One of the most moving pieces we have picked up lately on this site was this account by A Gay Girl in Damascus of her father facing down two security thugs who came to arrest her one night in April. A glorious story about human freedom, written by a proudly Muslim lesbian.
Well Amina is now missing. Her cousin Rania O. Ismail reports that she was seized by three men on the streets of Damascus yesterday. Her family doesn't know where she is, but they don't think she's been killed. Her father is desperate. His name is Abdallah al Omari and he asks anyone with information to contact him at his home.
Sometimes as a writer, I think about the ideals that called to me as a young person, and this is one of those times. Writers have a special role to play in the Arab spring, especially writers as brave and independent and eloquent as Amina. I'm praying for her. If press organizations, human rights groups, or the American government can have any influence over her situation, they should act now. Thanks again to Saleema for calling this story to our attention.
“Sometimes as a writer, I think about the ideals that called to me as a young person, and this is one of those times. Writers have a special role to play in the Arab spring, especially writers as brave and independent and eloquent as Amina. I’m praying for her. ”
Thanks for your commitment to your ideals Phil. Thanks for shining your light on Amina. Now this is a human rights issue that Rachel Maddow might touch. Ignores the Palestinian human rights issue as we know. Will take this on over to her place. Who knows she might pick it up.
Phil one of the issues that jumped out at me in Sy Hersh’s interview over at Democracy Now is what he said about Iraq. You know I have never let up on this issue the death and destruction in Iraq etc at your site and many others. Our MSM keeps allowing the American public to stay in their slumber about the deadly results in that country that the Bush administration illegally invaded.
Also noticed once again as I went through the Netroots Nations schedule of events they once again avoid the I/P issue as well as Iraq. There is one opening under an Arab Spring panel. While I celebrate what the Netroots Nation has and continues to do their willingness to ignore US foreign policy when it comes to the I/P issue, Iraq etc is no different than the msm. Sad and complicit
All ready over at Maddows
link to maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com
While it is clear why this young woman needs the spotlight on her and her safety it is pathetic and telling that Rachel Maddows human rights focus is so limited. She never ever touches Palestinian human rights issues. Never ever. Either she is a PEP or too concerned like the so many MSMer talking heads about her paycheck
I remember Amina’s post well.
Her friend thinks it was Assad’s henchmen who grabbed her. Let’s hope she is released soon, unharmed.
Assad has more than a dozen security services working for him. As a result, instead of focusing outward at external threats, they focus inward, spying on each other, and abusing citizens to maintain their power. This creates an environment that is rife for abuse, oppression and persecution. It’s no wonder that Assad’s regime has managed to kill citizen and soldier alike with little dissent in the ranks.
We ask all those who care about Amina to send this message to the Syrian embassy in your country to show the regime that the world is very much aware of Amina’s case and will not let the Syrian regime get away with any harm that might come to her. Feel free to edit the message to add a more personal touch to it. Please be sure to keep the tone of the letter respectful.
Subject: Abduction of Syrian blogger Amina Abdullah Arraf
Your Excellency [here you can add the name of the ambassador, if it is known to you],
I am writing this letter to express my deepest concern regarding the situation of Amina Abdullah Arraf, a Syrian blogger who has been kidnapped in Damascus on June 6th. Since then, her family was not informed about her whereabouts, the charges against her or her medical condition.
The Syrian regime must immediately and unconditionally release Amina Arraf if, as appears to be the case, she is held solely for the peaceful exercise of her freedom of expression, association and assembly.
I am deeply concerned that Amina Arraf may have been subjected to enforced disappearance. I urge the Syrian authorities to disclose her whereabouts immediately. I call on the Syrian authorities to ensure that Amina Arraf is protected from torture and any other ill-treatment. She must be granted immediate and regular access to her family, lawyers and adequate medical care.
Yours truly,
[Your name]
You can find the e-mail addresses of all the major Syrian embassies here
link to embassy.goabroad.com
If you don’t find the e-mail address on this list or elsewhere online, all embassies list their phone numbers. Please call the embassy and express your concern about Amina’s disappearance.
Please share this note or post it on your blog.
I sent an email to Syria’s embassy in Canada. It bounced back with a failure to deliver message. I will try and call them tomorrow.
I am dreading what is happening to her right now. I don’t believe that she will survive custody without being sexually violated.
Creepy very creepy
Phil;
I am a little weary of this one. This may actually be a bogus site and another one of what Syrians are calling, foreign sites created to discredit the regime. If that is true, it makes you wonder what is really going on there ….
Check this out from Al Jazeera site:
“Al Jazeera and other media have reported that a Syrian blogger named Amina Abdallah Arraf was abducted in Damascus on Monday.
Now, in a New York Times blog post, it’s noted that “Andy Carvin, an N.P.R. journalist and expert at debunking Internet rumors, pointed out that none of the reports of the arrest of Amina Abdallah Arraf appeared to have been written by journalists who had previously met or interviewed her.”
A few hours after Mr. Carvin asked his network of followers on Twitter, “has anyone met Amina [Gay Girl In Damascus] in person?” he observed: “It’s just odd that I can’t find anyone who has actually met her in person.”
Although it remains possible that the blog’s author was indeed detained, and has been writing a factual, not fictional account of recent events in Syria, readers should be aware that the one person who has identified herself — to The Times, The BBC and Al Jazeera — as a personal friend of the blogger, Sandra Bagaria, has now clarified that she has never actually met the author of the Gay Girl in Damascus blog.”