Al-Arian, a freshman and a member of the Muslim Student Association, told participants at the meeting what life in the United States has been for her "growing up a Muslim experiencing racism and hatred." About 25 people participated in the January 21 campus gathering, which was sponsored by the Alliance of Concerned Students and the Campus Greens.

Calero, associate editor of Perspectiva Mundial and a Militant staff writer, came here as part of a national speaking tour organized by his defense committee in New York. Tour events in the Midwest and the West Coast have successfully built support for his fight against the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) attempt to deport him.

Leena Al-Arian brought flyers to the meeting urging participants to join the March for Justice for her father, USF professor Sami Al-Arian, who has been banned from campus for more than 14 months. He will be returning for a grievance hearing against the university’s campaign to fire him. Branded by the administration as a supporter of "terrorism," Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian, has been targeted for his longstanding and outspoken support for the rights of his people.

Earlier in the day, Calero met with the Palestinian fighter, who endorsed his fight to remain in the country. Sami Al-Arian explained that Calero’s fight, and those of countless others, "are all one fight."

Nancy Tyson, member of the faculty union, greeted Calero, saying, "I welcome you, Róger, on behalf of the United Faculty of Florida."

The faculty union is engaged in a struggle with the administration over its attempts to fire Sami Al-Arian as well as its efforts to use recent changes in governance of the Florida university system to undercut union rights. She noted that "at USF all of the faculty are now being forced to operate under ‘temporary, emergency rules,’ although no one can tell us what the emergency is."

Pointing to her blouse she continued, "I am wearing this button, ‘I do not speak for USF’ for two reasons--one, in solidarity with Dr. Al-Arian, and also because one of the new rules is that all faculty must state that we do not represent USF when we speak."  
 
Attacks target all workers
Participants in the meeting agreed with Calero when he pointed out that airport screeners were told that union rights are not compatible with the "war on terrorism," and that what the government wants is a docile workforce. He said that the increasing attacks on immigrants make it easier for the bosses and their government to go after the rights of all workers. "I found in Los Angeles that there are still memories of the internment of Japanese during World War II, and the surprising thing is that two-thirds of those incarcerated were U.S. citizens."

Calero spoke about the resistance occurring across the country--from the demonstration of thousands in Los Angeles protesting the arrests of hundreds of Iranians who went to the INS office to comply with forced registration, to the Somali workers who have recently won a stay of deportation, to workers at Dakota Premium Foods in St. Paul, Minnesota, fighting for dignity on the job, to Palestinian activists on a hunger strike in the Passaic County, New Jersey, jail.

Leena Al-Arian added that her uncle, Mazen Al-Najjar, had been imprisoned by the INS for three and a half years on secret evidence under legislation approved by the Clinton administration.

After September 11 Al-Najjar was rearrested for overstaying his visa, held in solitary confinement for more than six months, and finally deported to Lebanon, she said, and that he had lived in the United States since 1981 and has three children born and raised here. As a result, he and his family have been uprooted to a country with an unfamiliar culture, and a language they don’t speak.

Responding to a question as to whether Calero thought he was being targeted for writing for two publications that defend workers, the socialist journalist said, "No, this is happening to many thousands."

Calero related how he was called by a reporter from his home town for an interview while still in the INS jail in Houston and asked him, "How did you get in there?" "How did you get the scoop?" Calero’s articles from jail exposed that hundreds of other detainees facing similar circumstances. "There is no scoop!" Calero answered. "Everywhere I go, I’m meeting all sorts of people who have been victimized or know someone who has."

Nahla Arian, Sami Al-Arian’s wife, commented that "relatives in the Arab world are now fearful for those of us who are living in the U.S. They have a new perception that we are living in a horrible place." She asked, "How is the image of the United States in Latin America?"

Calero responded, "In general, we in the United States are ignorant of the resistance taking place all over Latin America, and they have no idea that we are engaged in these fights here." He explained that the conferences that he had been covering in Havana and Guadalajara are important forums where these experiences can be exchanged.

At the close of the meeting, Nahla Arian told Calero, "These attacks are forcing us to organize and come together. I never thought I would be building alliances like this."

The USF campus newspaper, the Oracle, covered the meeting on the front page.
 
 
Related articles:
Florida: farm workers, students hear Calero speak on fight against deportation
Campus paper reports on antideportation fight
Calero joins picket line during Miami tour
Support the Róger Calero Defense Committee
Róger Calero Defense Campaign Tour  
 
 
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