From: Patricia Lay-Dorsey
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 13:35:10 -0400
Subject: Rabih & Sulaima

Dear sisters and brothers

So now they are safe, safe from the country that calls itself a democracy but did not represent their best interests, the country that persecuted them and called it "justice." Now they are safe from the clutches of men like John Ashcroft who sees it as his divine mission to rid this country of Muslim men of Arab descent, safe from jail guards who treated this global humanitarian and Muslim cleric the same as the accused murderers who were in cells beside him for 19 months in the "hole", safe from the media and press who branded him a terrorist with ties to Al Qaeda but had no proof whatsoever of such allegations, safe from a "justice system" that dispenses cruel injustice to anyone who is not white, an American citizen, and a person of means. Now they are safe.

Rabih Haddad is currently at his mother's home in Lebanon, awaiting with unalloyed joy and anticipation the arrival of his wife and four children, none of whom he has been allowed to touch in almost a year. And his wife Sulaima, daughter Sana aged 13, son Sami aged 10, son Rami aged 9 and son Ousamma aged 5, arrived yesterday in Kuwait for a (hopefully) brief visit with Sulaima's father and sisters while she waits to receive her visa to Lebanon. Then they will be on their way "home" to savor what so many of us take for granted, being together as a family.

I, their sister and supporter, am left with such a mix of feelings that they may never sort themselves out. I am sad and already missing these people whom I've grown to love like family. I am anxious about their safety in Lebanon, especially since the US insists on its allies following its dictates like unthinking automatons. I am still glowing from the loving send-off we members of the Detroit and Ann Arbor peace, justice, religious and political communities gave Sulaima and the kids in front of the INS on Monday. I am grateful to the Free Rabih Haddad Committee for sending out press releases that drew an amazing number of TV, newspaper and radio reporters and photographers to Monday's support/send-off rally. I am disgusted and angry at the so-called Justice Department and its INS arm that terrorized Rabih and his family for so long, and not only Rabih but men whose names we do not even know, those who are being called "the disappeared." But my strongest feeling is one of gratitude. Being welcomed as a sister into this family and their Muslim community has stretched and transformed me in ways that I am only beginning to see.

By the way, if you'd like to read journal entries and see photos of immigration court hearings, support rallies, picnics, reflections, emails and letters from Sunday, December 16, 2001 through Monday, July 28, 2003, you can visit the "My Brother Rabih Haddad" page on my web site. The URL is:

http://www.windchimewalker.net/-webpages/rabih-haddad.html

As a final note, I want to say that our work for Rabih and Sulaima is not over. Now it is up to those of us who value justice and truth to do whatever it takes to clear this innocent man's name and the name of the Global Relief Foundation that he co-founded in 1991. As I said to members of the press and media on Monday, Rabih Haddad's only "crime" was being a respected humanitarian who cared about suffering people the world over. For that his character was assassinated and he was kept in jail without charges or bail for 19 months. The visa violation that the INS claimed led to his deportation and that of his family was normally punished by a fine, before September 11 that is.

When I think of Rabih Haddad, I see persons like Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi at his side. This country has lost a great man, one who would have built bridges between Muslim and non-Muslim, citizen and immigrant...a man of peace, compassion and vision.

Please hold Rabih, Sulaima and the children in good energy and see them safe together again soon.

in pursuit of truth and justice
Patricia Lay-Dorsey