I’m called a natural born American, but I was born in  to an nth generation Iranian father and an 11th generation American mother.  I’m also a “naturalized” Palestinian citizen, a  gift from Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya when I and forty-three others from many nations broke a forty-one year naval blockade of Gaza in 2008 with two small boats.  Nationality labels shouldn’t matter, but they often do.  What should matter is that we treat each other with justice, respect, and as much understanding as our individual limitations permit.

Unfortunately, it is all too easy to say that injustice toward the few is of little importance when weighed against the pursuit of justice for the many.  And, certainly, there has been much injustice toward Iran and Iranians.  The first demonstration in which I ever participated was in support of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in the streets of the city of Resht on the Caspian Sea, at the age of five.  The CIA-engineered overthrow of Mossadegh was neither the first nor the last time that the U.S. government showed little respect for justice, democracy or the will of the Iranian people. 

However, injustice can never produce justice, or as M.K. Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice is indivisible.  Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  And finally, the only way to eliminate an enemy is to make that person your friend.  Even if you kill your enemy, you risk that someone who loved them will take their place against you.

What is happening to Sarah, Josh and Shane is an injustice.  It is happening to them not because of who they are or what they do, or even what they think, but only because they are U.S. citizens and therefore thought to represent a society that has caused harm to Iranians.  It is an injustice because they do not represent anyone but themselves, and should not be made to pay the price for what others have done or are perceived to have done. 

Those who think that they profit by creating such injustice are mistaken.  Sarah, Josh and Shane are natural allies of the Iranian people, not their enemies.  These three courageous young people defend the rights of people who are victims of mistreatment, disenfranchisement and marginalization.  They are among the first to question the motives of the powerful and greedy, and to seek justice for those to whom it is denied.  They do not take the pronouncements of their government or of the corporate press for granted, but rather question and search for the truth.  They have advocated for Palestine rights, environmental justice, the Zapatista movement in Mexico, the protection of women from violence, an end to wars, and many other causes.

I have no idea who may be advocating to keep Josh and Shane prisoner, or to prosecute Sarah, but I know that they have much more to gain by serving justice and winning allies in the community of human rights advocates from which I and these young people come, as well as the larger American society. 

The blood that I and other Iranian-Americans carry in our veins is a bridge between our two societies.  But all of us can donate our blood to billions of people around the world and it can become their blood, creating uncountable bridges.  Sarah, Josh and Shane can be bridges, as well, along with many others who would welcome the opportunity to play that role.  I can think of no better way to demonstrate the existence of such a bridge between the Iranian and American peoples than to let Josh and Shane walk free across it.

______________________________
Dr. Paul Larudee is co-founder of the movement to break the siege of Gaza by sea and is leading a Free Palestine Movement delegation of U.S. citizens aboard the International Ship on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.

Post to Twitter Post to Plurk Post to Yahoo Buzz Post to Delicious Post to Digg Post to Facebook Post to MySpace Post to Reddit Post to StumbleUpon

TAGS: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,