Starting Date: 02-20-2004
Rutgers Student Center MPR
126 College Ave
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901
United States
Friday, February 20th, 2004
Third National Day of Action in Solidarity with Muslim, Arab and South
Asian Immigrants Featuring "We've Come Undone" performance by Kayhan Irani,
"Planet of the Arabs," and
Community Forum
7:30 p.m. MPR (Multi-Purpose Room), Rutgers Student Center, 126 College Ave. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ For more information:info@njsolidarity
.org http://www.njsolidarity.org/
Sponsored by NJ Solidarity, NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee, Rutgers
University Women's Center Defense Coalition and more!
Endorsement and co-sponsorship list in formation! To endorse/cosponsor,
email info@njsolidarity
Experience Kayhan Irani's original performance of "We've Come Undone,"
six monologues conveying the lives of those affected by anti-immigrant
repression...see the short, "Planet of the Arabs," exposing media
stereotypes and bias against Arabs and Arab Americans...take part in a
community forum on immigrants' rights with the NJ Civil Rights Defense
Committee, the Council on American-Islamic Relations-NJ and more!
***Details***
Overview
We've Come Undone is a series of six monologues detailing women's
experiences since 9/11 and especially dealing with the INS Special
Registrations and subsequent detentions and deportations. Since December
2001, male immigrants over the age of 16 from 24 selected countries
(mostly in the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa) have been forced to
register themselves with the newly formed Department of Homeland
Security
(DHS) which includes getting photographed, fingerprinted and documented.
In the meantime many have been held without any charges lodged against
them, without access to legal advice, and even without contact from any
of their relatives. Their detention is indefinite and many have been
deported as well. None of the men detained or deported through the
registration process have had terrorist charges brought against them.
Behind this tragedy, however, lies another: the women and children. The
families that are left behind to gather the pieces of their broken lives
are living in silence, many suffering financially and emotionally as
this issue is shrouded in secrecy.
We've Come Undone puts a face to the silent suffering, the insecurity
and the injustice. It is however, not just a show about the Arab or
Muslim population but one that speaks to the simple humanity in each of
us. We as individuals are still rummaging through the heaps of our
notions tentatively, carefully, as we understand where the events of
9-11, the recent war, and the rapidly changing domestic and
international policies of the United States have landed us. We've Come
Undone explores how we relate, and struggle to relate to one another
now. What happens when lies and suspicion are allowed to permeate the
fabric of our society and embed into the weave? How does that affect our
behavior and who we become, individually and as a society? We've Come
Undone seeks to gather those loose ends, allowed to dangle for so long,
and re-introduce them into the cultural dialogue through theater.
Biography
Kayhan Irani's recent work is part of her ongoing devotion to ignite the
world with beauty and truth unleashed from unconventional and irregular
platforms. After graduating from the High-School of Performing Arts in
N.Y.C., Kayhan took time- off performing to travel and chronicled part
of her journeys for the Indian Express North American Edition. She has
performed pieces of We've Come Undone in many venues including Theater
for the New City, SALAAM Theater, Hunter College and Medgar Evers'
College.
She recently performed the role of Claire in Jean Genet's "The Maids",
and played in "7-11", a Despina Production.
She is an enthusiastic practitioner of Theater of the Oppressed and
seeks to use theater to activate and educate audiences.
Followed by a community forum on immigrants' rights!
FEBRUARY 20, 2004
NATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH MUSLIM,
ARAB AND SOUTH ASIAN IMMIGRANTS*
First they came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, but by that time, no one was left to speak up.
--Pastor Martin Niemoeller, Nazi Germany
We call on people everywhere to come together on the 3rd National Day of
Solidarity to resist the scapegoating and criminalization of Muslim,
Arab and South Asian immigrants! Take action and speak out on February
20th, 2004 as part of the National Day of Solidarity with Muslim, Arab,
and South Asian Immigrants!
Geographical Scope: Local Other |
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