Archive for November, 2011
A Thousand Thanks ~ Your Friends, Josh, Sarah and Shane
Nov 24th
Dear Friends and Supporters,Recently, the three of us sat down in Shane’s Mom’s living room and read through some of the boxes of letters that you all have been sending us over the last two years. Although it was painful to have had to wait so long to read your words, it was also overwhelmingly beautiful to have them at last.
We realize that it also must be hard for all of you who wrote, many of you who have never even met us, to know that your letters were barred from getting though. We want you to know that the few bits and scraps that did get in gave us a taste of the vast support we had on the outside. The Iranian authorities responsible for holding us hostage were too cruel to give us most of your letters, but we felt connected to all of you despite that. That connection gave us incredible strength and faith that we would get though the pain of our detention and arrive at this day.
Every effort, no matter how seemingly small, added up. This campaign was somehow able to reach to the other side of the earth, to effect a government that prides itself on resisting pressure and eventually to open the doors of our prison cells and give us our lives back. The fact that such a diverse body of people around the world have found common ground in fighting the injustice done to us shows just how much we can achieve together. What we can do seems so much bigger now.
Sometimes it doesn’t seem long ago that the three of us were huddled together in the prison’s open air room, talking about the gratitude we felt for the lives we lived before prison and our hopes for a good life that still lay ahead. Now that it is here, we hope that the vibrant community that has formed around our imprisonment will stay together in some form. We hope that we all can support each other as we heal and use what we’ve learned to have an even bigger impact.
Know that this holiday season the three of us are beginning our lives again, the lives we’ve long been dreaming of. Tonight, when we sit down to share Thanksgiving dinner with our loved ones, we’ll be sending out a thousand thanks to all of you for helping make this happen.
Your Friends,
Josh, Sarah and Shane
Jason Puracal Marks One Year Held Captive in a Nicaraguan Prison: American Hikers Freed From Iran Urge Action
Nov 9th
Reposted from www.marketwatch.com
SEATTLE, Nov 09, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Friday, November 11, 2011, marks the one year anniversary of American Jason Puracal’s imprisonment in Nicaragua.
According to attorney Anna Tolin of the Tolin Law Firm, “Jason has endured filth, disease, and on-going violations of his human rights.” Adding, and “Despite a complete lack of evidence against him, Puracal was sentenced to 22 years on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime.”
Jason’s sisters, Janis and Jaime Puracal, have traveled to Nicaragua to remind Jason that his family, friends, and supporters have not given up in their tireless fight for his release.
Awareness of Jason’s case continues to spread. A powerful video chronicling Jason’s plight is now available at www.freejasonp.com and on YouTube. Sarah Shourd, Josh Fattal, and Shane Bauer, the American hikers recently freed from prison in Iran, also urge fellow Americans to support Jason’s release: http://youtu.be/kDwTZm6fpro
In addition, the “Friends of Amanda Knox” website has officially chosen their next case focus to be that of Jason Puracal: http://www.friendsofamanda.org/
Puracal had been living in the coastal community of San Juan del Sur with his wife, Scarleth Flores Puracal, a Nicaraguan citizen, and their four-year-old son, Jabu, born with Down Syndrome. He ran a successful RE/MAX Realty brokerage with three other American partners and starred on the HGTV series “House Hunters International.”
To learn how to help FREE JASON PURACAL, see video and more, visit www.FreeJasonP.com .
SOURCE: Tolin Law Firm
Lobeline Communications
Chris Kingry, 310-271-1551
chris@lobeline.com
phil@lobeline.comCopyright Business Wire 2011
