Voice of Witness

Voice of Witness is delighted to announce its collaboration with three local and national organizations for its forthcoming book telling the stories of those affected by post-9/11 backlash including Muslim, Arab, South Asian and Middle Eastern-Americans.

The organizations- CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations of California, San Francisco’s Arab Cultural and Community Center, and MPAC, the Muslim Public Affairs Council- will assist Voice of Witness in advisory roles and with community outreach and fundraising for the forthcoming book. Edited by author Alia Malek (A Country Called Amreeka) with consulting support from journalist/playwright Wajahat Ali (The Domestic Crusaders), the project addresses the rise of hate crimes and discrimination against men and women from Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian and other communities in the US after 9/11.

Editor Alia Malek describes the importance of this project, saying:
“As we approach …

ALICE

Alice was a grassroots political organizer for the Movement for Democratic Change, the opposition party in Zimbabwe. Now in her 40s, she lives undercover in a neighboring country while she waits to find out if she will be granted asylum. Here, she relives moment-by-moment her experience in 2008 of abduction and rape, sexual violence as political retribution.

My neighbor said, “I heard they are coming to get you today.”

I said, “I’m tired of running. If they want to come and get me they can come.” Less than an hour later, they came. In winter it gets dark early. It was some time after 6 pm when three cars full up with people arrived at my house. This was the 7th of June, 2008.

When I heard the sound of cars, I looked through the curtain and saw that it was …

Our forthcoming book on women’s experiences in US prisons covers a lot of ground, but one issue that surfaces continuously are issues of healthcare within the prison system. A feature on NPR this morning aptly described the experiences of many women in prison. Their experiences are strikingly similar to one Voice of Witness narrator, who was 6 months pregnant at sentencing. She was sent to the hospital prior to going into labor and was then forced to have an unnecessary c-section.  Like the women featured in NPR’s piece, she was also shackled during labor and birth, a common practice in many states.

To read the article, click here.

To help make this book possible with a donation, click here.

Voice of Witness is raising funds for a forthcoming book telling the stories of men and women who have experienced human rights abuse and other injustices after 9/11. This book will illuminate the life stories of people who have experienced the violence, violation of rights and civil liberties, and discrimination that has become widespread in the last decade. We welcome the experiences of all people affected by this issue, including but by no means limited to Arabs and Muslims, South Asians, and Middle Easterners in America, whether citizens or not. The book will be edited by acclaimed author Alia Malek, with consulting support from journalist and playwright Wajahat Ali. We aim to collect oral histories of men and women across the US to create a vital historical record of the experiences of injustices experienced by innocent people in a post-9/11 …