ISSUE #20 CONTENTS:
- The Essays Are In!
- Empty Classrooms: What is Happening in Egypt?
- Make Some Noise! Students Rock for Iranian Civil Rights
- Quiz: What ground-breaking even took place last week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia?
- Become a Partner in CRIME
SPOTLIGHT CASES:
The Essays Are In!
HAMSA would like to thank all everyone who submitted essays to this year’s Dream Deferred Essay Contest – over 1,300 of you shared your ideas and dreams for civil rights reform! People from seventeen different countries participated, from Mauritania to Tunisia to Sudan to Lebanon to Afghanistan to the US. This remarkably diverse group of participants has produced inspiring essays - and judges have their work cut out for them.
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. Winners will be announced in July.
Dalia Ziada, a 2006 essay contest winner who runs Middle East promotion for this year’s essay contest, explained the importance of participating in the essay contest: “The contest challenges young people to dream - and dreams can become reality if we take action. Imagine what the future could be like if we act on our ideas.”
Congratulations to everyone who participated - and good luck!
Empty Classrooms: What is Happening in Egypt?
The Egyptian blogosphere and international media outlets are buzzing about a national strike that gripped Egypt on Sunday (April 6). On universities across the country, students and professors did not show up for class. At many businesses and offices, employees failed to appear. The central squares of Cairo were unusually empty, monitored by dozens of riots police. It appears to be one the largest-scale civil protests in the Middle East, watched by activists across the region. But what is happening?
Some basic facts are clear, though the story is complex and still developing. Egyptian dissident groups called for civil strike - a “do not go to work” day - to protest torture and corruption (among other grievances). Preliminary reports, including on-going coverage by local bloggers, indicate that thousands heeded the call to strike, and a wave of detentions followed. The strike appears to have benefited from two factors: (1) A sandstorm descended on Cairo at the same time. (2) Anyone who stayed home fearing trouble in the streets was de facto “participating” in the strike.
Still, the impact of the demonstrations remains unclear, including: What is the level of popular support? Is it a movement for civil rights or simply frustration boiling over? Are some Egyptian officials themselves sympathetic to the demonstrations? What will happen to the 200 people arrested? Organizers have called for a second strike on May 4. Perhaps then the impact of the past two days will become clearer.
Make Some Noise! Students Rock for Iranian Civil Rights
On Monday night, eight bands rocked to raise awareness of Iranian civil rights issues at the Sacred Heart University Freedom Concert. In Iran, most rock concerts are banned and attending at underground shows can lead to fines and even public flogging. So students in Connecticut decided to use their freedom to put on a show of solidarity with their peers in Iran.
Co-sponsored by dozens of campus groups of all backgrounds, including Amnesty International, the concert drew a packed crowd to the Egerton Center. In addition to the musicians, the evening featured two keynote speakers. Kianoosh Sanjari, a 25-year-old Iranian student activist received a particularly warm welcome, as it was his first speaking engagement at a US university. Jailed at age 17 for his activism, Sajari was tortured and put in solitary confinement for 111 days in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. He was joined by Lily Mazahery, a DC-based lawyer assisting women on death row in Iran.
“By bringing together students, faculty, musicians and prominent human rights activists we are sending a strong message,” said event coordinator Jason Guberman-Pfeffer. “The daily violations of the Iranian people’s most basic freedoms by Iranian regime leaders are illegal - and we will not be accomplices, silent or otherwise, to them,”
Rock on!
QUIZ: What ground-breaking even took place last week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia?
Answer: Beyoncé, the queen of R&B, held a concert in front of crowd of both male and female Saudis. The crowd danced and swooned to her hits, including “Naughty Girl,” and the all time favorite, “Crazy in Love.” Even the infamous Muttawa - Saudi morality police - went crazy as rapper Jay-Z made a surprise entrance for the final duet. When Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ghaith, head of the Muttawa, was asked to explain what allowed the groundbreaking event to take place, he grinned: “April Fools!”
BECOME A PARTNER IN CRIME:
Here is a list of four quick ways you contribute to the Middle East civil rights movement:
- Forward this newsletter to friends & encourage them to subscribe.
- Write a letter to help free jailed blogger Fouad Al-Farhan.
- Write a letter to imprisoned Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer.
- Apply to participate in HAMSA’s civil rights fellowship program.