This posting is primarily a photo gallery. Here you see my
son Jonathan on July 4, a tranquil scene that he sent from the far end of Oahu,
the same island where busy Honolulu is located, then near the same area
with my daughter Stephanie. Another photo shows the two of them when they were
small. July 4 was a lovely day in Washington, DC. That evening, it was only
about 70 F with a gentle breeze blowing with a nice party outdoors featuring live
Mexican guitar music, singing, and dancing at a home near my own. A perfect
evening for the fireworks and outdoor festivities.
At the Museum of the American Indian, I met with
long-time friend, Manolo, holding up a copy of my new Cuba book in the photo, which
was taken (as per copyright notice) by Jose Manuel, a former Cuban refugee
rafter who appears in the book.
Days later, on July 8, I had the privilege of attending
a friend's citizenship ceremony, for 117 new citizens from dozens
of countries. A few children were also present, reminding me
of the ceremony we attended for son Jon, adopted from Colombia, who became a
citizen at age 4. I recall that many onlookers gave him quarters, to the great
envy of his siblings.
On July 9, we in Amnesty International in DC held an
Iftar dinner to celebrate Ramadan, a month when no food or water is consumed during
daylight hours. Exactly when Ramadan falls depends on geographic location and
the cycles of the moon, but I believe the calendar for DC this year is June
28-July 27. Iftar refers to the first meal occurring after sunset, beginning
with the consumption of a date. But before our dinner, we heard a speaker, Rebiya
Kadeer, as shown above, a leader in exile in China’s Xinjiang region, formerly
known as East Turkistan, with a population of 20 million, but, like Tibet and
parts of Mongolia, taken over by the Chinese government and subjected to forced
assimilation through language and Han Chinese immigration. The inhabitants are
a Turkish people, the Uyghurs, most, but not all, Muslims. I had had met Kadeer,
a small woman in her 60s with long gray braids, previously at an Amnesty
conference in Delaware and rode back on the train with her and her interpreter.
She was once as a very successful
businesswoman, but ran afoul of Chinese authorities and spent 5 years in prison
as an Amnesty prisoner of conscience. Two of her sons were also arrested and one is
still in prison. One of her daughters attended our event and chatted with me.
Kadeer explained Ramadan as time for exercising
self-restraint, showing solidarity with and empathy for poor people, and
performing good deeds. She said that China is the only country that does not
allow Ramadan fasting, forcing people to eat and drink water during daylight
hours, contrary to their religious beliefs and preferences. Many Uyghurs have recently been killed and
arrested. She said she has written a piece that appeared recently in the Wall
St. Journal asking for peaceful dialogue with the Chinese government and she
had also asked Secretary Kerry to bring up Uyghur grievances during his
meetings in China. Ask why more Muslim countries don’t support the Uyghurs, she
said because of economic and political alliances with China. Her people do feel
solidarity with and provide moral support for Muslims in Burma, who are
similarly marginalized. The Voice of America recorded and filmed Kadeer’s
presentation. I reintroduced myself to her and she acted as though she actually
remembered me, smiling broadly and shaking my hand with both of hers.
El
Corpus, Honduras (CNN)
July 4, 2014-- Three of 11 miners who
were trapped in a Honduran gold mine this week were rescued Friday morning, freed
nearly two days after a landslide blocked their path out.
After rescuers brought the
three out of the mine near the town of El Corpus, live footage shown on
Honduran network Televicentro showed ambulances driving them away. Scores of
Red Cross volunteers, firefighters and others have been trying to free the
miners since a landslide blocked a tunnel late Wednesday, El Corpus Mayor Luis
Rueda said. Information on the conditions of the three freed miners and the
eight who remained in the mine wasn't immediately available.
Mario
Coyula, a Cuban architect and planner, with whom I met several times, as
recounted (and pictured) in my Cuba book, has died of cancer. He was loyal to
the regime, but not uncritical, and
was a champion for the preservation of
Havana’s architecture. He was very kind to me personal
and his death is
certainly a loss to Cuba and to Havana, especially.
Too bad
the USA lost the World Cup, but actually didn’t do so badly after all.
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