Could US Officials Please Treat a Nobel Peace Laureate with Respect?
Less than a month ago, in late July, 2009, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire was travelling from Dublin, Ireland to Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet
Peace Laureate Jody Williams to participate in peace events there. As she arrived at Dulles airport near Washington, DC, from Ireland on July 30, 2009, she passed through the regular immigration line, but then was detained in a
special processing area over two hours causing her to miss her connecting flight to Albuquerque.
Less than a month ago, in late July, 2009, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire was travelling from Dublin, Ireland to Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet
Peace Laureate Jody Williams to participate in peace events there. As she arrived at Dulles airport near Washington, DC, from Ireland on July 30, 2009, she passed through the regular immigration line, but then was detained in a
special processing area over two hours causing her to miss her connecting flight to Albuquerque.
This is the second time Maguire has been detained by US Immigration in the past three months. On May 14, 2009, she was detained at the Houston, Texas, International
Airport as she was returning from a 3 day conference in Guatemala,
hosted by four of Nobel Peace Women Laureates. During the detention
in Houston, Immigration officers questioned her about her visit in
April, 2007, to the Palestinian village of Bil'in where she was injured
by a rubber-coated bullet shot by Israeli military forces during a
protest at the fence built by the Israelis in the village.
In
Houston, Maguire asked the Immigration officials what she could do to
prevent future detention and was told to get a 10 year visa to the
United States.
She immediately applied and obtained a 10 year visa in early July from US Consul in Belfast, Ireland. She
presented that visa to the Dulles Airport Immigration official.
Maguire had had an indefinite visa to the U.S. in a previous passport
and had never had any problems travelling to or through the United
States.
Three
months later, when she told the U.S. Immigration Officer at Dulles
airport that she was a Nobel Peace Laureate and showed him the
documents concerning the Peace Laureate meeting she was attending in
New Mexico, the Immigration Officer sarcastically said that detention
"is going to happen every time you enter the United States," and "you
should get used to it."
Maguire
has been publicly outspoken and critical about Israeli treatment of
Palestinians and has a long history of non-violent acts of civil
disobedience against war and against nuclear weapons.
Not
only was Maguire hit in 2007 by an Israeli military rubber-coated
bullet and tear-gassed while participating in a protest against the
construction of the Israeli fence dividing the Palestinian village of
Bil'in, on June 30, 2009, the boat that Maguire and nineteen others
were on in international waters off Gaza was boarded by Israeli
military and all the passengers and crew were put in an Israeli prison
for 7 days. Maguire was deported from Israel on July 7, as was fellow passenger, former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.
Earlier,
in 2004, as a part of her work against nuclear weapons, she travelled
to Israel to meet Mordechai Vanunu as he left prison at the end of his
18 year sentence imposed for his revealing Israel's nuclear program.
Because
of her detention by U.S. Immigration on July 30, 2009, Maguire had to
stay overnight in Washington, DC, at her own expense, as United
Airlines said they were not responsible for her missing her flight. The
next day, she ended up on a flight to New Mexico with 3 stops before
getting to Albuquerque at 4pm, missing all the day's events.
Maguire said that the harassment by U.S. Immigration began in 2009, after the change in U.S. Presidential administrations.
I
wonder if the Secretary of State might wish to have discussions with
the Secretary of Director of Immigration and Citizenship about how to
treat Nobel Peace Laureates, unless, because of her outspoken criticism
of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, the treatment Maguire got
on July 30, 2009 was exactly what the Obama administration wants her to
have.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Less than a month ago, in late July, 2009, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire was travelling from Dublin, Ireland to Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet
Peace Laureate Jody Williams to participate in peace events there. As she arrived at Dulles airport near Washington, DC, from Ireland on July 30, 2009, she passed through the regular immigration line, but then was detained in a
special processing area over two hours causing her to miss her connecting flight to Albuquerque.
This is the second time Maguire has been detained by US Immigration in the past three months. On May 14, 2009, she was detained at the Houston, Texas, International
Airport as she was returning from a 3 day conference in Guatemala,
hosted by four of Nobel Peace Women Laureates. During the detention
in Houston, Immigration officers questioned her about her visit in
April, 2007, to the Palestinian village of Bil'in where she was injured
by a rubber-coated bullet shot by Israeli military forces during a
protest at the fence built by the Israelis in the village.
In
Houston, Maguire asked the Immigration officials what she could do to
prevent future detention and was told to get a 10 year visa to the
United States.
She immediately applied and obtained a 10 year visa in early July from US Consul in Belfast, Ireland. She
presented that visa to the Dulles Airport Immigration official.
Maguire had had an indefinite visa to the U.S. in a previous passport
and had never had any problems travelling to or through the United
States.
Three
months later, when she told the U.S. Immigration Officer at Dulles
airport that she was a Nobel Peace Laureate and showed him the
documents concerning the Peace Laureate meeting she was attending in
New Mexico, the Immigration Officer sarcastically said that detention
"is going to happen every time you enter the United States," and "you
should get used to it."
Maguire
has been publicly outspoken and critical about Israeli treatment of
Palestinians and has a long history of non-violent acts of civil
disobedience against war and against nuclear weapons.
Not
only was Maguire hit in 2007 by an Israeli military rubber-coated
bullet and tear-gassed while participating in a protest against the
construction of the Israeli fence dividing the Palestinian village of
Bil'in, on June 30, 2009, the boat that Maguire and nineteen others
were on in international waters off Gaza was boarded by Israeli
military and all the passengers and crew were put in an Israeli prison
for 7 days. Maguire was deported from Israel on July 7, as was fellow passenger, former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.
Earlier,
in 2004, as a part of her work against nuclear weapons, she travelled
to Israel to meet Mordechai Vanunu as he left prison at the end of his
18 year sentence imposed for his revealing Israel's nuclear program.
Because
of her detention by U.S. Immigration on July 30, 2009, Maguire had to
stay overnight in Washington, DC, at her own expense, as United
Airlines said they were not responsible for her missing her flight. The
next day, she ended up on a flight to New Mexico with 3 stops before
getting to Albuquerque at 4pm, missing all the day's events.
Maguire said that the harassment by U.S. Immigration began in 2009, after the change in U.S. Presidential administrations.
I
wonder if the Secretary of State might wish to have discussions with
the Secretary of Director of Immigration and Citizenship about how to
treat Nobel Peace Laureates, unless, because of her outspoken criticism
of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, the treatment Maguire got
on July 30, 2009 was exactly what the Obama administration wants her to
have.
Less than a month ago, in late July, 2009, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire was travelling from Dublin, Ireland to Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet
Peace Laureate Jody Williams to participate in peace events there. As she arrived at Dulles airport near Washington, DC, from Ireland on July 30, 2009, she passed through the regular immigration line, but then was detained in a
special processing area over two hours causing her to miss her connecting flight to Albuquerque.
This is the second time Maguire has been detained by US Immigration in the past three months. On May 14, 2009, she was detained at the Houston, Texas, International
Airport as she was returning from a 3 day conference in Guatemala,
hosted by four of Nobel Peace Women Laureates. During the detention
in Houston, Immigration officers questioned her about her visit in
April, 2007, to the Palestinian village of Bil'in where she was injured
by a rubber-coated bullet shot by Israeli military forces during a
protest at the fence built by the Israelis in the village.
In
Houston, Maguire asked the Immigration officials what she could do to
prevent future detention and was told to get a 10 year visa to the
United States.
She immediately applied and obtained a 10 year visa in early July from US Consul in Belfast, Ireland. She
presented that visa to the Dulles Airport Immigration official.
Maguire had had an indefinite visa to the U.S. in a previous passport
and had never had any problems travelling to or through the United
States.
Three
months later, when she told the U.S. Immigration Officer at Dulles
airport that she was a Nobel Peace Laureate and showed him the
documents concerning the Peace Laureate meeting she was attending in
New Mexico, the Immigration Officer sarcastically said that detention
"is going to happen every time you enter the United States," and "you
should get used to it."
Maguire
has been publicly outspoken and critical about Israeli treatment of
Palestinians and has a long history of non-violent acts of civil
disobedience against war and against nuclear weapons.
Not
only was Maguire hit in 2007 by an Israeli military rubber-coated
bullet and tear-gassed while participating in a protest against the
construction of the Israeli fence dividing the Palestinian village of
Bil'in, on June 30, 2009, the boat that Maguire and nineteen others
were on in international waters off Gaza was boarded by Israeli
military and all the passengers and crew were put in an Israeli prison
for 7 days. Maguire was deported from Israel on July 7, as was fellow passenger, former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.
Earlier,
in 2004, as a part of her work against nuclear weapons, she travelled
to Israel to meet Mordechai Vanunu as he left prison at the end of his
18 year sentence imposed for his revealing Israel's nuclear program.
Because
of her detention by U.S. Immigration on July 30, 2009, Maguire had to
stay overnight in Washington, DC, at her own expense, as United
Airlines said they were not responsible for her missing her flight. The
next day, she ended up on a flight to New Mexico with 3 stops before
getting to Albuquerque at 4pm, missing all the day's events.
Maguire said that the harassment by U.S. Immigration began in 2009, after the change in U.S. Presidential administrations.
I
wonder if the Secretary of State might wish to have discussions with
the Secretary of Director of Immigration and Citizenship about how to
treat Nobel Peace Laureates, unless, because of her outspoken criticism
of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, the treatment Maguire got
on July 30, 2009 was exactly what the Obama administration wants her to
have.