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"How
do you think I feel thinking of my son Omar in a cold narrow
cell without sunshine or fresh air? The tears pour out and
I cannot stop them. When his little son Suleiman comes to
me and asks, 'Where is my daddy?', I feel the world is pulled
from under my feet. My heart is ruptured with sadness."
Zohra
Zewahi, mother of Omar Deghayes, Guantanamo Detainee
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Dear CODEPINKer,
Zohra's
son Omar
was arrested in Pakistan in April 2002 and transferred to the Guantanamo
Bay detainment camp. Omar, who has never been charged or tried for
a crime, says he has been beaten, blinded
in one eye, submerged under water, sexually assaulted and kept in
isolation for eight months. His mother, convinced of her son's innocence,
is merely pleading that Omar be charged and tried, or released.
CODEPINK
agrees. We think it's a gross violation of the basic principles
of a democratic society to keep people locked up indefinitely, without
charges or fair trials. That's why we're
participating in the January 11 International Call to Close Guantanamo,
timed to coincide with the 5 year anniversary of the first prisoners
being brought to the island. That's why we've asked Zohra
to join us in a unique protest-outside the gates of the Guantanamo
Naval Base itself!
On
January 9, CODEPINK
cofounders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans are leading a 15-person
delegation to Guantanamo. The delegation will include
family members of detainees, former detainees, constitutional lawyers
and US peace activists including Cindy Sheehan and Colonel Ann Wright.
You,
too, can stand up against torture and indefinite detention. You,
too, can help reinstitute basic democratic rights, like Habeas Corpus,
that were stripped by the Republican-controlled Congress. Here's
how:
1.
Contribute to the Send
CODEPINK to Guantanamo Fund to help us pay for the delegation.
2. Join
in one of the protests being organized around the country
for the January 11 Shut Down Guantanamo Day, or organize
one in your community.
3. Contact
your congressperson to ask him/her to support restoring
Habeas Corpus and repealing the Military Commissions Act.
4. Stage
a reading of the play Guantanamo: "Honor Bound to
Defend Freedom."
Visit
our No
Torture page for even more ideas about how to join our
campaign. Let's use our voices and our bodies to close Guantanamo
down.
With
gratitude for all of your support,
Dana, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Liz, Medea,
Nancy, Patricia, Rae, Samantha, and Sonia
P.S.
Thank you to everyone who participated in over 40
CODEPINK vigils around the country to mark the 3000th
soldier death in Iraq. Ten CODEPINKers
in San Francisco, including co-founder Medea Benjamin, were arrested
as they attempted to cross the Golden Gate Bridge in a solemn march
of protest. We are grateful to all of our local groups
who stop traffic, who open eyes, who spread the word of peace.
P.P.S.
Thank you, too, for sending your New
Year's Revolution Resolutions! You continue to inspire
us with your creativity and dedication to peace. With all of your
help, 2007 will be a banner year for change.
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