Alright, so we're about a full month into Fall semester and Weber State STAND is on a roll. So far we've raised about 4,000 for Invisible Children's "Schools for Schools" program through our hunger strike and banquet- the highest total dollar amount for any semester we've been in operation. In addition, we've lobbied Senator Bennett on two important bills- the LRA Disarmement act and the Congo conflict minerals act. These bills are still floating around in congress, though, so our work must continue. Our events have so far been very successful.
But the semester isn't over, so like Celine Dion's heart our work must go on (and, hopefully, we won't ram into some metaphorical iceberg.) Our upcoming events include a showing of Camfed's documentary "Where the Water Meets the Sky" on October 5th from 1-3pm in Wildcat Theater. Next we have Enough Project correspondent Sasha Lesnev coming to speak on November 4th from 12-2, also in Wildcat Theater. (Note: Amnesty International's "Human Rights Week" is also going on November 2nd-6th, more details when we get things finalized).
Finally, to sum up what is already a ridiculously busy week, Cameron, Jo Anne, and myself will be going to Washington D.C. November 6th-9th to participate in the Genocide Intervention Network's "Pledge to Protect" conference. There are many high-profile speakers coming to this event, including the Enough Project's John Prendergast, so it should be awesome. We will also be doing some workshops and learning some things that we can take back to Utah and apply to our work back home. This conference is going to be sweet- but unfortunately going to D.C. is also rather expensive. We are going to do a variety of fund-raising activities but ultimately the decision of whether we go or not comes down to the support of our friends, family, and fellow activists! I will be posting the information for these fundraisers as they come, but please, if you are interested in helping us or giving us a dollar or two please contact me @:
zstickney@live.com
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The World's Dream (Video)
Here's just the video, for the convenience of anyone who visits this page:
Saturday, September 19, 2009
The World's Dream
Here's the video/text of my speech at Weber State STAND's Black Tie Banquet for Invisible Children on September 18th, 2009. Check it out eh!
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTAFpUK4vak&feature=channel_page
Before we close this dinner for the night I would like to thank all the people who made this event possible. The first great donation of time, energy, and delicious food came from our hosts here at Arbat. We would like to sincerely thank you for allowing us to use your beautiful restaurant both for its symbolism and aesthetic value- we truly couldn’t have made this a successful night without you. Second, I would like to thank Stratton McCausland for his musical talents, every member of STAND who helped us get this night in order, and all the friends, family members, and fellow activists who support us unconditionally and unequivocally- your love and kindness are what have kept us going- specifically when your love and kindness gave us the last minute donations we needed to end our hunger strike earlier this month. As you can see from my already gaunt physique, you saved us all from a horrible fate. Finally I’d like to thank our guest speakers, Neil A. Hansen and Jennifer Seelig. Both of you have inspired us all with your words on activism and charity and I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we will all leave this dinner feeling more empowered of our roles in the pursuit of universal justice and equality. We thank you for help and we sincerely hope that when you admit your affiliation with us it won’t lose you any votes.
As many of you may know, this semester has already been a dream come true for Weber State STAND. Within the first month we have already lobbied Senator Bennett for human rights legislation in Uganda and the Congo, we have held a hunger strike both to raise money for Invisible Children and to create awareness of the adverse conditions the world’s refugees face daily, and of course we have put together this wonderful dinner and have thus far raised over 4000 dollars for the Invisible Children of Uganda. Our efforts and the efforts of our supporters will help these children in many ways. We will replace the guns in their hands with pencils and paper. We will remove them from the barren and isolated areas of Uganda and instead put them in schools and playgrounds. We will provide these children counseling in order to heal the hateful and monstrous ideology instilled in them by the LRA and instead substitute it with the empowerment of an adequate education. We can be certain that our efforts will change their lives.
But how will it change ours? Aside from Cameron, Dave, and Kyle it is to my knowledge that none of the other STAND members have even been to Africa to see the effect of our charitable works. We can imagine the effect our efforts will have, but we don’t always get to see exactly where the money goes, and that can bother any of us. I would go so far as to say that several of our guests tonight have at some point had some kind of skepticism towards the work of international charities, not necessarily with Weber State STAND but possibly with other organizations they have undoubtedly seen in their lives. Why should we get involved in international affairs that may never have a direct impact on our own lives?
Whenever I’m asked this question I like to reply with what I see as an undeniable maxim. I strive to help these people- people who are stricken by poverty, malnourishment, and torture of all kinds, people who live in fear of murder, rape, enslavement, and all other kinds of horrific brutality- I strive to help these people because I know that if it were me I would hope and pray that someone, anyone out there cared. As citizens of the world’s first great democracy and as citizens of an ever expanding technological world we are endowed with a unique and awesome power unparalleled in the annals of history. We have been given all the tools to have an immeasurable impact on the world around us. The forefathers of our government and the patriots who fought and died for our country gave us both the constitution and the precedent to protect and preserve what was once considered a fragile and impossible social structure. Our technology gives us the power to know- our news outlets and networking coupled with the lightning speed of information allows us to become aware of the problems in our world faster than ever before. But knowledge of the world’s problems can be disheartening and indeed can cause us to be lethargic towards these issues. But as John Prendergast, a co-founder of the Enough Project has said:
“We have no enemies here. We just have apathy and indifference to overcome.”
John of course was talking about the condition of the human rights movement in the United States. He believes, as do many of us here, that no rational person in our country can deny that the pursuit of justice worldwide is a noble cause. But he also believes that the effort which we see throughout our nation and indeed the world is only a small fraction of what could occur if indifference and apathy and powerlessness were simply put behind us. We do have the power and we do have the tools to bring criminals like Joseph Kony to justice and to reunite the abducted children with their mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, and we do have the power to ensure that their lives and the lives of their children are better than the lives of those who preceded them. This goal is commonly called the American dream- but the dream to better oneself and the lives of others did not begin in America and it should not be held solely within our borders. This dream is the world’s dream, and we are part of the effort to make this dream a reality.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/wat
Before we close this dinner for the night I would like to thank all the people who made this event possible. The first great donation of time, energy, and delicious food came from our hosts here at Arbat. We would like to sincerely thank you for allowing us to use your beautiful restaurant both for its symbolism and aesthetic value- we truly couldn’t have made this a successful night without you. Second, I would like to thank Stratton McCausland for his musical talents, every member of STAND who helped us get this night in order, and all the friends, family members, and fellow activists who support us unconditionally and unequivocally- your love and kindness are what have kept us going- specifically when your love and kindness gave us the last minute donations we needed to end our hunger strike earlier this month. As you can see from my already gaunt physique, you saved us all from a horrible fate. Finally I’d like to thank our guest speakers, Neil A. Hansen and Jennifer Seelig. Both of you have inspired us all with your words on activism and charity and I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we will all leave this dinner feeling more empowered of our roles in the pursuit of universal justice and equality. We thank you for help and we sincerely hope that when you admit your affiliation with us it won’t lose you any votes.
As many of you may know, this semester has already been a dream come true for Weber State STAND. Within the first month we have already lobbied Senator Bennett for human rights legislation in Uganda and the Congo, we have held a hunger strike both to raise money for Invisible Children and to create awareness of the adverse conditions the world’s refugees face daily, and of course we have put together this wonderful dinner and have thus far raised over 4000 dollars for the Invisible Children of Uganda. Our efforts and the efforts of our supporters will help these children in many ways. We will replace the guns in their hands with pencils and paper. We will remove them from the barren and isolated areas of Uganda and instead put them in schools and playgrounds. We will provide these children counseling in order to heal the hateful and monstrous ideology instilled in them by the LRA and instead substitute it with the empowerment of an adequate education. We can be certain that our efforts will change their lives.
But how will it change ours? Aside from Cameron, Dave, and Kyle it is to my knowledge that none of the other STAND members have even been to Africa to see the effect of our charitable works. We can imagine the effect our efforts will have, but we don’t always get to see exactly where the money goes, and that can bother any of us. I would go so far as to say that several of our guests tonight have at some point had some kind of skepticism towards the work of international charities, not necessarily with Weber State STAND but possibly with other organizations they have undoubtedly seen in their lives. Why should we get involved in international affairs that may never have a direct impact on our own lives?
Whenever I’m asked this question I like to reply with what I see as an undeniable maxim. I strive to help these people- people who are stricken by poverty, malnourishment, and torture of all kinds, people who live in fear of murder, rape, enslavement, and all other kinds of horrific brutality- I strive to help these people because I know that if it were me I would hope and pray that someone, anyone out there cared. As citizens of the world’s first great democracy and as citizens of an ever expanding technological world we are endowed with a unique and awesome power unparalleled in the annals of history. We have been given all the tools to have an immeasurable impact on the world around us. The forefathers of our government and the patriots who fought and died for our country gave us both the constitution and the precedent to protect and preserve what was once considered a fragile and impossible social structure. Our technology gives us the power to know- our news outlets and networking coupled with the lightning speed of information allows us to become aware of the problems in our world faster than ever before. But knowledge of the world’s problems can be disheartening and indeed can cause us to be lethargic towards these issues. But as John Prendergast, a co-founder of the Enough Project has said:
“We have no enemies here. We just have apathy and indifference to overcome.”
John of course was talking about the condition of the human rights movement in the United States. He believes, as do many of us here, that no rational person in our country can deny that the pursuit of justice worldwide is a noble cause. But he also believes that the effort which we see throughout our nation and indeed the world is only a small fraction of what could occur if indifference and apathy and powerlessness were simply put behind us. We do have the power and we do have the tools to bring criminals like Joseph Kony to justice and to reunite the abducted children with their mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, and we do have the power to ensure that their lives and the lives of their children are better than the lives of those who preceded them. This goal is commonly called the American dream- but the dream to better oneself and the lives of others did not begin in America and it should not be held solely within our borders. This dream is the world’s dream, and we are part of the effort to make this dream a reality.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
House Resolution 175
Below is a copy of the letter I sent to Representative Rob Bishop and Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett. The letter asks for the Congressmen's support in House Resolution 175 and Senate Resolution 71, bills which request that the United States reaffirm its opposition to the Islamic Republic's continued abuses against the Baha'i religious minority of Iran. The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center report refferenced can be found here. Please feel free to use or copy this letter if you wish to send in one of your own! Constructive comments of any kind are also appreciated.
Honorable Representative (name),
It is doubtless that you have heard of the issues in Iran surrounding June’s elections and the protests and rallies carried out thereafter. During this political fallout it was difficult to see exactly what was going on in Iran due to the extreme measures the Iranian government took to cover up the state sponsored violence and abuses of civil and political rights. Fortunately, the world was able to get a frightening glimpse at what was going on due to the efforts of courageous individuals who risked their very security in an attempt to gather strength from the international community. Sadly, many of these freedom fighters lost their lives during the turmoil and more still continue to be unfairly tried in televised state tribunals.
Unsurprisingly these heinous crimes are not isolated events taking place only recently in the Islamic Republic. The strategies of coercion, violence, torture, and abuse have long been part of the necessary stratagem for the Islamic Republic to retain its power. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, his predecessors, and many others, have used these same strategies to force what is essentially genocide upon one of Iran’s most prominent minority religions- the Baha’is. A report released by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center entitled Crimes Against Humanity: The Islamic Republic’s Attacks on the Baha’is outlines in detail the multifaceted approach the Islamic Republic has taken to murder, coerce, imprison, or otherwise harm the Baha’i minority.
I am writing to you today to encourage you to read the aforementioned report in full and to request that you co-sponsor and support House Resolution 175, a bill which reaffirms the United States opposition to these practices by the Islamic Republic and which asks for the immediate release of a number of Baha’i political prisoners who are currently detained solely for their religious affiliation. I also urge you to publicly gather support for this bill as a means to increase the likelihood of the release of these prisoners. Time is of the essence and the survival of those individuals may very well depend on the timeliness and efficiency of all those who oppose the brutality of the Islamic Republic.
Sincerely,
Zachary J. Stickney
Honorable Representative (name),
It is doubtless that you have heard of the issues in Iran surrounding June’s elections and the protests and rallies carried out thereafter. During this political fallout it was difficult to see exactly what was going on in Iran due to the extreme measures the Iranian government took to cover up the state sponsored violence and abuses of civil and political rights. Fortunately, the world was able to get a frightening glimpse at what was going on due to the efforts of courageous individuals who risked their very security in an attempt to gather strength from the international community. Sadly, many of these freedom fighters lost their lives during the turmoil and more still continue to be unfairly tried in televised state tribunals.
Unsurprisingly these heinous crimes are not isolated events taking place only recently in the Islamic Republic. The strategies of coercion, violence, torture, and abuse have long been part of the necessary stratagem for the Islamic Republic to retain its power. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, his predecessors, and many others, have used these same strategies to force what is essentially genocide upon one of Iran’s most prominent minority religions- the Baha’is. A report released by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center entitled Crimes Against Humanity: The Islamic Republic’s Attacks on the Baha’is outlines in detail the multifaceted approach the Islamic Republic has taken to murder, coerce, imprison, or otherwise harm the Baha’i minority.
I am writing to you today to encourage you to read the aforementioned report in full and to request that you co-sponsor and support House Resolution 175, a bill which reaffirms the United States opposition to these practices by the Islamic Republic and which asks for the immediate release of a number of Baha’i political prisoners who are currently detained solely for their religious affiliation. I also urge you to publicly gather support for this bill as a means to increase the likelihood of the release of these prisoners. Time is of the essence and the survival of those individuals may very well depend on the timeliness and efficiency of all those who oppose the brutality of the Islamic Republic.
Sincerely,
Zachary J. Stickney
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Prison Conditions in Iran
One of the major recurring human rights abuses by the Islamic Republic is the torture and abuse of detainees in Iranian prisons. Although these practices are nothing new, they have recently become a lightning rod of controversy amid the hundreds of arrests following the election protests this June.
Political prisoners within the walls of Iranian prisons such as Kahrizak and Evin prison testify that they are victimized by one or multiple of the following mistreatments: beatings, cutting, flogging, being held completely incommunicado, hours of interrogation, various degrees of mental, physical, and sexual torture, humiliation, forced confessions, and brutal rape.
Due to the opacity of the Iranian legal system it is often very difficult to come up with a concrete verification for the claims of abuse expressed by those incarcerated. However, the consistency of the claims made by the detainees and the physical evidence seen on their bodies and observed in their mental state upon leaving these prisons strongly suggests the truth within the allegations.
To get an idea of the extent of the abuse seen within these prisons one need look no further than the case of Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian photo journalist who died in Iranian custody a mere 19 days after her arrest. (A full report on this incident can be found here. This report is the property of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center and is not affiliated with Omid for Iran.)
Kazemi was in Iran on June 23rd, 2003 to take photographs of parents gathered at the gates of Evin prison in an attempt to find out what had happened to their children, who were arrested days earlier for taking part in a demonstration. Kazemi had a government issued press card for this event which, to her knowledge, allowed her to work throughout Tehran. As Kazemi was taking pictures a guard emerged from the prison and asked her to turn over her camera- a request Kazemi refused. After a short violent scuffle, Kazemi was detained by the guards and taken into custody at Evin.
Although specifics of exactly what happened to Kazemi in custody is still a bit fuzzy, it is clear that she was passed around between multiple Iranian ministries who questioned her for hours on end and held her completely incommunicado both from her family and proper legal representation. Nothing else was known about her treatment in the prison until July 11th, 2003, the day she was brought to Baghiyyatollah al-Azam Military Hospital and was pronounced dead.
The original report from the government stated that Kazemi had suffered a tragic stroke while in prison and died from the complications thereof. A few days later the report changed to state that Kazemi had been on a hunger strike while in prison and had collapsed from exhaustion and hit her head. With all these contradictions in the reports the real truth was finally revealed- Iran’s then-Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi conceded to the press that Kazemi had been killed as a result of being beaten.
Almost 2 years later Kazemi’s case became an extreme controversy when Shahram Azam, a staff physician at al-Azam, stated that he had examined Kazemi in the hospital shortly after her arrest and found multiple signs of torture. Kazemi’s body, according to Azam, had been subject to a skull fracture, two broken fingers, crushed toes, a broken nose, bruising all over the body, scratches, marks of floggings, and evidence of what he described as a “brutal” rape.
Though it is clear that the extremes seen in Kazemi’s case are not typical, it remains blatantly obvious that a grotesque abuse of power is present in the Iranian prison system. Far too many others have claims similar to what is seen in Kazemi’s case and, in fact, deaths continue to occur in these prisons, as seen in the recent death of Mohsen Ruholamini, who died in Kahrizak prison from repeated beatings early in August.
These conditions can and must be changed. Iran is a signatory of both the International Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Signing these declarations affirms a nation’s commitment to securing human rights for its entire people. If those aren’t enough, Iran’s own constitution “guarantees” similar rights including the right to protest peaceably, freedom from discrimination, and equality before the law. These rights look great on paper, but if the Iranian people are to reach their full potential not only in their own lives but also on the world stage the Iranian government needs to put its own constitution into practice. They either need to do this, or, in the words of Grant Ayatollah Montazeri, “… at least have the courage to announce that this government is neither a republic nor is it Islamic.”
Political prisoners within the walls of Iranian prisons such as Kahrizak and Evin prison testify that they are victimized by one or multiple of the following mistreatments: beatings, cutting, flogging, being held completely incommunicado, hours of interrogation, various degrees of mental, physical, and sexual torture, humiliation, forced confessions, and brutal rape.
Due to the opacity of the Iranian legal system it is often very difficult to come up with a concrete verification for the claims of abuse expressed by those incarcerated. However, the consistency of the claims made by the detainees and the physical evidence seen on their bodies and observed in their mental state upon leaving these prisons strongly suggests the truth within the allegations.
To get an idea of the extent of the abuse seen within these prisons one need look no further than the case of Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian photo journalist who died in Iranian custody a mere 19 days after her arrest. (A full report on this incident can be found here. This report is the property of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center and is not affiliated with Omid for Iran.)
Kazemi was in Iran on June 23rd, 2003 to take photographs of parents gathered at the gates of Evin prison in an attempt to find out what had happened to their children, who were arrested days earlier for taking part in a demonstration. Kazemi had a government issued press card for this event which, to her knowledge, allowed her to work throughout Tehran. As Kazemi was taking pictures a guard emerged from the prison and asked her to turn over her camera- a request Kazemi refused. After a short violent scuffle, Kazemi was detained by the guards and taken into custody at Evin.
Although specifics of exactly what happened to Kazemi in custody is still a bit fuzzy, it is clear that she was passed around between multiple Iranian ministries who questioned her for hours on end and held her completely incommunicado both from her family and proper legal representation. Nothing else was known about her treatment in the prison until July 11th, 2003, the day she was brought to Baghiyyatollah al-Azam Military Hospital and was pronounced dead.
The original report from the government stated that Kazemi had suffered a tragic stroke while in prison and died from the complications thereof. A few days later the report changed to state that Kazemi had been on a hunger strike while in prison and had collapsed from exhaustion and hit her head. With all these contradictions in the reports the real truth was finally revealed- Iran’s then-Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi conceded to the press that Kazemi had been killed as a result of being beaten.
Almost 2 years later Kazemi’s case became an extreme controversy when Shahram Azam, a staff physician at al-Azam, stated that he had examined Kazemi in the hospital shortly after her arrest and found multiple signs of torture. Kazemi’s body, according to Azam, had been subject to a skull fracture, two broken fingers, crushed toes, a broken nose, bruising all over the body, scratches, marks of floggings, and evidence of what he described as a “brutal” rape.
Though it is clear that the extremes seen in Kazemi’s case are not typical, it remains blatantly obvious that a grotesque abuse of power is present in the Iranian prison system. Far too many others have claims similar to what is seen in Kazemi’s case and, in fact, deaths continue to occur in these prisons, as seen in the recent death of Mohsen Ruholamini, who died in Kahrizak prison from repeated beatings early in August.
These conditions can and must be changed. Iran is a signatory of both the International Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Signing these declarations affirms a nation’s commitment to securing human rights for its entire people. If those aren’t enough, Iran’s own constitution “guarantees” similar rights including the right to protest peaceably, freedom from discrimination, and equality before the law. These rights look great on paper, but if the Iranian people are to reach their full potential not only in their own lives but also on the world stage the Iranian government needs to put its own constitution into practice. They either need to do this, or, in the words of Grant Ayatollah Montazeri, “… at least have the courage to announce that this government is neither a republic nor is it Islamic.”
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