To Columbia—an institution that laid the groundwork for my abduction—and to its student body, who must not abdicate their responsibility to resist repression,
Since my abduction on March 8, the intimidation and kidnapping of international students who stand for Palestine has only accelerated. On March 9, Yunseo Chung had to file a lawsuit and eventually seek a court order barring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from detaining her for her protest activity. On March 11, Ranjani Srinivasan chose to cross the border to Canada upon the belief that this university was ready to hand her over to ICE. Beyond the gates of Columbia, Leqaa Kordia, Dr. Badar Khan Suri, and Rümeysa Öztürk have all been snatched by the state. The situation is oddly reminiscent of when I fled the brutality of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and sought refuge in Lebanon.
The logic used by the federal government to target myself and my peers is a direct extension of Columbia’s repression playbook concerning Palestine. …..more
