[Peace] Fwd: [Foa] Thank You

[Clint Popetz]

Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 00:32:01 -0500
From: "Ahmed Bensouda" <kungfusion at hotmail.com>
Subject: [Foa] Thank You
To: foa at lists.cu.groogroo.com


   I am out on bond, after 3 weeks of my life that I will never forget,
   and I have you all to thank.

   At every stage of my detainment, I was aware of people mobilizing on
   my behalf - the pressure on the courts and federal authorities through
   demos, media coverage, and even constant phone-calls to the jails and
   detainment centers where I was held.

   With my transfer to the Du Page County INS facility, I sensed that the
   somewhat improved conditions of my detainment halfway through the
   whole ordeal were due to the work you were doing outside.  But I never
   understood the extent of those efforts until I saw the impact they had
   on my bond hearing this past Friday, June 21st.  The relentlessness
   of the Friends of Ahmed campaign forced the government and
   court system a full step back from the policies of political and
   racial repression that they have pursued with even greater impunity
   since 911.

   The state didn't just suddenly decide to be nice.  It felt popular
   force breathing down its neck, at long last holding the system
   accountable for its actions.  Democracy is not just for the powerful.

   I thank you. But the best thanks I could give you all is to help
   continue the work you started.

   Many detainees, whether they're being held for racial or political
   reasons, don't even know that people like you exist.  I met dozens of
   individuals and heard their stories while I was on the inside.  Alone,
   helpless, humiliated and intimidated, lives and loved ones in ruins
   because of their confinement, they are facing forces that seem
   overwhelming.

   They have to know that communities like ours all across this land have
   the resources and energy to provide them with support and exposure
   needed to even the tables and ensure they are treated with dignity.

   We need a movement that is dedicated to solidarity with the victims of
   these racist policies, and committed to serious action on their
   behalf.  A national response/solidarity network/movement for detainees
   that does not apologize or make excuses for the system, but instead
   holds it accountable for its actions through popular resistance. A
   movement that reaches out to not just Arab and Muslim detainees, but
   other detainees of color who have been subjected to the
   white-supremacist policies of the federal government and its
   institutions.

   I propose that we take on this challengs and enter into a serious
   discussion about how to organize ourselves both locally and nationally
   for this effort.

   For those who haven't already, please join the "Friends of Ahmed"
   mailing list (www.friendsofahmed.org); we can change the name of the
   list later once we decide where to go from here.

   I would like to leave you with a case that I came across at Dupage
   County Jail. Two Canadian nationals of Somali origin have been
   detained for the past four weeks for working as taxi drivers without
   US work permits. They were told accept immediate deportation without
   legal representation, but have been since left in jail with no
   indication of when they would be deported. They were set bond at
   $25,000 each, but were refused the right to pay it under the guise
   that they would be deported soon. In the meantime, they have been
   practically begging the Canadian Consulate to communicate with the INS
   and arrange their quick departure. However, the Canadian Consul has
   instead been threatening to investigate them because they are
   Arab-Muslim in US custody.


   After I was released on Friday, Hadeel and I visited with them and
   they have asked us to call the Canadian Consul and the INS and demand
   that they expedite their cases.

   The number for the Canadian Consul is 312-616-1860. Their names are
   Mohammad Hassan Noor and Yasin-Yusef Mohammad. We have encouraged them
   to write statements that we can present to supporters. We ask that you
   call and express your outrage at the INS and Canadian Consul ASAP.


   Much love and thanks.

   Your friend,

   Ahmed