[Peace-political] summary of Johnson meeting

[Peter Miller]

CHAMPAIGN, SEP. 20--Eleven Champaign-Urbana residents urged a district aide 
for US Congress member Tim Johnson to support a nonviolent response to the 
tragedy that struck the US on September 11.  The group held the discussion 
with district aide Matt Bisbee at 8 am on Thursday at Johnson's Champaign 
office.

Bisbee opened the meeting by summarizing Johnson's position on a response 
to the attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon.  He noted that 
Johnson held a press conference at the Champaign airport on 
Sunday.  Military action is necessary, but the US should exercise caution 
since this is an unusual war without a clear enemy, he said.  Johnson 
supports a "swift next move," and he trusts the President to take the 
appropriate actions, according to Bisbee.

Peter Miller then presented the statement that the group had prepared.  The 
statement urged Rep. Johnson to support actions that do not kill any 
civilians, that respect international law, and that protect the civil 
rights of US citizens.  The group asked for Johnson to issue a statement 
echoing President Bush's call to not attack Muslims or those of Arabic 
descent, and to send the statement directly to law enforcement leaders in 
the fifteenth Congressional district.  The statement also urged the 
government to provide support for the victims and to capture and imprison 
those responsible for the attacks.  (For the full text, see URL HERE.)

The group also called for Johnson to hold a town hall meeting to discuss an 
appropriate US response.

Bisbee replied that he would communicate the concerns to Johnson and that 
he would be interested in an invitation to a public forum.

"This may have been the first time that [Johnson's office] heard from 
anyone who didn't have the war mentality," commented Sarah Kanouse, a 
community member who attended the meeting.  At the beginning of the 
meeting, Bisbee stated that the office had received numerous phone calls 
from people in the district who favored a violent backlash from the US.

Insight into how US institutions are reacting in the wake of the attacks 
came from Christine Zitrides-Hamza, who described how an airline has 
profiled her for having an Arabic surname.  Zitrides-Hamza recently married 
an Arabic man, and because of the bombing, the couple decided that 
Zitrides-Hamza's husband would not travel to Dallas, Texas for a wedding 
the couple had planned to attend.

When Zitrides-Hamza called the airline to check her flight, the airline 
employee told her that because she has an Arabic surname, she should be 
expected to provide documents "explaining her relationship to the 
name."  The employee said that the explanation might include bringing 
immigration papers and a copy of her marriage certificate, even though it's 
written in Arabic.

"It makes me feel threatened and angry that we waited a full year to get 
permanent residency, and now that we're here, the airline can treat us this 
way," Zitrides-Hamza commented.


The phone number for Tim Johnson's Champaign district office is 217-403-4690.