebrity judges, including bestselling author Azar Nafisi ("Reading Lolita in Tehran"), MTV star Parisa Montazaran ("The Real World"), and Syrian dissident blogger Ammar Abdulhamid.
Participants are asked to answer one of several provocative questions. Options include writing about the pain of civil rights repression, outlining a plan for an effective civil rights campaign, or writing an article from the future describing a civil rights success.
The contest deadline is March 30. Submit your essay today! Enter online at http://www.hamsaweb.org/essay.
Look out! Moroccan Civil Leaders Take a Stand
Civil rights activists from across Moroccan society have launched an urgent "Call for the Defense of Individual Liberties" – a campaign in reaction to a recent crackdown by Moroccan officials. This week, Tel Quel magazine, edited by HAMSA essay contest judge Ahmed Benchemsi, features a cover story on the campaign.
The urgent appeal to the Moroccan government has been signed by 130 leading intellectuals, artists, politicians, and journalists. These civic leaders are demanding that the state defend individual liberty by punishing discrimination and violence against individuals because of their beliefs, opinions, and lifestyle.
The event that sparked the appeal took place in November in the town of Ksar el Kebir. A mob attacked guests from a private party and seized six, taking them to the local jail for the alleged crime of being homosexual. Two weeks ago, these individuals were sentenced to several months in prison.
This example of mob justice and the government’s failure to protect individual rights has shocked Moroccan civil rights leaders. "Everyone has the right to live his own private life as he sees fit, without being judged or demonized by others," noted a Tel Quel editorial. The purpose of the campaign, it explained, is to let those jailed know: "You are not alone."
"My brother disappeared in the Libyan prison system"
When Fathi Eljami’s relatives tried to visit him in Libya’s prison system, the authorities had a blunt answer: "Visitation is prohibited." Today, they do not even bother responding.
"No one knows where my brother is being held," says Mohamed Eljahmi, who now lives in the US. "We saw him in April of 2006, as he was being taken away in an ambulance. No one has seen him since."
Fathi Eljahmi has been held without trial since March of 2004, thrown in prison by Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi, after he called for democracy, free enterprise, and free speech. The husband and father of five lost his business while in prison. His family remains under constant surveillance, and his eldest son is banned from leaving Libya. Some family members have even been denied jobs because of their relation to him.
Abdelhameed Al-Sayeh, head of the Anti-Terrorism Unit of Libyan State Security, is in charge of Fathi’s fate. "The Libyan government just wants to make an example of him," says Mohamed. "I hope readers of the CRIME Report will contact their political leaders – particularly members of Congress – to ask them to intervene and rescue my brother."
UPDATE:
Two days after the interview, Mohamed re-contacted the CRIME report to tell us the following: "A few days ago, Fathi was seen by his oldest son who reported that his condition was "skin and bones." His release is now imminent as the Libyan government does not want his death to be blood on their hands."
QUIZ: She Drives Me Crazy
Has the ban on Saudi women driving been lifted? According to a recent article in The Telegraph, Saudi Arabia will later this year remove the prohibition on women drivers. The groundbreaking report was picked up by international media. But the source for the claim is only unnamed "government officials," with no clear statement provided. And even if the King issues a royal decree ending the ban, there is no guarantee insurance companies will offer coverage or government departments issue licenses to women. So the answer to this quiz: No one knows.
BECOME A PARTNER IN CRIME:
Here is a list of four quick ways you contribute to the Middle East civil rights movement:
- Forward this alert to friends & encourage them to subscribe.
- Write a letter to help free jailed blogger Fouad Al-Farhan.
- Sign the solidarity petition for Mohammed Al-Maskati.
- Apply to participate in HAMSA’s civil rights fellowship program.