MUSIC
‘Imagine’ – John Lennon Cover by Rehana and Kieran Mawani
Mar 14th
Imagine - John Lennon
Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
#USHIKER SARAH’S LAST EMAIL TO HER MOTHER: @TRENORA
Aug 3rd
On July 30th 2009, Sarah Shourd, wrote the following email to her mother Nora in the US:
Hello Sweetness,
So, we’re traveling.
Actually, we’re in N.Iraq!
It’s totally safe.
The Kurds in this area have been pro-American since 1991. No single American has ever been hurt on Kurdish territory.
So, don’t worry.
Tonight we’re going camping.
I love you.
My article is going to be published on the 7th!!!
There were fireworks in the streets of Solemeniya last night, they just had their first democratic elections.
Love Sarah
The following day she was abducted by Iranian authorities and has remained in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorius Evin prison, ever since.
Sarah in Iran
Sarah Shourd has been held in solitary confinement in Iran for over a year now.
This film , by a Safe World for Women, starts with the last words she wrote to her mother the day before she was kidnapped with her fiance Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal.
Then, in an interview with Chris Crowstaff from a UK based women’s rights NGO, Sarah’s mother talks about the conditions in which Sarah is being held and how Sarah will be coping.
MUSIC:
“Carry Me Home” by Shannon Smy & Seize the Day
FREEDOM’S JUST ANOTHER WORD…
May 29th
Reprinted from: www.amazingwomenrock.com
“Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.”
The line from Janis Joplin’s 1960s hit Me and Bobby Mcgee (written by Kris Kristofferson), was the first thing that sprung to mind when I read @farah_way’s dm asking if I would write something about freedom for the Free The Hikers blog.
I went to YouTube (where else?), and searched the tune to see what I could find.
Lo and behold, I discovered a treasure – a version dubbed a “rare 1st studio recording. In a word: awesome. I’d like to dedicate it to everyone around the world who is strives to be free.
The rendition stirred something in my core, and the lyrics caused me to reflect on youth, travel, adventure, love, loss, life, and what it means to be free.
Almost a year ago, Josh, Shane and Sarah, three Americans in their late 20s, unintentionally strayed across a border.
Since then, they’ve been interred in Evin prison by the Government of Iran, just as many equally-innocent Iranians are held, tortured, and often executed at the whim of a cruel regime that seems bent on suppressing the will of its own people.
The supreme irony of the plight of these three young hikers is that they had been on a mission of mercy – they volunteered to help refugees, the poor, and those less privileged than themselves to achieve freedom from want, persecution, and insecurity.
Now they themselves are entrapped, detained, and confined. So what of their own freedom?
A short time before Josh, Shane and Sarah went on their ill-fated hike, I blogged about the death of Neda Agha Soltan in a street in Tehran. I wrote:
The image of her blood-covered face, that of a fallen angel, will be embedded in the minds of thousands, maybe even millions, who will bear witness to her oh-so-public passing when they watch it on the Internet.
I wonder how she felt about freedom, this one young woman who died in a Tehran street? Whatever her views were, it’s unlikely that she would have known when she awoke yesterday that her destiny was to become immortal in the name of it.
One young woman went into the street in Tehran on a June morning, maybe to go to the shop, or to her music lesson; maybe to fight for her country, her beliefs, and her values.
If she was demonstrating for freedom, in a twisted way, she got what she wanted, but surely not in the way she might have imagined.
Whatever her intention, she’s become a martyr of sorts, an unexpected icon, a symbol for all that needs changing in a world from which she is now forever free.
It strikes me that, like Neda, Josh, Shane and Sarah are caught up in something much bigger than themselves.
As for freedom, I believe it has more to do with the heart, mind and soul, than walls, boxes and iron bars. We all have prisons from which we wish to escape. Some are physical, some emotional, others mental.
I have complete faith that Josh, Shane and Sarah will one day be physically free. In the meantime, I pray for the freedom of their minds and spirits.
I hope they won’t allow their current adverse circumstances to crush their freedom to choose love, compassion and peace over bitterness, hatred and despair. I hope they will be steadfast in their intent to make the world a better place.
They, like us, have nothing left to lose…
Susan Macaulay, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
“FROM THE WEST DOWN TO THE EAST…ANY DAY NOW” —by Laura Fattal
May 28th
I pledge my total commitment to working for Josh’s release through energetic and endless conversations with a wildly expanded world of friends who want Josh, Shane and Sarah free to continue their lives!….any day now, any day, now, “they’ shall be released”
the mom, Laura
THEY SHALL BE RELEASED…
Apr 20th
Josh's uncle Singing "I Shall Be Released."
Fred Felleman, Josh’s uncle: “Many thanks to the musicians at the Honk festival in Seattle who made for one of my most memorable renditions of Dylan’s I shall be released. Now for the Hikers to be released!”
SONG FOR SARAH SHANE & JOSH
Apr 8th
Emily Churchill, a friend of Sarah and Shane from their time living in Syria sings a song she wrote for the hikers. It’s called: “Hard Life Wherever You Go,” and it’s dedicated to Sarah, Shane and Josh.
ABOUT THE SONG—REPUBLISHED FROM YOUTUBE:
I lived next to Sarah and Shane in Syria and I miss (among many other things) playing the guitar with Sarah. This is based on a Nanci Griffith song which makes me think of Sarah and Shane and their fight to make the world better. Such amazing people. Sorry about sound quality. It’s not so bad with headphones. We miss you so much Sarah, Shane and Josh.
~Emily Churchill
VIDEO: PLEASE FREE THE HIKERS
Mar 25th
VIDEO: MONTH TWO HOPE VIGIL SLIDESHOW
Oct 2nd
On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. Unless they are free by November 8, 2009, more vigils will be held on that day in the United States and in places around the world to mark 100 days of Shane, Sarah and Josh’s imprisonment.
HOPE VIGIL PHOTO GALLERIES—30 SEPTEMBER 2009 | |
On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held at Williams College in Williamstown, Vermont. Photos courtesy Sasha Fisher. 8 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held at the Curtis Arboretum in Wyncote, PA, commemorating two months of captivity in Iran for hikers Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer & Josh Fattal.
(Photos by and courtesy of: Marci Valen.) 13 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held in Pine City, Minnesota. Photos courtesy Samuel A. Klemet, WCMP/WXCX News and Sports Director. 18 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held at Washington Square Park in New York, NY, commemorating two months of captivity in Iran for hikers Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer & Josh Fattal.
(Photos by and courtesy of: Melanie Rose & Farah N. Mawani.) 13 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held on Laguna Beach, CA. (Photos by and courtesy of: Ted Reckas.) 14 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held in Los Angeles, CA. 17 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held in Cottage Grove, Oregon. 21 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held at Clark University in Worcester, MA. Photos courtesy Ratana Sopha. 37 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held at Boston University. (Photos by and courtesy of: Nicole S. Simon.) 12 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. These are images from the vigil held in Berkeley, CA. 9 Photos On September 30, 2009 vigils of hope were held in 14 locations across the United States. Friends and supporters of Shane, Sarah and Josh joined together to send love and light to Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran, which hopefully provided a source of strength for them in their detention. This is the poster from the vigil held in Baltimore, MD. 1 Photos | |
