IMAGES OF SHANE
CALL TO ACTION BY SARAH SHOURD: INTERNATIONAL BANNER WEEK #IBW
Oct 27th
SARAH SHOURD, RECENTLY FREED FROM EVIN PRISON IN IRAN, CALLS FOR:
INTERNATIONAL BANNER DAY FOR SHANE & JOSH—STILL IMPRISONED
Dear Friends & Supporters:
As you all know, I was freed on Sept 14th. Sadly, my fiancé Shane Bauer and my good friend Josh Fattal are still in Evin Prison. They are going to trial on Nov 6th. These are two innocent and courageous young men, held in Evin since July 31st, 2009, who did nothing wrong but hike near a border.
In the week leading up to the trial, Nov 1st thru Nov 6th, we call on our supporters worldwide to design, create and proudly display banners to FREE ALL THREE NOW. These banners, both large and small, will voice the message that they are innocent of all charges and will call for their immediate release.
We will be gathering photos of each and every banner in order to display them on the FREE THE HIKERS website and on Facebook. In addition, we ask that people post their images to Twitpic, using the hashtag: #IBW, which will identify it as being part of INTERNATIONAL BANNER WEEK on twitter. The idea is to create a groundswell of support that is visible from every corner of the real and virtual worlds.
A banner can be a bridge that can reach across social, cultural and geographical barriers. Let your banner reach past the walls of Evin Prison to Shane and Josh to bring them a message of hope and freedom.
THE CALL: Join us for International Banner Week in our plea for Iran to “FREE ALL THREE NOW”
THE WHAT:
- Design, create a banner of any size, with messages of support for Shane & Josh.
- Display, hang and/or drop your banners in the most visible place possible.
- Take a picture and document it.
- Email your photos to IBW@freethehikers.org.
THE WHEN: The first week in November, the week leading up to Shane and Josh’s unjust trial.
THE WHY: To let your message of support for these innocent young men be loud and clear and seen by the world.
THE MESSAGE:
- Shane and Josh are innocent.
- Free all three Now.
- The charges against them are outrageous.
We will be posting updates and tips here as the week goes on. Thank you again for all your support. I look forward to seeing all the creative ways you express your support for Shane and Josh.
Sincerely,
Sarah Shourd.
Here are some of our submissions so far:
SPECIAL SCREENING OF SHANE BAUER’S FILM ABOUT DARFUR
Oct 19th
Special Screening of Songs to Enemies and Deserts
Free the Hikers, in conjunction with MN Film Arts, are hosting a special screening of this documentary created by Shane Bauer and David Martinez. Songs to Enemies and Deserts is a work of art created by Shane and David about the people of Darfur and their pursuit of a peaceful community. Please join us!!
- DATE: October 23, 2010
- TIME: 1:30 PM (35 minutes in length)
- PLACE: St Anthony Main
- ADDRESS: 115 SE Main St, Minneapolis, MN 55414
- COST: $12 ($8 Students)
- FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE
- DOWNLOAD PDF FLYER
- EVENT PAGE ON MAIN FREE THE HIKERS SITE
This documentary is about an area of Sudan that is controlled by two factions of armed rebels. It is about the daily lives of the farmers and herders who live there as they interact with the rebels who try and hold the forces of the Janjaweed and the Sudanese army at bay.
INTERVIEW WITH DAVID & SHANE FOR CURRENT TV ABOUT THE FILM:
This is a short news piece that Current TV did about Songs to Enemies and Deserts. Shane is on the viewer’s right and his co-director, David Martinez is on the left.
SHANE BAUER ON MAKING THE FILM, REPUBLISHED FROM HIS WEBSITE:
Songs to Enemies and Deserts:
A Film About The Rebels Of Darfur
From the mountains of Jebel Marra in central Darfur a ragged group of rebels swept down onto Sudanese military bases in 2003, routing the government’s soldiers and making off with rifles, artillery, and vehicles. The Sudan Liberation Army had scored its first victory, and no one could predict what would follow. Instead of taking on the rebels directly, the Khartoum government sent bombers and horse mounted militias to murder and terrorize Darfuri civilians. The ensuing horrors were documented by the international news media and the world’s outcry was part of the reason that the attacks subsided, at least temporarily. With the government murdering the civilian population to quell the rebellion, the rebels became the civilians’ only protection force.
Who are these men and why did they begin fighting in the first place, and what part do they play in the ongoing situation that is Darfur? Their demands are widely supported by the civilian population: they want roads and schools, clean water, health care, and representation in their country’s despotic government, controlled by an elite that has ruled from the country’s northern region since the Sudanese gained independence from the British in 1956.
David Martinez and I wanted to understand these rebels’ world, their motivations, their histories, who they were and why they fought. We felt that in all of the attention that Darfur was getting, the Darfuri people themselves were often portrayed as abject victims, with hands outstretched, needing the west to come to their rescue. And yet here were Darfuris who had risen up against a murderous and racist regime, people who were very far from being helpless Africans.
In August 2007 we went and found them in North Darfur, lived with them for five weeks, and shot a movie about them.
ABOUT THE FILM:
Songs To Enemies And Deserts, (35 minutes), NTSC, Color, Filmed on digital video. In Arabic, Zaghawa, and English with English subtitles. Directed by David Martinez and Shane Bauer, photographed by David Martinez, edited by David Martinez, Shane Bauer, and Iona Sidi. Sound mixed by Luis Guerra, Terremoto Studios, New Mexico.
SCENE FROM THE FILM:
Our heartfelt thanks to MN Film Arts for their assistance & to all supporters of Free The Hikers!
Sarah was released September 14, 2010. Shane and Josh remain in detention.
Please show your support for our efforts to release them to their families.
ALL proceeds go to FREE THE HIKERS!
COLLECTION OF @FREETHEHIKERS AVATARS
Jul 14th
Collection of supporters’ avatars. Add your own, tag yourself or your friends…
FREE THE HIKERS AVATARS ALBUM ON FACEBOOK
IRANIAN SCIENTIST’S APPEARANCE SPARKS HOPES FOR #USHIKERS’ RELEASE
Jul 13th
The incredible story of a missing Iranian scientist dramatically showing up at the Pakistani embassy in Washington has sparked speculation over whether the scientist’s appearance could be linked to a possible swap deal for three US hikers detained in Iran in 2009.
On Tuesday, Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri surfaced at the Iranian interests section of the Pakistani embassy in Washington, apparently requesting to be returned home and claiming he was abducted by US agents.
Amiri disappeared while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June 2009. Iran has long maintained that he was abducted and flown to the US by CIA agents. The Iranian State TV Web site reported that Amiri, in a phone call from Washington, had claimed to have been under psychological pressure in recent months.
But in an interview with FRANCE 24, a US State Department official, who declined to be named, maintained that “Amiri has been in the US of his own free will and he is leaving of his own free will”. She declined to provide further details of his stay in the US or the manner in which he would leave.
The claims and counterclaims, along with three video clips of a man purporting to be Amiri but offering contradictory narratives, put many spy thrillers to shame. As analysts scramble to get to the truth of the murky story, a number of likely explanations have been circulating in international policy circles, including suggestions that Amiri – if indeed he was in US custody – might be swapped for three US hikers who have been held in Tehran since July 2009.
Recent Picture of Shane, Sarah & Josh
The three hikers – Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal – were detained on July 31, 2009 when they were hiking in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, according to their families and friends. Initial reports said the three had accidentally wandered into Iranian territory in the mountainous area along the Iran-Iraq border.
But in a report in the US weekly The Nation, local villagers said the hikers were detained on the Iraqi side of the border.
While Iranian officials have made references to the possibility of trying them for espionage, no official charges have been announced.
‘We’re always hoping’
For Nora Shourd, mother of 31-year-old Sarah Shourd, one of the three captured hikers, the news of Amiri’s mysterious appearance in Washington has sparked hopes that her daughter and her two friends could be released.
Sarah with her mother, Nora during their recent visit
“We’re always hoping,” said Shourd in a phone interview with FRANCE 24 from London, where she is currently on a European tour to raise awareness of her daughter’s plight. “It’s difficult for the families [of the abducted hikers]. We always hope that some development will tip it over and our children will be released. So, I’m always hoping.”
But Shourd maintained that she was not aware of any deal, negotiations or links between the Amiri case and the three hikers.
“This story is so strange, there are so many versions of the story, you don’t know what to believe,” said Shourd. “But no, we haven’t heard anything from any US officials. So, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Speaking to FRANCE 24 on Tuesday, a US State Department official said the US government has repeatedly called, and continues to call, for the hikers’ release. But she denied reports of any negotiations concerning their release. “Regarding any reports of their release, I would refer you to the Iranian authorities,” she said.
In brief remarks to reporters in Washington about the incident on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Amiri was free to leave the US and return home.
“These are decisions that are his alone to make,” Clinton said. “In contrast, Iran continues to hold three young Americans against their will, and we reiterate our request that they be released and allowed to return to their families on a humanitarian basis.”
Written By Leela JACINTO the 13/07/2010 – 19:45
Video by: Ed O’KEEFE
ORIGINAL FACEBOOK POST:
France24 International News: “Mother of Hiker Detained in Iran Hopes for Her Release” #SSJ #FREEtheHikers #SolitarySarah
Mother of hiker detained in Iran hopes for her release
www.france24.com
The incredible story of a missing Iranian scientist dramatically showing up at the Pakistani embassy in Washington has sparked speculation over whether the scientist’s appearance could be linked to a possible swap deal for three US hikers detained in Iran in 2009.
VIDEO: LAST NIGHT IN SYRIA—BY @SAFEWORLD4WOMEN
Jun 18th
This film is the third in a series of films called “The Real Hikers,” by Safe Word Media. Made from footage taken at the wedding of two of Sarah & Shane’s close friends in Syria, it is the most personal & touching thus far in the series. Included here is the film, along with the statement made by the filmmakers about the process of creating this piece.
REPUBLISHED FROM A SAFE WORLD FOR WOMEN:
Last Night in Syria is the third film we have made in support of the Free The Hikers Campaign and by far the most personal.
It contains unseen footage of Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer, at the wedding of a friend Emily, in Damascus, Syria—5 days before they were detained by Iranian authorities while hiking near the border of Iraqi Kurdistan & Iran.
LAST NIGHT IN SYRIA
MAKING THE FILM
We were first told of the existence of the wedding film by Shon Meckfessel (AKA ‘the fourth hiker‘), who was also at the wedding. He knew a film had been made and so he approached Emily and asked if we could see it. Emily and Basel’s response was instant. Anything they could do to help…
When we got the film footage, we watched it over and over again. At first, searching for clips of Sarah, Shane and Josh. But the more we did this, the more we were drawn into the beauty and energy of the event itself…
Emily & Basel at their Wedding
Originally, the intention was simply to show footage of Sarah, Shane and Josh, but the fairy-tale beauty left us speechless. The footage arrived almost to the day of the first anniversary of our wedding. A wedding with a fairy-tale feel about it as well.
Interviewing the Bride & Groom
It was when Emily offered to do an interview with us, to talk about Sarah, Shane and Josh, that the film started to take on its own life.
Sarah & Emily Smile as the Groom Dances in the Background
Our interview with Emily and Basel took place over skype and lasted some two hours, during which the impact of the separation of the newly-weds was self-evident by the fact that Basel was talking from an internet cafe in Syria, and Emily from her home in England.
Sarah, Emily & Basel (Shane's standing in the far left corner in the back.)
Although you do not hear Basel’s voice on the film, the memory of his beautiful Arabic dialogue is ingrained in the making of it.
When we listened back to the recording, the sequence of Emily talking at the end of the skype call became the whole theme of the film.
Contrasts
In her words and her silences, you can feel the many emotions. It was this upon which the film was built.
Shane & Sarah at the Wedding
We realised that the film was about contrasts. Contrasts of this happy wedding celebration, of Sarah, Shane and Josh’s mothers’ visit to Tehran a few days before and the images of the three prisoners.
As Emily says at the beginning of the film, “it feels unreal… like a film.”
And this is how the film made itself, with a slightly unreal dreamlike quality.
Speechless
We must have watched it a hundred times now. And each time we do, it touches us the same way and leaves us speechless.
Shane & Sarah Dancing at the Wedding
Speechless because of the reality of the situation. Speechless that the couple that we see dancing together, so much in love, are stuck inside the cold walls of a prison in Iran, with no end in sight for their release.
~Christine Crowstaff (and Andrew Sampson)
For more information about the work done by A SAFE WORLD FOR WOMEN, as well as other films from this series, please visit their site.
VIDEO—MOMS OF #USHIKERS URGE IRAN TO PROSECUTE OR FREE THEM
Jun 17th
The mothers of U.S. hikers urged the Iranian government to either prosecute or free the three held since last year after reportedly crossing the border into the country while hiking in Iraq.
In a statement, the mothers of Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal also called for more consular access for their children and for them to be able to call their families.
They also asked that Shourd be moved from solitary confinement.
“Shane, Sarah and Josh have been detained in Iran without due process for almost 11 months, in continued violation of Iranian and international law,” the mothers said.
“To continue to detain our children without regard for their legal and human rights reinforces suspicions that they are being held in a cynical attempt by Iran to exert leverage with the United States. Iran has no legitimate reason at this stage not to release them or move forward with a fair trial in which our children can openly answer any allegations against them.”
The three Americans have been held for nearly a year. Their mothers visited them in Iran in May.
Bauer and Shourd got engaged in prison and plan to get married after their release.
“Shane told me that he proposed to Sarah in the yard of Evin prison on January 6, the very same day that we applied for our visas to go visit them,” Bauer’s mother, Cindy Hickey, said at the time. “We’re all so overjoyed at the news, but it’s obviously impossible to know when the wedding will take place.”
PHOTOS OF TRISTAN AT SARAH & SHANE’S GOING-AWAY PARTY
May 31st
Tristan (no wig) from the same party.
These are photos from better times for everyone.
Shane (middle) & Tristan (right) with a friend, in costume at Sarah & Shane's going-away party.
Here are a couple of pictures of Tristan & Shane from Shane and Sarah’s going-away party when they left to move to the Middle East, taken in Oakland, Summmer 2008.
TRISTAN ANDERSON’S PARENTS: “RELEASE #USHIKERS”
May 30th
Tristan Anderson
Tristan Anderson is a longtime friend of hikers Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer. Following a peaceful protest against Israel’s Wall in the West Bank village of Ni’lin, Israeli troops hit Tristan, an American citizen, in the forehead with a teargas canister, critically injuring him. That was on Friday, March 13th, 2009. More than a year later, Tristan, 39, remains hospitalized near Tel Aviv with a severe brain injury. It is not known when he will be able to be transferred back to the United States.
This is a letter of support that Tristan’s parents wrote to Iranian Authorities, imploring them to return the hikers to their families. In addition to being a heartfelt and moving statement of support, this letter explains that Shane and Sarah, like Tristan, are caring individuals of conscience, concerned with justice and the well-being of all people. Anyone who knows them as Tristan and his parents do, can attest to the fact that the accusation that the hikers are “spies” for the US government is not only ridiculous, but unthinkable.
Please note: Farsi and Arabic translations of this letter are also available as PDF documents.
LETTER OF SUPPORT BY THE PARENTS OF TRISTAN ANDERSON:
February 10, 2010
His Excellency Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President, Islamic Republic of Iran
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of IranHis Excellency Ayatollah Sadegh Ardeshir Larijani
Head of the Judiciary
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh / Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur Street
Vali Asr Avenue, South of Serah-e Jomhouri
Tehran, Islamic Republic of IranRE: Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, & Josh Fattal
Your Excellencies:
As the parents of Tristan Anderson, an American citizen who was critically wounded while supporting the rights of Palestinians, we are deeply distressed by the continued detention in Iran of Tristan’s good friends Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal. We appeal to you to do everything in your power to bring about their prompt release.
Shane standing on the spot where Tristan was shot.
On March 13, 2009, our son Tristan was grievously wounded in the Palestinian village of Ni’lin. Tristan was taking photographs following a non-violent protest against Israel’s annexation wall when an Israeli soldier shot him from approximately 60 meters with a high-velocity tear gas projectile designed to travel up to 500 meters. Tristan survived multiple life-saving surgeries but remains in a Tel Aviv hospital, where he works daily to recover.
Upon learning of Tristan’s suffering, people throughout the world have embraced him for following his conscience and not the policies of his government. Shane, Sarah and Josh are close friends of Tristan’s who similarly follow their own consciences. With Tristan, they share common principles, projects and community. Before traveling to the Middle East, they worked together on social justice issues in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tristan was a regular guest at the house where Shane and Josh lived, and all four worked with Food Not Bombs, a food relief group that serves free meals to the homeless.
A few days after Tristan was shot, Shane, Sarah and Nora (Sarah’s mother) traveled to visit him in the hospital in Tel Aviv. They carried roses from Palestinian friends in Syria, where Sarah and Shane were living. Then, just before Josh arrived in Syria, and shortly before the group’s fateful hiking trip to Iraqi Kurdistan, Shane and Shon Meckfessel (the fourth hiker) returned to visit Tristan in the hospital to support us through a difficult time.
We empathize with the parents of Shane, Sarah and Josh. It pains us greatly, on top of the tragedy we have already suffered, to see Tristan’s close friends made to bear the burden of grievances between nations. They are not instruments of their government, but independent thinkers who set their own course and seek to explore beyond the rhetoric, clichés and propaganda which stain the lens and stifle debate. Tristan, Shane, Sarah and Josh all journeyed to the Middle East with the purest of intentions: to expand their cultural horizons, to learn the rich histories and customs of other people and to seek a common humanity. Please do not punish them for the trespasses of others.
With all our hearts, we implore you to return Shane, Sarah and Josh to their families.
Sincerely,
Nancy Anderson & Mike Anderson
CLICK HERE FOR A PDF OF THIS LETTER IN FARSI.
CLICK HERE FOR A PDF OF THIS LETTER IN ARABIC.
DEAR SARAH, THINKING ABOUT YOU…
May 20th
I’m in London at the moment, sitting in a café, getting over my jetlag. I’m in town for my sister Katie’s wedding and as I was leaving the hotel room, I saw a brief clip of your mom finally getting to hug you. I’ve been thinking about you a lot since you’ve been detained, but this week is special.
Sarah Shourd
Your mother and I both left the country on Tuesday; I left to join my family for Katie’s wedding, and she left to finally visit you. I know we haven’t been close as adults, but I’ve grew up considering you to be one of my little sisters.
Baby Sarah
I still remember how great you were at crawling when you were a baby. It took you longer to start walking than some babies, because you were so fast at crawling, you didn’t really see the need. Of course, once you started walking, it wasn’t long before you started to run!
I must get back to everyone now, but I wanted you to know that our family here misses you and thinks of you often.
I hope it isn’t long before we all have the opportunity to share the joy of reunion that you and your mother are having right now.
Love, alita.
VIDEO: THE REAL #USHIKERS—WHO ARE #SSJ? BY @SAFEWORLD4WOMEN
May 16th
“THE REAL HIKERS—WHO ARE SARAH, SHANE & JOSH?”
A film by SAFE WORLD MEDIA, part of A SAFE WORLD FOR WOMEN.
As the release of the three US hikers grows more likely, this film shows the real faces of Sarah, Shane and Josh at work in Darfur, Syria and the USA.
Little has been mentioned, by the international media, about the lives of the “three Hikers” before their incarceration in an Iranian prison, for allegedly crossing the border.
Iran’s early statements that Sarah, Shane and Josh were suspected of espionage, were widely reported. This film gives a glimpse into the real lives and work of these three social activists.
SHANE BAUER, a fluent Arabic-speaker, is a well-respected, published journalist who reported from Darfur, Yemen and Iraq. His insightful commentaries have covered issues not tackled by the mainstream media.
SARAH SHOURD is a women’s rights activist who, earlier in her career, was volunteers coordinator working to help stop the femicides in Mexico.
In the aftermath of the New Orleans Earthquake, Sarah was part of a team of volunteers helping survivors.
She later joined the Iraqi School Project in Syria, where she was teaching refugees.
JOSH FATTAL is a passionate environmentalist who worked at a sustainable living research & education centre in Oregon. He has a deep interest in food issues and had recently taught Global Health to 33 undergraduate university students while travelling with them in Switzerland, India, China and South Africa.
Activist musician, Jackson Browne, supports this film with his anti-war song Drums of War.
This film includes footage provided by APROVECHO—EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING, as well as clips from the following films:
“STRANDED IN SYRIA” by Josh Vardey
“SONGS TO ENEMIES AND DESERTS: A FILM ABOUT REBELLION IN DARFUR” Co-directed by Shane Bauer & David Martinez
