US is no longer a haven for the oppressed and hungry
The Universe
(February 27, 2005)
As I write, several bombs have blown up innocent people around the Philippines, the former prime minister of Lebanon has been killed in a car bomb and Iraq is still racked with violence.
While these terrible crimes have to be countered and the perpetrators brought to justice, that process must not itself be mired in human rights violations. Fighting evil with evil makes for more evil. When the retaliation is an eye for an eye, all are rendered blind.
When I read the apologies of Tony Blair to 11 people and their families wrongly accused, convicted and sentenced to life for the IRA Guildford bombing in 1974, I realised just how perverse justice can be. The case also highlighted the need for brave and committed Christians to work for justice as did human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce and Columban Father Bobby Gilmore.
The activities of a special abduction and kidnapping force of the US security forces that snatches suspects of any nationality and delivers them to foreign governments to be tortured is no less reprehensible.
On September 26, 2002, 34-year-old Canadian citizen Maher Arar was snatched at Kennedy airport while changing planes after arriving from a vacation in Tunisia. He was bound and bundled into a executive jet and flown eventually to Syria, where he was tortured.
Totally innocent of any connection to terror groups he at first asserted his innocence but later, under cruel torture, he confessed to everything and anything. The Syrians reported to their US masters that he knew nothing and they had the wrong man. He was released a shattered and broken man.
The super secret force is known as 'Extraordinary Rendition', surely the most bizarre euphemism of our time. There have been many victims of this removal force. Where is the Bill of Rights and the democratic protection of individuals from arbitrary arrest, detention and torture? Flushed down the toilet it seems by a Bush administration that just got re-elected on a platform of advocating moral and spiritual values. This pseudo Christian stance is exposed for what it is in the light of the brutality perpetuated by these officially approved violators of human rights. Torture by contract, it seems, is official US Policy.
Last year, five young Irish visitors to the USA were caught overstaying their visas. Instead of being deported, they were shackled with chains and kept in detention for five months without charge. Only outrage in Ireland brought about their repatriation. America, once the home of hope for the oppressed, impoverished and hungry masses, is fast becoming a fearful place.
American history is being written and this era will surely go down as the most shameful ever, making the McCarthy period seem civilised. The millions of Americans who oppose the abuse and speak out are the shining lights that give us hope of a better future, but we will have to wait at least another four years. [End]
