tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post8349870475478430845..comments2023-09-11T13:02:33.078+03:00Comments on Anna's Eyewitness Reports from Palestine: Why You Should Care about the Hikers Held in Iran...Anna Baltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11654225424192112342noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049415.post-43055798972586159302010-05-14T19:55:21.864+03:002010-05-14T19:55:21.864+03:00I had many comments from Americans about going to ...I had many comments from Americans about going to Iran to visit a friend of mine last month. How can you go to a country that supports the holocaust? It is not safe. What about the hikers? As if my trip endorses and supports the Iranian government. I researched the news, which made me worry; and asked people who had been to Iran how it was (lonely planet is the best travel source). Everyone loves their travels to Iran. It is the epitome of what travel was in yesteryear, when the world was serene, logistically somewhat inconvenient, but hospitable and culturally rewarding. What about the caveat of the government? It did factor in... every tourist knows that in Iran women keep their heads covered, and that writers, activities, government workers of all countries keep a low profile (if they are granted a visa at all), no photos of anything military (meaning airports, telecommunications, prisons, checkpoints) don't carry Iranian government reports with you, do not evangelize religion, no drugs or alcohol, no homosexual activities, stay away from all ports and borders, and be meticulous with the terms of your visa. This is not a stringent list of conditions, they easily fall into my polite guest behaviors, and they are not so bad if you consider that there are no terms that will get you into to Saudi or many other Islamic nations (even if they are US government friendlies).<br /><br />Here we have the 3 hikers: with activists/political backgrounds, wandering around the border/crossing the border, no visas for Iran. Three strikes. If they took just one photo of the border area it would be seen as military spying. <br /><br />Governments are distinct from their people. The US also has foreign nationals in prison without representation. There is a case of a 16 year old Syrian girl, held for years in the States on visa violations and caught btw government bickering and regulations. The US government admitted to kidnapping at least 70 foreigners around the world and extraditing them to other countries for torture, without representation. Governments sometimes decide who is guilty by their political agenda; then even the qualified are powerless to investigate and liberate any innocent people regardless whether government is US or Iranian lead. One significant democratic difference, I am confident that I will be not arrested for posting this comment!<br /><br />Publicity about the hikers will generate ill will and political fodder for the US to demonize the Iranian nation, which generates sanctions, which affects the education, employment and welfare of the people and which keeps tourists away, which affects the economy, which affects the people. Probably not a consequence that the hikers would advocate. I saw signs for Evin prison when I was in Iran last month. I could have gone there, taken pictures of the place, knocked on the gate, asked for an interview. Maybe shared a cell with the female hiker. I didn't. Some push the envelope, others don't. <br /><br />How do we, as common people, navigate ourselves within the political tit-for-tat framework? We stay human on a people to people basis. We confront fear. If we are lucky, we choose our actions; like me being a staid tourist in a vilified land and the hikers with their do-good volunteer work. If we are unlucky then our actions are forced upon us by circumstance, as with the parents of the hikers, now seeking publicity to free their children.<br /><br />The writer of this article is absolutely correct. On a human level we should care when people are ill and are not accorded their human dignity. The hikers have paid the price for straying outside the lines, and I would never relinquish hope that they get released.Judy Kohnenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606250755082084118noreply@blogger.com