To: Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States
Michelle Obama: Tell Your Husband to Close Guantanamo Prison!
Dear Michelle Obama,
On this Mothers Day, I am writing to urge you to tell your husband to take immediate steps to end indefinite detention without charge and close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. For women all over the world, Mother’s Day is a day of joy. But for women like Om Abdurahman, it is a day of grief because her son Abdurahman is a prisoner at Guantánamo prison, which your husband has the power to close, and he has been cleared for release for over 6 years.
Twelve years ago Abdurahman left Yemen to teach in Pakistan and never returned, and Om Abdurahman found out he was being held at Guantanamo through a newspaper. Now he is on a hunger strike, and his mother doesn't even know if he’ll still be alive the next time she allowed to speak with him by phone, which is once every two months.
Can you imagine what this is like for a mother? The United State’s government has stolen her son’s youth, and stolen her family’s peace and happiness. Abdurahman’s wife was pregnant when he was taken. He has never met his daughter, who is now 12 years old.
Mrs. Obama, please tell your husband to close Guantánamo prison now by taking these concrete steps:
-Appoint a senior point person so that the administration's Guantánamo closure policy is directed by the White House and not by Pentagon bureaucrats. He can also order the secretary of defense to start certifying for transfer detainees who have been cleared, which is more than half the Guantánamo population.
-Demonstrate immediate, tangible progress toward the closure of Guantanamo or the men who are on hunger strike will die, and he will be ultimately responsible for their deaths.
Abdurahman deserves justice. Om Abdurahman deserves justice for her son. All of the prisoners held in Guantánamo deserve justice. Please act now.
Sincerely,
On this Mothers Day, I am writing to urge you to tell your husband to take immediate steps to end indefinite detention without charge and close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. For women all over the world, Mother’s Day is a day of joy. But for women like Om Abdurahman, it is a day of grief because her son Abdurahman is a prisoner at Guantánamo prison, which your husband has the power to close, and he has been cleared for release for over 6 years.
Twelve years ago Abdurahman left Yemen to teach in Pakistan and never returned, and Om Abdurahman found out he was being held at Guantanamo through a newspaper. Now he is on a hunger strike, and his mother doesn't even know if he’ll still be alive the next time she allowed to speak with him by phone, which is once every two months.
Can you imagine what this is like for a mother? The United State’s government has stolen her son’s youth, and stolen her family’s peace and happiness. Abdurahman’s wife was pregnant when he was taken. He has never met his daughter, who is now 12 years old.
Mrs. Obama, please tell your husband to close Guantánamo prison now by taking these concrete steps:
-Appoint a senior point person so that the administration's Guantánamo closure policy is directed by the White House and not by Pentagon bureaucrats. He can also order the secretary of defense to start certifying for transfer detainees who have been cleared, which is more than half the Guantánamo population.
-Demonstrate immediate, tangible progress toward the closure of Guantanamo or the men who are on hunger strike will die, and he will be ultimately responsible for their deaths.
Abdurahman deserves justice. Om Abdurahman deserves justice for her son. All of the prisoners held in Guantánamo deserve justice. Please act now.
Sincerely,
Why is this important?
"For me, Mother's Day is a day of grief. Every day is a day of grief. My son Abdurahman Shabati is a prisoner at Guantánamo, and has been cleared for release since January of 2007. The United State’s government has stolen my son’s youth, and stolen our family’s peace and happiness. Don’t they realize we are human beings, not stones? That we suffer just like they would if they had lost their children? This Mother’s Day, you can help me and other mothers reunite with our sons by appealing to the First Lady of the United States: Tell Michelle Obama to urge her husband to close Guantánamo now."
-Om Abdurahman, mother of Guantánamo detainee Abdurahman Shabati, who has been held for 12 years and cleared for release for over 6 years.
This Mothers Day, CODEPINK is helping Om Abdurahman and the other mothers of Guantanmo prisoners reunite with their sons by telling Michelle Obama to tell her husband to close Guantanamo Bay Prison immediately. Join us.
-Om Abdurahman, mother of Guantánamo detainee Abdurahman Shabati, who has been held for 12 years and cleared for release for over 6 years.
This Mothers Day, CODEPINK is helping Om Abdurahman and the other mothers of Guantanmo prisoners reunite with their sons by telling Michelle Obama to tell her husband to close Guantanamo Bay Prison immediately. Join us.