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| "Coercion, after all, merely captures man. Freedom captivates him." Mc Namara. |
Technology brings distances and time down while it brings people together.
Nevertheless this well-know fact is but the beginning of a new scale of phenomena
linked to technology, internet, social networks and...individuals.
Once upon a time,
great adventures were told by story tellers.
Later on novels, pamphlets and journals rebuilt the way information was spread around the globe.
But we had to wait until the man decided to take a stroll on the moon to gather
around 500 million spectators, holding their breath at the same moment.
Today, what we are experiencing are worlwide events which the new technology made interactive.
We no longer witness history, but we are actually crafting it
- often accidentally-
Ali Abdulemam is the perfect example for this confluence I am describing.
His life and his struggle can be explained only through twitter, online unrest, bloggers,
virtual support and the commitment of a freedom forum, again , online.
In 1998 Ali started his blog, Bahrain Online, as a form of protest and condemnation to the lack of democracy, the wide range of human rights violations and the suppression of free media.
Soon the government of Bahrain ordered the national internet service provider to block access to the site, which was hosted in the US.
From that moment on Ali experienced the typical forms of repression we've seen for many brave men and women that put their own lives at risk in the name of freedom :
his house was raised, he was arrested by Bahraini authorities and accused of "spreading false information", he was denied a lawyer and fired from his work, he underwent abuses and torture while he was kept in government custody.
After he was released from his latest political imprisonment on February
2011,
Abdulemam was invited to the 2011 Oslo Freedom Forum;
he
enthusiastically accepted his speaking invitation and plans were made
for his travel.
However, on March 15, he disappeared.
Few months later he and 20 other prominent Bahraini opposition figures were tried in
front of a military court, accused of plotting a coup
against the Bahraini government. Although absent, Abdulemam was sentenced to 15 years in
prison.
The web followed Ali during all those years of persecution, organizing many human right groups through the Arab World, following his blog using censorship circumvention tools and supporting him through important organizations such as Reporters Without Borders.
After he disappeared in 2011, the website has been the main stage for concernes about his safety, for public recognition of his role as well as private messages to his family,
reassuring them (and the world) upon his status.
And then we all become spectators/actors of a masterpiece spy-story:
May 10, 2013, the breaking news : Ali Abdulemam had escaped from Bahrain.
Activists,
consulting with a member of Denmark's Jaeger Corps hatched a plan to get him out of the country, and probably Ben Affleck's Argo was somehow inspiring :
the plan was to have American artist Tyler Ramsey visit Bahrain with an entourage including Elizabeth Chambers
and two Abdulemam doppelgangers. Abdulemam was to switch places with a
member of Ramsey's entourage in a fast food restaurant at the airport.
Ramsey and his entourage would then depart for Cyprus on a chartered jet
from a special VIP area at Bahrain Airport, where they would not be
subject to security checks or interviews.
But as reality always outdoes imagination, few hours before the plan could be set into motion the coded message "Bjiork has left the Fiji" was sent : Abdulemam escaped Bahrain
after being waken up in the middle of the night by the proposal of a car with a hidden compartment
which would have left the country via the causeway to Saudi Arabia.
From there, he traveled by
land and sea through Kuwait and Iraq, before departing on flight to
London. He was granted asylum in the UK shortly after his arrival.
And the incredible and touching conclusion of this odissey was to have him present,
safe and sound, in the Oslo Freedom Forum which is taking place right now.
And to make this happy ending even better, there he will soon be reached by his wife and daughters,
thank to the support of Denmark government and activists.
This incredible story,
which was taking place before our eyes
would have certainly been different without the interaction of many key actors that made it happen,
using the internet.
Please check out the euphory of thousands around the world, which are not only witnessing this extraordinary event, but are also being a part of it, making their voice and comments being heard, giving it an incredible resonance sharing and twitting, showing the support and belief in the right for freedom was never stronger.
Here you will find some results for #AliAbdulemam on twitter
as well as some articles showing the enthusiasm for the happy ending of one of the voices that is struggling to make our world not only a better place, but a free place as well.
And the Oslo Freedom Forum's page dedicated to him :
And here is a song I already used talking about freedom,
but this time is far more fitting my feelings.
