Kobane hunger strike update: Today marked the 17th day of Moustafa’s fast. The first thing I did this morning was to ask him if he was well. My stomach “growls” he says. I tease him by saying that his stomach, like the Kurds, is going through a hard period and soon it will be rewarded with food and the Kurds with freedom. He smiles. We then get ready to head to our designated “Kurdish corner” at Dupont Circle. Our Yezidi impersonating mannequin, as we suspected, did create quite a stir yesterday and today. This morning, police visited us and talked to us about the calls that they had received about our protest. Some Washingtonians had thought we were promoting ISIS and condoning slavery… I wish they had talked to us instead of calling the police. All is good. Lesson learned: be direct and as clear as it is humanly possible. Subtlety and Washingtonians don’t mix well. Golala Arya, an ardent supporter of Moustafa’s hunger strike, thought Kurds should have STYLE even in captivity and wanted to dress up our Yezidi mannequin. We told her to take charge. So the rags of the Yezidi girl are gone. She now has a beautiful dress. Several passersby have commented on it. One taxi driver said: the people in my country dress like her. He was from Morocco. Speaking of supporters, we have had a number of Americans who visit Moustafa regularly and some have started bringing him Gatorade, the only drink that he is allowed to have as part of his fast. One of these regulars is Andrew Goga, a patriotic American. Today, we asked him if he could comment on what he thinks is happening in the Middle East and what should be his country’s role in it. His short and sweet answer follows. If ever he chooses to be a public servant, Kurds and Moustafa will never be far from his thoughts. More tomorrow…
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 01:52:01 +0000
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