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Letters to the editor

October 12, 2001 | Page 4

OTHER LETTERS BELOW
Speak truth to power
"Mourning" a poem

You could go to jail for writing to Bush

Dear Socialist Worker,

Yesterday I went to an exciting antiwar teach-in at Northeastern University. There were about 150 people there--less than a week after more than 400 showed up to hear historian Howard Zinn and International Socialist Organization member Anthony Arnove speak out against the war!

At the teach-in, Boston immigration lawyer Abira Abfaq told a story that I found horrifying. She told the crowd about a 21-year-old Arab friend of hers in Boston who wrote a letter to President Bush several months ago criticizing U.S. support for Israel.

After the September 11 attacks, police showed up at this young man's door and threw him in jail. When his parents went down to try to get him out, they too were detained and arrested.

The government is trying to shut down dissenting opinions right now, particularly when they come from Arab Americans.

We need to defend our brothers and sisters who are standing up for justice at a time when it takes a lot of courage to do so.

Annie Zirin, Cambridge, Mass.

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Speak truth to power

Dear Socialist Worker,

As I read headline after sickening headline about our illegitimate president and how his merry band of war hustlers continue to tout the excesses of blind patriotism, I'm relieved to read Socialist Worker, a publication that speaks truth to power.

I wonder what the next headline in the mainstream press will be--hot apple pies and bombs?

This whole spectacle is terribly sad. They need to play John Lennon's "Imagine" every day to stop this war madness, but oops, a major radio station network banned that song from its stations.

What's next?

In these times of great human strife, publications like Socialist Worker will play an increasingly important and integral part in our struggle to put human need before profit.

I enjoyed reading your September 14 issue--your articles were informative and to the point.

Aaron Albelo, Los Angeles

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"Mourning," a poem by Saman Sepehri

6,000: Number of dead in World Trade Center.
6,000: Number of children dying each month because of U.S. sanctions on Iraq.

New York City: Victims of Terror.
Iraq, Sudan, soon to be Afghanistan: Collateral Damage.

CIA in Greece, CIA in Guatemala, CIA in Iran,
Why do they hate the U.S. so much?

CIA in Chile, U.S. in Panama, CIA in Afghanistan,
Why do they hate the U.S. so much?

Hijacking
Some fear flying because they fear hijackers,
Some of us fear flying because we are seen as hijackers.

Montgomery, Alabama, 1955: Get to the back of the bus.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2001: Get off the plane, Northwest Airlines.

Mississippi, 1963: Burning Black churches.
Lawrence Avenue, Chicago, 2001: Burning Assyrian churches.

Let's bomb Iraq,
Why do they hate us so much?

Let's bomb Afghanistan,
Why do they hate us so much?

War between good and evil,
War between freedom and fear,
You're either with us or with them.
Where do those of us who are against war fit in?

War,
Hate crimes,
Tightening security,
Racial profiling of Arabs.

Mourning?
Color of mourning, September 10, 2001: Black.
Color of mourning, September 12, 2001: Red, white and blue.

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