PALESTINE-RELATED
EVENTS in the SEATTLE AREA for SEPT. 25-Oct. 3
For information about history, issues, and
our Seattle Divest from Israeli
Military Occupation campaign, please see
www.palestineinformation.org.
E-mail us at palestinejustice@aol.com. We try to limit this listserve to
Seattle
area events and news about the International Solidarity Movement to End
the
Occupation. To have us post an
event on this calendar, please email
lindabevis1@aol.com. For more general
news and analysis on the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict without a
pro-Israeli-government bias, please see:
palestinechronicle.com,
electronicIntifada.net, btselem.org, miftah.org and other sites listed on
our
website.
To send a letter
about anything you learn here to your congressional rep:
http://www.truemajority.com/index.asp?action=2174&ms=irqpeace.
To
unsubscribe, email
palestinejustice-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net. To acquire books or
buttons or kaffiyehs for tabling,
try www.palestineonlinestore.com
PALESTINE SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE/ISM
SEATTLE NEWS
* Next Palestine Solidarity
Committee Meeting: Monday, Oct. 4, 7-9 pm
* Next ISM Seattle subcommittee meeting: TBA
* Next ISM Seattle Discussion Cafe:
Oct. 6, 5-8 pm (every first Wed.)
* Next Sidewalk Education, Oct. 9, 12-2 p.m.
* Next Theatre meeting:TBA (usually
every first Tuesday)
*
Next ISM pre-training: Fall
* Next ISM Palestine Campaign: Olive Harvest Campaign,
Oct. 5-Nov. 15
*
Palestine Film Festival: October 31-Nov. 21 2004
Call 206 633-1086
for locations, dates, times.
PSC now has a copy of the new Media
Education Foundation video, "Peace,
Propaganda and the Promised
Land: American Media and the
Subversion of Peace" (75
minutes)
that you can borrow to show in your living room or community hall.
We previewed the video and found
it extremely informative as a tool for
understanding what is really
happening in the Occupied Territories and why Americans
don't know about
it. For more details on the
video, go to the website of
the Media Education Foundation at
www.mediaed.org. To borrow the
video, email
woodwend@earthlink.net with your request. For information
about other videos in
PSC’s lending library, contact:
palestinejustice@aol.com
THIS WEEK:
*** ST. MARK’S ANNUAL FALL MIDDLE EAST LUNCHEON***HUERTA
TALK &
ROVICS/LIPPMAN CONCERT***WOMEN IN BLACK*** PALESTINE IN YOUR
LIVINGROOM? BRING SPEAKERS
AND VIDEOS TO YOUR FRIENDS ANYTIME -- CALL PSC
FOR MORE INFO 206 633-1086***
WOMEN IN BLACK. Stand against occupation
and war every Thursday at Westlake.
4th & Pine. 5-6 pm. Wear Black.
Men can support.
Sept.
26, Palestinian Concerns Group invites you to THE ANNUAL FALL MIDDLE
EAST LUNCHEON. On: Sunday September 26 At: 12:30 p.m. In: Bloedel Hall St.
Markís
Cathedral- 1245- 10th Ave. E. with Mary & Fred Pneuman Recently returned
from
the Sabeel Conference, Jerusalem . Christian Zionism ñ A Barrier to Peace
with
powerpoint presentation. Tickets ($25) are available from: David Sires
206.329.1900; Huda Giddens
206.527.1291; Husniyeh Kouttainay
425.787.8900. Proceeds go to the
Palestinian University Womenís Scholarship Fund, and to
critically needed
medical relief
Thursday
September 30th, An Exciting Night of Music and Activism!
A Talk by DOLORES HUERTA, Co-Founder of
UNITED FARM WORKERS
and DAVE
LIPPMAN AND DAVID ROVICS TOGETHER IN CONCERT
Benefit for COMMUNITY ALLIANCE FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE –
Seattle Labor Temple - 2800 1st Avenue.
$10 Donation requested (all welcome)
Reception with food and refreshments at
6pm, Concert at 7pm. ASL
interpreted. More info: 206.369.7087.
Community Alliance for Global Justice
is a grassroots organization working
locally for global economic justice. CAGJ
fights corporate
"free" trade agreements -- such as expansions of NAFTA and
the
WTO -- and promotes Fair Trade alternatives. (206) 405-4600,
www.seattleglobaljustice.org/
www.davidrovics.com/ www.davelippman.com
Progressive, musical
commentary on our world today. David Rovics has written songs for
Rachel
Corrie and Palestine; Dave Lippman is just returned from Palestine.
UPCOMING: *** ISM
DISCUSSION CAFE ***SADAA: VOICES OF WOMEN, A FESTIVAL OF
FILM, VISUAL
& LITERARY ARTS***SIDEWALK EDUCATION ***MILITARISM, OCCUPATION &
EMPIRE:
IRAQ, PALESTINE AND THE OBSTACLES TO PEACE.*** PALESTINE FILM
FESTIVAL***PALESTINE
IN YOUR LIVINGROOM? BRING SPEAKERS AND VIDEOS TO YOUR FRIENDS
ANYTIME --
CALL PSC FOR MORE INFO 206 633-1086***
Oct. 6 ISM DISCUSSION CAFE at the
B&O Espresso, Belmont and Olive on
Capitol Hill. Drop by anytime
between 5 and 8 pm to learn more about the
International Solidarity
Movement to End the Occupation.
Every first Wednesday of the
month. More info: 206 633-1086.
October
6 - 30, 2004, SADAA: VOICES OF WOMEN, A FESTIVAL OF FILM, VISUAL &
LITERARY
ARTS
(Two Palestine related events are: Film screening on Oct. 8th of
'Frontiers
of Dreams and Fears' by Mai Masri and a reading on Oct. 13th by
local Seattle
Palestinian writer Leena Khalif. )
Sadaa, "voice" or "echo" in
Arabic/Persian/Urdu, presents 'Voices of
Women,'an arts collective
challenging stereotypical views about women from Muslim
countries. Feeling
the need to speak out women artists from Afghanistan,Iran,
Lebanon,
Pakistan and Palestine have come together to reveal the diversity of our
cultures
while saying 'enough' to the mass media which misrepresents us and
the
religious fundamentalists who expect us to obey in silence. The festival
will
present visual art exhibit, film screenings, and literary readings.
Oct 6, 6-8pm, Opening RECEPTION for 'Sadaa: Voices of Women'
Gallery 110 in Pioneer Square, 110 S.
Washington St., Seattle, ph: (206)
624-9336.Featuring a month long visual
art exhibit by Ayesha Khan
(Pakistan), Guita Monfaredi (Iran), Randa Hilal (Lebanon),
and Umber Kazmi
(Pakistan). No
charge. See http://www.jazbah.org/sadaa for more information.
October 8, 7pm, Two documentary FILMS:
'Terror's Children' (45 min.) by
Sharmeen Obaid is a film about the lives of
Afghan children growing up in refugee camps in Pakistan.
'Frontiers of
Dreams and
Fears' (56 min.) by Mai Masri traces the delicate friendship that
evolves between two Palestinian girls
growing up in Israeli controlled
refugee camps. University of Washington, Savery Hall 239, $5
includes both
films.
Co-sponsored by Arab Film Distribution. See
http://www.jazbah.org/sadaa for details.
October 9, 7pm, LECTURE
by author Tahira Naqvi
'Sadaa: Voices of Women' and UW South Asia Center are pleased
to present
'Works of Ismat
Chughtai,' a lecture by Tahira Naqvi, the author of two
collections of short stories as well as
translations of many works by one of
Urdu's most prominent writers, Ismat Chughtai. University of
Washington,
Savery Hall 239.
No charge.
One of the foremost writers of modern
Urdu literature, Ismat Chughtai
spearheaded a social and literary revolution, shocking
readers with her
iconoclasm.
She was also the only woman to rank among the important figures
of the 40s Urdu literary scene. Her
stories were often controversial, set in
the middle class milieu and the characters pushed against
convention. One,
Lihaaf
(1942), led to an obscenity trial at Lahore. Tahira Naqvi will also
be doing a reading at Elliot Bay Book
Co, Oct 9, 2pm. Co-sponsored by Chaya.
Oct. 9, 12-2 pm. SIDEWALK EDUCATION FOR PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS. Usually
every
2nd Saturday from 12-2 pm. We have
info, banners, signs, and welcome all
anti-racists to join us. Palestine
Solidarity Committee. More
info:
palestinejustice@aol.com. Check our calendar for
updates. Call 206 633-1086 if you
need
to confirm a location.
Westlake Park: 4th & Pine, downtown Seattle.
October 10, 6pm, FILMS FROM
PAKISTAN by independent
filmmakers:
'Beauty Parlor'
(18 min.) by Mehreen Jabbar, 'Naheed's Story' (20 min.) by
Beena Sarwar, 'For a Place Under the
Heavens' (53 min.) by Sabiha Sumar.
University of Washington, Savery Hall 239. $5 includes all
films.
Co-sponsored by Chaya,
Tasveer, and Women Make Movies. See
http://www.jazbah.org/sadaa for details.
October 13, 7pm,POETRY/PROSE READINGS:
Featuring local Seattle writers, Negin
Almassi(Iran), Laila Kazmi(Pakistan),
Lena Khalaf (Palestine), and Maliha Masood (Pakistan),
Gallery 110, 110 S.
Washington
St., Seattle, ph: (206) 624-9336. This evening is part of the
'Sadaa: Voices of Women' arts festival.
No charge. See
http://www.jazbah.org/sadaa for details.
Oct. 20,
Phinney Neighbors for Peace and Justice (PNPJ, affiliated with the
SNOW
Coalition) is having a forum: MILITARISM, OCCUPATION & EMPIRE: IRAQ,
PALESTINE
AND THE OBSTACLES TO PEACE. An
update.
Maria Tomchick,
Writer/editor, Eat The State
Steve Niva, Prof.
of Int'l Politics & Middle East Studies, Evergreen
State College
Nikhil Singh, UW Associate Professor of History
at Woodland Park
Presbyterian Church,, 225 N 70th St. (70th & Greenwood) ,
Doors open at 6:30 pm,
Forum starts at 7 pm
“PALESTINE: THE PEOPLE” FILM FESTIVAL
Films that reveal the complexities and
dynamics of being Palestinian.
Oct 31-Nov 21 2004
Sundays at 7pm
Ethnic Cultural Theater, 3940 Brooklyn Ave NE, in Seattle’s
University
District,
Suggested Donation $10/ All Welcome,
Brought to you by Hayaat and Palestine Solidarity Committee
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
206-633-1086
Opening night, Oct 31st featuring
UNTIL WHEN...
Dahna
Abourahme, 2004
Set during the current Intifada, this documentary follows
four Palestinian
families living in Dheisheh Refugee Camp near
Bethlehem. As they create a
context
for understanding the key place that the Right of Return - the right
of
Palestinian refugees to return to the homes they were driven from in 1948
-
has in a Palestinian vision for a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict,
they talk about their past and discuss the future with humor,
sorrow,
frustration and hope.
Arabic w/ English subtitles, 76 min., Palestine/USA
2004
Followed by a presentation by NADA ELIA,
Professor of
Transnational Feminisms in the Women's Studies Department at
WSU. A Palestinian and life-long activist,
Ms Elia will share her
perspective and analysis on the Right of Return and
the current situation in
Palestine.Suggested Donation $10 / All Welcome
Brought
to you by Hayaat and Palestine Solidarity Committee. Sundays at 7pm
Ethnic Cultural Theater, 3940 Brooklyn
Ave NE, in Seattle’s University
District, Suggested Donation $10/ All Welcome, More info: 206
633-1086
Sunday, November
7th
LAND IN BLACK AND WHITE
Suheir Ismail, 1998, 56 minutes
Journalist, activist and resident of
Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem,
Suheir Ismail travels to South Africa. As she shares excitement with black
South African villagers who clear the
first hurdle in their struggle to
regain their ancestral land, Ismail contemplates the future
of Palestinian
refugees and
their hopes of returning to their own land. Sundays at 7pm
Ethnic Cultural Theater, 3940 Brooklyn Ave NE, in Seattle’s
University
District,
Suggested Donation $10/ All Welcome, More info: 206 633-1086
Sunday, November 14th
500 DUNAM ON THE MOON
Rachel Leah Jones , 2002. 48 minutes
Ayn Hawd is a Palestinian village that
was captured and depopulated by
Israeli forces in the 1948 war. In 1953 the village was
transformed into a
Jewish
artists' colony, and renamed it Ein Hod. This documentary tells the
story of the village's original
inhabitants, who, after expulsion, settled
only 1.5 kilometers away in the outlying hills. Rachel Leah
Jones'
filmmaking debut is a
critical look at the art of dispossession and the
creativity of the dispossessed.Sundays
at 7pm
Ethnic Cultural
Theater, 3940 Brooklyn Ave NE, in Seattle’s University
District, Suggested Donation $10/ All
Welcome, More info: 206 633-1086
Sunday November 21st
PARADISE LOST
Ebtisam Maraana, 2003. 56 minutes
Filmmaker Ebtisam Mara'ana grew up in
Paradise (Fureidis in Arabic).
This thought-provoking and intimate film diary follows the
director’s
attempt to
recreate her village’s lost history, including the story of her
childhood hero Suuad, who was imprisoned
as a PLO activist in the 1970’s and
banished from the community. The director’s frustration
builds as her
questions are
resisted but she presses for truth.
Presenting the rarely
heard voice of an Arab Israeli, this important film offers
valuable insight
into the
contradictions and complexities of modern womanhood and national
identity in the Middle East. Sundays at
7pm
Ethnic Cultural Theater,
3940 Brooklyn Ave NE, in Seattle’s University
District, Suggested Donation $10/ All Welcome, More info: 206
633-1086
PALESTINE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM: As always, Palestine
Solidarity Committee
would love to help you discuss this issue with your
community. Invite friends over
for dinner or tea and show a video and host
a speaker who’s just back from
witnessing the occupation. All for free.
Let us know if you’re interested: 206
633-1086,
palestinejustice@aol.com.
ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
STOP THE WALL CAMPAIGN ***“GO TO RAFAH TO
INVESTIGATE RACHEL CORRIE’S
DEATH” CAMPAIGN***OLYMPIA-RAFAH SISTER
CITY PROJECT*** SEATTLE DIVEST FROM ISRAELI
MILITARY OCCUPATION
CAMPAIGN***
STOP THE WALL CAMPAIGN
The Wall is higher than the
Berlin Wall, will take millions of American tax
dollars to build, and cuts
the West Bank in two:
confiscating some of the
richest Palestinian farmland and many
wells for Israeli use. For more info:
John Reese,
jreese@scn.org, 206-568-7110 or
Community Action Network
can@drizzle.com
This link is to a translation
of a May 23rd article in Yediot Ahronot titled
“A Wall in the Heart.”
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article1546.shtml
These
links have additional information on the wall including maps.
http://www.gush-shalom.org/thewall/index.html
,
http://www.poica.org/casestudies/Changing%20Wall%20Path%2016-06-03/index.htm.
The Israeli government continues to build a massive wall to surround
Palestinian
areas and turn their ghettos into large prisons. Twice as high and
planned-to-be three times as long as
the Berlin Wall, Israel's latest project of
dispossession has already
uprooted tens of thousands of Palestinian fruit and
olive trees and has
destroyed or isolated from Palestinian farmers tens of
thousands of dunams
of farmland, de facto confiscating the Palestinian people's most
fertile
land and most important water wells.
Entire farming communities are
losing all of their agricultural
land. More statistics:10% of the
West Bank
will be confiscated by and for Israel by the path of this
wall. As of December
2002,
some 11,500 dunams of land have been razed for the footprint of the
wall,
and 83,000 trees uprooted. Over 31
groundwater wells will be in the
confiscated areas of the wall's first
phase. A number of villages are to lose their
ONLY source of water. Land confiscation, destruction, and
severe restriction
of movement will translate into the loss of over 6,500
jobs. Over 100
buildings have
thusfar been destroyed to make way for the wall, mainly shops, an
important
source of income for families and communities At least 17 Palestinian
communities
will be trapped between the wall and the Green Line. Some
communities will
be surrounded on all sides by the wall.
If completed as planned, some
95,000 Palestinians will be isolated.
A number
of small villages have been informed that their proximity
to the wall will
deem most of their community demolished. Courtesy of PENGON. For more
information and
statistics, see: www.pengon.org
The ISM invites you to join the Palestinian
people in coordinated
direct-action, nonviolent resistance to this
strangulation, oppression and affront to
peace initiatives. While leaders talk about peace and the
"road map", take part
in working for justice on the ground and
paving the road to freedom. For
more
information: www.palsolidarity.org
SEATTLE DIVEST FROM
ISRAELI MILITARY OCCUPATION CAMPAIGN: Ask Seattle City
Council to divest
its pension funds from American companies selling war machines
to Israel.
Includes Caterpillar and Boeing. More info:
www.palestineinformation.org;
206 633-1086.
GO TO RAFAH CAMPAIGN
CALL ON YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
TO GO TO RAFAH TO INVESTIGATE RACHEL CORRIE’S
DEATH & TO SUPPORT THE
RACHEL CORRIE RESOLUTION (H.Con.Res. 111 calls for a U.S.
investigation
into her death. Rachel Corrie was a 23
year-old American peace
activist who was killed by an Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) bulldozer while
nonviolently protesting the
demolition of the home of a Palestinian doctor and
his family in the Gaza
Strip on March 16. For more details, please see:
http://www.endtheoccupation.org.):
Murray: 206.553.5545; Cantwell: 206.220.6400;
McDermott: 206.553-7170;
Baird:360.695.6292....
DONATIONS IN MEMORY OF RACHEL CORRIE:
International
Solidarity Movement -- Palestine
c/o Linda Bevis & Ed Mast
4330 2nd
Ave. NE
Seattle, WA 98105
(you can also send donations to Rafah to this
address; make checks out to
“MECA”)
Rachel Corrie Memorial
Fund
The Community Foundation of South Puget Sound
111 Market Street
NE, Suite 375
Olympia, WA 98501
More information on the Community
Foundation can be found at:
http://www.thecommunityfoundation.com
Rachel
Corrie Memorial Fund
c/o The Evergreen State College Foundation
Library
Building, Room 3122
The Evergreen State College
2700 Evergreen Parkway
NW
Olympia, WA 98505
Corrie Scholarship Fund
c/o Elizabeth
Abuhayder
351 Lee Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Plant An Olive Tree
in East Jerusalem in Rachel’s Memory
$20 buys a tree
Contact: Joan
Abu Jebara
PR & Advocacy Desk Coordinator
YWCA Palestine
email:
pr.advocacy@ywca-palestine.org or olivetree@ywca-palestine.org
You can also send a check to
"Friends of Sabeel-North Amerca", which is an
IRS
registered 501(c)(3) organization
and the local contact is: sister Elaine
Kelley, admin. officer, 2036 SE
Jefferson St., Milwaukie, OR 97222-7660 Ph:
503-653-6625 email:
kelleysfcc@aol.com (do this and sister Elaine sent us a
receipt and
forwarded the forms to the YWCA/ YMCA in Jerusalem).
The Corrie family
also encourages people to remember Rachel by doing
volunteer service in
their community.
Cards and remembrances for the Corrie family should
be sent to:
P.O. Box 12149
Olympia, WA 98508
Emails to the family
can be sent to:
rachelsmessage@the-corries.com
"MIDDLE EAST
JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIP IN MEMORY OF RACHEL CORRIE" has been
created. This was created with the generous
contributions of our communities.
If people are still interested in making
contributions to this fund they can
do so by writing a check to the name
of the scholarship fund and send this to
Evergreen State College at 2700
Evergreen Parkway NW., Olympia, WA, 98505.
OLYMPIA-RAFAH SISTER CITY
PROJECT
Dear
Friend,
We’re
writing to ask your help on an urgent matter.
As you likely know, the
Palestinians of Rafah, in the
Gaza Strip, have been enduring a terrifying
assault by
the Israeli occupation forces. Hundreds of homes in
Rafah were wantonly demolished last
month in an
indiscriminate campaign of destruction that Amnesty
International
labeled a “war crime”. Thousands of
people, already impoverished, were
then left homeless,
and the campaign of home destruction continued with
scores
of houses leveled in the month of November. A
grave humanitarian crisis is taking shape, with many
injured
persons cut off from medical care by the
Israeli Occupation forces, and
local hospitals unable
to cope with the growing number of casualties.
One international volunteer
currently working in Rafah
sent this dispatch on November 19th, which gives
a
look into the grim daily existence of Gaza:
We are spending much of our
days visiting families who
have lost children and other family members from
Israeli
bullets. The other day in Gaza City, halfway
through Ramadan, a very poor
family lost one of its
sons. The 13 year old was out catching birds with
other
kids from the neighborhood when an Israeli
military foot patrol came upon
them. The autopsy
report describes the child as being shot 17 times at
close
range and his face was injured from being
stomped on by the soldiers’
boots. His arm was broken
when they dragged him from the place of his
murder to
the border, in order to claim they shot him because he
got
too close to the Green Line.
In Rafah, another 13 year old child was shot in the
stomach
on his way
home from school. That day there was an unusual amount
of
gunfire all day long…In Block O, one of the refugee
camps along the
border, this child was just getting
out of class and on his way home when
he was either
targeted or hit with a stray bullet. He was not killed
instantly,
but was taken to the ICU where over the
course of 3 days was given 16
liters of blood. In the
end the doctors could not stop the bleeding and the
child
died.
Stories of such atrocities are
almost entirely absent
from U.S. media reporting, yet are common fare to
those
involved in solidarity work inside Palestine.
As citizens of the country
that finances and enables
the Occupation, we are trying to provide some
immediate
relief and hope to the victims, while laying
the foundation for long-term
change.
Who We Are
The concept of an Olympia-to-Rafah sister city
relationship
was begun last year by our friend and
colleague Rachel Corrie, who was
killed by an Israeli
military bulldozer on March 16. Rachel insisted on
living in Rafah
because she thought it was there that
people faced the occupation’s
harshest conditions. It
is
well known that she was a member of the
International Solidarity Movement
and that she lost
her life defending a Palestinian family’s home from
destruction. Not so well known were her efforts at
establishing
a sister-city relationship. She
traveled
to Rafah with the names of school children from her
hometown,
seeking to pair them with counterparts in
Rafah in a pen-pal exchange. She imagined all sorts
of
cultural exchanges, aid projects, and direct ways
of connecting people
across the many barriers of
distance, language and misunderstanding that
separate
us. She believed that
only then might our country’s
misguided policies be confronted and
changed.
Although
Rachel’s life was cut short, many of us were
inspired by her and have
resolved to carry out her
project.
Beginning with a small core group, we have
steadily expanded since
our formation last Spring. A
number
of our members have gone to live in Rafah,
building connections with people
and institutions
there. We
have begun a Fair Trade exchange for
Palestinian artwork through the Union
of Palestinian
Women, we support a Center for Disabled Persons, we
have
sponsored cultural exchanges, and we offer
translation between English and
Arabic for our pen-pal
program.
You can find out more about us, or contact
us, through our website
at http://www.orscp.org/.
What You Can Help With Right Now
Right now the people in Rafah
are asking us for help
in obtaining medical equipment and supplies. The idea
of a Sister City in the
U.S. has raised hopes inside
Rafah, and we wish to respond to their appeal
as
generously as possible.
While we have longer-term
ideas about setting up doctor exchanges
and assistance
from local hospitals, we would like to respond to the
more
immediate request of obtaining medical supplies.
Our group’s ability to
respond to such an appeal is
limited, and so we are reaching out to you for
assistance.
Any contribution you can make
to support this project
will be fully tax-deductible, and our transfer of
funds
to Palestine will be completely legal and
transparent. Our 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor is the
Middle
East Childrens’ Alliance in Berkeley, CA, directed by
longtime
activist Barbara Lubin. If you are
not
familiar with them, see their website at
http://www.mecaforpeace.org/. MECA is one of the
most
established aid organizations in the U.S. working
in the Mideast.
The funds they send to Rafah for us will
be
distributed through Dr. Mona El-Farar of the Union of
Health Work
Committees. You can read Dr. El-Farar’s
recent report on Rafah’s medical
crisis at
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2054.shtml.
If
you have any questions, feel free to contact us by
phone at (360) 867-0290
or via email at
tomwright59@comcast.net.
Thank you so much for
your help.
Tom Wright and Therese Saliba
This is due to
several FBI interviews have been reported in the area in the
last few
days. Please distribute where appropriate. WHAT TO DO IF THE FBI OR
POLICE
CONTACT YOU FOR QUESTIONING
The
US government has announced its intention to interview people of Arabic
origin
living in the US. This bulletin
informs you how to respond in a way
that will protect your rights when the
FBI, Immigration officials, or police
contact you for questioning.
If the FBI or police contact you to ask questions, you have the right to
have a lawyer present. It is
your right and your choice whether you get a
lawyer. A lawyer is a legal
witness who will protect your rights.
If you are a
non-citizen, it is more important that you have a
lawyer.
If an FBI agent or police officer
asks to speak to you, and you would
prefer to have a lawyer, tell him or
her that you want to consult with that lawyer
first. Write down the name, agency, and
telephone number of the person who
calls or visits you. Tell them that your lawyer will contact
them soon.
Then CONTACT SOMEONE
IMMEDIATELY.
ACLU can provide confidential free
legal advice.
(206) 624-2184
24-hour Arab Hotline for Arabic speakers
takes
hate incident reports &
gives referrals to legal advisors.
(206)
634-9001
ANY information you give to an
officer without a lawyer, even if it seems
harmless, can be used against
you or someone else. Lying to an
officer is a
crime. Remaining
silent is NOT a crime.
You are NOT required to allow the
officer into your home or office without
a warrant. Ask to see the warrant, the officers ID
and get his serial
number. If
the officer refuses to show you any of these, do not let him in, call
911
immediately. Tell the person that
you are doing this.
If the officer says that he has a
warrant for your arrest, you have a
right to see the warrant. You must go with the officer, BUT YOU
DO NOT HAVE TO
ANSWER QUESTIONS UNTIL YOU CONSULT A LAWYER.
· If you are
detained, you should ask for a lawyer and remain silent.
If you are detained in an immigration
detention center, ask for contact
information for lawyers.
PLEASE CALL FOR HELP—
AND
LET OTHERS KNOW ABOUT THIS INFORMATION
Good Luck,The Arab American Community Coalition
A
reader adds:
Another note based on my friends' experience: the FBI
will not ask to enter
your
house. If you open the door, they
will walk straight by you into the
house, warrant or no.
If they show up at your door, do not open it. If you
have a chain lock, leave it locked and only open the door as
far as the
chain
allows
you to. Otherwise, talk (or refuse
to talk) through the door. Do
not
give them the opportunity to
walk into your house, because they will take it.
--dk
---------------------------------