Touching letter from jailed blogger @alaa to wife @manal

Thu, 2011/12/15 - 03:16 — Manal

Om Khaled,

My partner, my friend, my half, my all, my love, the mother of my child, my support in life. I MISS YOU I LOVE YOU.

The only reason I can bear being separated from you is your support.

I just got the photos, I'm confused about my feelings now but I'm mostly happy. It's so unfair that I can't be with you to comfort you, it's so unfair that I wait for you to get well and get back to comforting me. It is beyond unfair that I can't hold Khaled for hours the way I've held countless other babies, I gave so much love and attention to sons and daughters of friends and family. Yet I can't do the same to my own child.

I wonder how old will Khaled be when I finally get out of here, I wonder what else I will miss? His Sobo3? The first time he grips your fingers? The moment you realize he is focusing his eyes on you? Or is going to be even worse and I'll miss his first smile?

What does it feel to hold him? How does he smell? How does he sound when cries?

My son, our son, our little Khaled.

I showed the photos to everyone in the cell, they're genuinely happy for me but like everything in this cell it is all subdued, made me feel more alone and lonely.

I've been thinking a lot about our life in South Africa the bliss of just being together having an easy comfortable life, yet still doing good work. We used to comment a lot on how Egyptian youth only aspire for a home and a family and a job to support them. Turns out as usual al sha3b got it right, the day we can enjoy just being a family in Egypt while secure in the future, content in our comforts and fulfilled in our jobs is the day that revolution is complete.

Until then we'll make do by sticking together facing whatever life throws at us, knowing that as long as we are all one all is fine.

I miss you so much it hurts, I guess you know the feeling, I'm overwhelmed by how unfair it is, how meaningless it has become at this stage, but I know we are both in good hands, Khaled is blessed with the unconditional love of not just his parents but large extended families and hundreds of aunts and aunties, I hope he grows to appreciate it all.

Alaa,
6-12-2011
cell 6/1 ward 4
Tora prison

via source

Posted via email from lissping

ACTION ALERT FOR ALAA via @AIDSPol

FACT: Prominent Egyptian revolutionary Alaa Abd El Fattah was detained yesterday

by the Egyptian Army. He visited the United States just last week to attend a human rights

conference in San Francisco, where many US activists met him in person. Alaa also actively

supports Occupy San Francisco and Occupy Oakland.

FACT: Alaa and other Egyptian activists are calling for an end to the detention and trials of

civilians by military courts. Alaa was detained after he refused to be interrogated by the Army.

FACT: The US spends $1.3 BILLION on SCAF, the Egyptian Army that has detained

thousands of Egyptian civilian activists who are in jail for exercising their human rights.

One was tortured to death by sodomy last week for hiding a cell phone.

FACT: Americans can pressure the people holding the purse strings of the Egyptian

Army, known as The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Phone calls (rather than email)

are the most powerful tool. Here are those people:

US Senator Bob Casey (Democrat-Pennsylvania), is the leader of the Senate Subcommittee

on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs 202-224-6324

US Senator John Kerry (Democrat-Massachusetts) is Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs

Committee Washington D.C. (202) 224-2742

Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida) Chair, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign

Affairs: Tel: (202) 225-3931

Perry Cammack, Professional Staff Member, Committee on Foreign Relations, United

States Senate 202-224-4651 Perry_Cammack@foreign.senate.gov

Ask them (or leave a specific message asking them) to do the following:

1. Immediately issue a public statement calling for release of Alaa Abd El Fattah and all

other political prisoners being held by the Egyptian Army.

2. Contact senior Army officials and demand the release of the thousands of political

prisoners in Egypt. Their detention and the ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by

SCAF (the Army) are destabilizing efforts to transform Egypt into a civilian-run, democratic

country. It is not acceptable to try civilians in military courts.

3. Issue a public statement on whether SCAF's actions violating human rights of its citizens are

also in violation of US laws regarding foreign aid.

After you have made these phone calls, spread the word on Twitter and Facebook. #FreeAlaa

By the AIDS Policy Project @AIDSPol ( v. 1.0 10-31-2011) in solidarity

Posted via email from lissping