On Saturday, May 3 a conference entitled “War on Terrorism or Attack on Human Rights?” was held in the Ryan Lounge. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the startling stripping of civil liberties that has taken place in the United States since 9/11. The conference lasted from 9am to 6pm and included many speakers.
Among the speakers were Soffiyah Jill Elijah of Harvard Law, Matthew Rothschild, who is the current editor of The Progressive, and Monami Maulik the founder of DRUM: Desis Rising Up and Moving.
Most of the speakers focused on the consequences of Patriot Acts I and II being instated. Essentially, the Patriot Acts allow for a person to be arrested and held without bail or access to an attorney based on suspicion of terrorist activity. These measures are in direct conflict with freedom of speech and the right to a fair and speedy trial. The speeches given were full of examples of both citizens and aliens suffering severe treatment that was often based on hearsay. One such example was a man who was jailed after stating his dislike of President Bush. In fact, one of the speakers, Yaju Dharmarajah, an affiliate of the UMass Amherst campus, is currently being targeted by the FBI as a result of a profiling tip.
While most of the conference consisted of speakers relaying their experiences, there were efforts to find solutions as well. Nancy Murray stated, “We have to create a new civil rights movement in this country.”One measure taken by those in attendance was to sign a petition being passed around to repeal the Patriot Act. The petition currently has 20,000 signatures, which is well short of the 100,000 signature goal of organizers.
While there were approximately 200 people present, the Ryan Lounge was not filled to capacity. Sunaina Maira cited that lack of involvement is most likely because, “Many feel the tradeoff [of civil liberties] is necessary for national security.”However, as many speakers pointed out, loss of civil liberties should never be an option for security. In fact, many speakers felt that 9/11 posed an excuse for legislators to strip minorities of their rights. In relation to the Patriotic Act even being written, Chuck Turner said, “How did they [the government] manage to produce a document in excess of 300 pages in less than two weeks? The answer is: it was already written.”
Other highlights of the conference included a poetry reading by Joshua Anygeorge, who was seeking asylum in the U.S. and was detained for eight months with no visitors. The audience was visibly moved after Anygeorge spoke of the loneliness and hopelessness of his life during that time.
In addition to the poetry reading, there was an art exhibit, which featured the political satire art of Clay Bennet and Mike Konopacki. Audience members viewed the exhibit during a lunch break.
Overall, the conference went well, with many attendees remaining throughout the entire day. Participants and organizers presented a unified message of the preservation of human rights and the need for Americans to dissent when those rights are infringed upon. For more information on the USA Patriot act, visit www.aclu.org/safeandfree.