ISSUE #21 CONTENTS:
- Opening Doors: HAMSA’s Nonviolence Seminar
- Damascus Declaration Crackdown
- Gimme Shelter: A Profile of Dubai’s Surrogate Mother
- Why aren't Iranians flocking to see Santouri?
- Become a Partner in CRIME
SPOTLIGHT CASES:
Opening Doors: HAMSA’s Second Annual Nonviolence Seminar
Nonviolence as a technique of social change is being implemented by activists around the world and increasingly applied in the Middle East. The HAMSA civil rights initiative is committed to helping young reformers and thinkers understand the relevance and power of nonviolence. For the second year in a row, activists from nine countries gathered for a four-day workshop to develop nonviolence skills.
Yet on the second day, participants returned from a lunch-break to their seminar room only to discover an arbitrary obstacle: a local mukhabarat (state security) agent had, on his own accord, chained the doors closed, with participants’ material locked inside. Here was a classic case where nonviolence and persuasion would be needed to promote change.
After hours of negotiation and pressure, security officials backed down. The doors were opened, and the workshop resumed. Despite the happy resolution of this small crisis, important doors across the region are being shut - and nonviolence offers a largely unexplored key to opening them. Congratulations to all the trainees who graduated from the workshop!
Damascus Declaration Crackdown
UNESCO has declared Damascus the "2008 Arab Cultural Capital" - yet some of the city's leading writers and intellectuals have been jailed as part of a growing crackdown on supporters of the "Damascus Declaration." This Friday, an array of Syria analysts and dissidents are gathering on Capitol Hill to gauge the impact of this crackdown on the prospects for reform.
On December 1, the National Council of the Damascus Declaration, a coalition of 163 Syrian activists, held a meeting in support of democratization. Eight days later Syrian authorities arrested more than forty members, and today over a dozen leaders remain in custody. Many have been beaten in prison, and the group has been charged with "weakening national sentiment" and "attacking the prestige of the state" - which can lead to 12 years in jail.
The Syrian regime's ongoing wave of arrests has effectively silenced Damascus' top public intellectuals - but dissidents and human rights advocates abroad are gathering on Friday to spotlight their plight. "Syria in Transition", held on Capitol Hill in Washington, will feature prominent speakers from Human Rights Watch, the US Institute of Peace, the Tharwa Foundation, and many other groups. The public discussion on Syrian reform hopes to offer solidarity to jailed activists in Damascus and build pressure for their release.
Gimme Shelter: A Profile of Dubai’s Surrogate Mother
With more constructions cranes than any other city in the world, Dubai is undergoing a massive physical and economic transformation. Yet local laws offer few protections for the millions foreign workers fueling this growth. Now, one local woman has taken it upon herself to help abused female workers who have nowhere else to turn.
Sharla Musabih runs City of Hope, Dubai’s only private shelter for female trafficking victims - typically domestic servants abused by their employers - as well as wives suffering from abusive husbands. Founded in 2001, City of Hope provides temporary housing for abused women and has helped over 400 survivors return home.
“The UAE is a sweet, humble country going through major changes,” said Musabih in an interview with The CRIME Report. “But there is almost nothing being done for social integration. You can’t purchase social development, and so we have exploitation.”
Musabih’s unique work prompted the UAE government to open a shelter of its own, yet the compound primarily served as a holding area to deport trafficking survivors. “Their main goal is to protect Dubai’s reputation,” Musabih explained. “They want to maintain the image of a rosy land for tourists.” Despite difficulties in collaborating with the government foundation, Musabih continues her work and will soon be opening a shelter in Ethiopia. Her vision is a network of shelters across the region – “We have to provide hope wherever it’s needed.”
QUIZ: Why aren't Iranians flocking to cinemas to watch the must-see film Santouri?
ANSWER: Because the film, about a banned band, got banned. The touching movie, which portrays a musician who struggles to perform in public, won the People's Choice Award at Tehran's 2007 Fajr Film Festival. Its popularity, though, did not save it from the censor’s wrath. Moral of the story: if you make a film about a ban, it will likely be banned.
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.