Cindy Sheehan: Where Do I Live?

[reprehensor]

Where Do I Live?

By Cindy Sheehan
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Wednesday 03 August 2005

One very positive aspect of my public anti-war, pro-peace stance is that it has put me in contact with so many people all over the world. I believe that my willingness to share my heart and tragic story (and in the process, tell the truth) helps people open up to me in ways that they cannot do with others. In the past few days, I have been bombarded with horror stories about what our government is doing to innocent Americans.

I was driving from one event to another the other day, and I got a call from an Iranian woman who is now a citizen of the United States and who has been in the US for 30 years, is married to an American, and has a 5 year old son and a brother who has been in prison for 9 months for wanting to serve America.

My new Iranian/American friend, I will call her Susie since her family is in danger of reprisal, told me that her brother signed up for the National Guard to give something back to the country that he has adopted as his own. He was lied to by his recruiter, who said he could have his student loans paid off and become an American citizen within a year. He also has severe learning disabilities, and his recruiter falsified his test scores and his application. Susie's brother was told that the mistakes would be "corrected" before the application was turned in. Like my KIA son Casey, Susie's brother naïvely trusted his recruiter.

One day, Susie's brother, who was at that time in training as a chemical specialist, was sitting in class when FBI agents came in and hauled him off to prison. He was told it was because he went to Iran twice after 9/11 (his country of birth and his family's country), and because he falsified his application to get in the National Guard. Susie's brother thought going into the National Guard was going to be a good and admirable thing, and he was deceived and betrayed. He didn't get his student loans paid off, he didn't get citizenship, but he did get thrown in jail without proper legal representation. Susie called her state's senators to see if they could help her and her brother, and she was told to quit making trouble or her entire family would be investigated.

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[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. How long before

everyone in America who doesn't agree with the fascists will be hauled away to jail as well? I don't like projecting such a scenerio, but I can't help but wonder.

[wli]

2. the FBI is already "investigating" the ACLU

It's over. This is pure fascism.