Abdulhadi al-Khawaja’s call for a Free Bahrain resounds the globe and it may cost his life
Letter of love: To my dear family…
My dear and beloved family, from behind prison bars, I send to you my love and yearning. From a free man, to a free family. These prison walls don’t separate me from you, they bring us closer together. Our connection and determination is stronger than ever. We take our strength from beautiful memories. Remembering every trip, every meal we ate together, all the conversations, remembering every smile, all the jokes and the laughter. The distance between us disappears, through our love and faith.
It’s true: I am in here, and you are out there. But, you are in here with me, and I am out there with you. Our pain is made more bearable when we remember we chose this difficult path and took an oath to remain on it. We must not only remain patient through our suffering, we must never allow the pain to conquer our souls. Let our hearts be filled with joy, and an acceptance of the responsibility we have been given, for in the end this life is about finding a path of truth towards God.
Abdulhadi al-Khawaj
Bahraini hunger striker casts a long shadow over claims of reform
Patrick Cockburn – 6 April, 2012 – The Independent
As the government in Manama prepares to welcome back Formula One, activists say human rights abuses continue
Bahrain’s best known human rights activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is on the 57th day of a hunger strike, could die in jail at any moment say those who have seen him recently.
“His heart could stop at any time or he could slip into a coma,” said his daughter Maryam. Mr al-Khawaja, 51, who was sentenced to life in jail last year for an alleged plot to overthrow the Bahraini monarchy, says he will continue his hunger strike until he is freed or he dies.
His death is likely to ignite violence in Bahrain where members of the majority Shia community have protested against his imprisonment. It would also discredit the attempt by the Bahraini government to persuade the international community it is seriously pursuing legal and constitutional reforms.
The detention of Mr al-Khawaja, has lead to calls for the cancellation of the Bahrain Formula One race later this month. The government has been publicising the race as a sign that Bahrainis are united and the situation on the island Kingdom has returned to normal. “They are using it as a celebration that we are one nation while people are being killed weekly,” says Zaynab, another daughter of Mr al-Khawaja.
Mary Lawlor of the human rights group Front Line Defenders, who led a team on a three-day visit to Bahrain this week, said: “I don’t see how the Formula One can go ahead if Abdulhadi al-Khawaja dies in jail.” She said she had asked him to end his fast, but he refused. “He has lost 25 per cent of his body-weight and he was already a thin man,” she said. …more
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