Current #Alkhawaja Status

Again, so sorry for the delay! Working, interning, traveling, lacrosse-ing, etc. all really took there toll on what should've been a quick update.  Anyway, let's get down to business.

If you've been keeping up with Abdulhadi Alkhawaja without my posts - like tweeting, googling, checking other blogs, whatever - then you should know that as of two days ago, Alkhawaja has been quoted saying that he "will be ending" his hunger strike.  Pros: now he won't die from starvation.  Cons: despite the enormity of his hunger strike, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja is still unable to gain his freedom.  Pro2: the hunger strike - which lasted for 110 days - did shed some light on the plight of those living in Bahrain currently.


I mean, this whole blog started for me as a school project, and I never would've even known to look into Bahrain if I hadn't stumbled onto a twitter campaign for Alkhawaja.  And now, with his hunger strike ended, I want to focus on actually getting Alkhawaja out of jail, and helping others who are being victimized by the Bahraini regime. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic that Alkhawaja's hunger strike is over and that he isn't starving himself to death anymore, but it's terrible that after everything he's been through he's still being held prisoner in jail.  Khader Adnan had his sentence shortened after his 66 day long hunger strike.  Hana Shalabi's hunger strike saw that she was released immediately, although she won't be able to officially return home until discussions concerning her behavior between Palestine and Israel are over.  And Abdulhadi Alkhawaja was on his hunger strike the longest, with multiple threats of murder and a brief disappearance, and his hunger strike hasn't helped his sentence at all.  He's still a prisoner.


Here's a link to Frankie Dolan's Bahrain campaign: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHBsOTctbEE1WEl5R2VqWVkyN3hFbkE6MQ
It'll give you some good ideas on what to focus on next.  Personally, I'm still gonna stay primarily focused on getting Alkhawaja and the other prisoners released, because it's grown very important to me.  That's not to say that I won't be focusing on other ways to help, because I will be.  I'm just gonna put a special focus on Alkhawaja and the other prisoners.

Anyway.

You can stay involved by following me on twitter.  I frequently retweet out updates on things going on in Bahrain.  Also, you can follow Frankie Dolan (@frankiedolan); she tends to have more up to date information on the happenings of Bahrain. 

I know this is a shorter post, and that a short post like this really shouldn't take that long, but this is all that I have to say on the matter at the moment.  I'll be back with more information and opinions and articles and links, etc. soon.

In the meantime, please help me at least spread the word of what's going on in Bahrain.  You can still write to Alkhawaja (as i mentioned in an earlier post) and other famous figures about Bahrain.

Thanks all!
Leslie out!
@see_you_sLATER