*모임에 참석해서 받은 유인물(9월 24일, UBC 학생회관)

* 모임에 갔다가 만난 Alison 

  옆에 보이는 사진은 벤쿠버에서 발행하는 24Hours, 앨리슨에 관해 취재한 커버스토리.

맨 위에 링크한 앨리슨의 블로그에 접속하면 보다 자세한 소식을 직접 확인할 수 있다.

한 평화활동가가 겪은 불이익에 대해 항의하는 시위와 서명운동이 벌어지고 있고

다시는 이런 일이 일어나서는 안된다는 의미를 담은 지지서한을 받고 있다.

1. CBC 뉴스에 소개된 관련 기사

B.C. DETENTION WAS BID TO SILENCE ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS, AMERICAN SAYS

An American peace activist, who was detained by immigration officials in B.C. for two days, is accusing Ottawa of engineering her confinement to silence critics of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Alison Bodine, 22, of Broomfield, Colo., was carrying anti-war pamphlets in her car when she was arrested Thursday at the Peace Arch border crossing in Surrey, B.C., which is the main crossing between Vancouver and Seattle.

Bodine, who studied physics at the University of British Columbia, said she works with an anti-war group based in B.C. called Mobilization Against War and Occupation.

When she approached the Peace Arch crossing, Bodine said Canadian border officials told her there was a Canada-wide warrant for her arrest.

She spent Thursday night in a jail in Surrey and then was transferred to a holding cell at Vancouver International Airport before being released Friday night. She told CBC News she still hasn't been told what crime she is accused of committing.

"All I've been told is that I have an admissibility hearing coming up on Monday at two p.m. at the immigration offices," Bodine said on Saturday. "I do not get to hear my full case until that hearing."

Bodine said other activists should worry she was arrested.

"This was a bit of a test, to see what happens when they arrest someone who isn't agreeing with their current foreign policy."

The Canada Border Services Agency said it could not comment on specific cases.

Canada has about 2,500 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Canada started the mission in early 2002, in the wake of the U.S. invasion that overthrew the Taliban government.

The United States has thousands of troops in Afghanistan and about 160,000 in Iraq.

2. 지지서한의 예

   점선 아래의 내용을 복사해서 붉은 글씨로 표기한 주소로 이메일을 보내면 됨

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SEND A SUPPORT LETTER!
You can help by sending a Support Letter from you or your organization!

Email to:
defendalisonbodine@hotmail.com

(Sample Support Letter)

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To: Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)

Alison Bodine is a US citizen, is a central organizer with Vancouver antiwar coalition Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO), for three years was the president of the University of British Columbia’s Coalition Against War on the People of Iraq and Internationally (CAWOPI) and is a long-time executive committee member of the UBC Social Justice Center. She is also a prominent activist in solidarity with Cuba, and is a supporter of immigrant and refugee rights in Canada in the US.

Near midnight, Thursday September 13, 2007 Alison Bodine was unjustly arrested by the Canada Border Services Agency and detained by the RCMP when she went voluntarily to the US-Canada border to pick up her belongings. Alison has not done anything illegal, and has crossed the border many times with no incident. It was not until her belonging were searched and antiwar literature found that the charges were laid.

Alison’s arrest and all charges against her are an attack on the democratic rights of individuals to organize and express their political views. This is an attack on the right to free speech, and an attack on immigrants, refugees, people without status and non-residents of Canada. This is clearly a politically motivated case against Alison Bodine.

I am demanding that the Canada Border Services Agency drop any and all charges against Alison Bodine, return to her any and all items seized by the CBSA, and reinstate her right to freely travel between the US and Canada.

Sincerely,

(signature)

(name)

(Affiliations, for identification purposes)

*기사와 서한의 내용을 다 번역하려고 끙끙거리다가 시간만 보냈다. 아직은 무리...

*미국보다는 평화로운 척(?) 하는 나라지만 아직 갈 길이 먼 곳이라는 걸 알게된 사건.

*앨리슨이 이마리오 감독을 안다고 말해서 깜짝 놀랐다. 그는 이미 이 사건에 관심을 갖고, 집회에도 여러번 참석했다고 한다. 며칠 전에 비디오 카메라를 빌려달라고 연락이 왔었는데 이 사건 때문이었다는 걸 이번 모임에 참석하고서야 알았다.   다들 참 부지런하시다...