Update 6/5/14 - Consider sending a card or letter to Miriam
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Update 5/28/14 - From the Family Research Council:
American Children Imprisoned in Sudan: Does Obama Care?
Today, as you read this, two innocent children -- a toddler and a newborn baby, who based upon available evidence are American citizens -- lie in a Sudanese prison while their mother awaits execution for the "crime" of following Jesus.
Already mother of 20-month old named Martin, Dr. Meriam Ibrahim gave birth to her second child, a daughter, in the prison clinic in Khartoum. This unusual delivery venue is because Meriam recently was sentenced to death in Sudan for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. Meriam was born of a Muslim father, but her father abandoned the family. Meriam became a Christian and married a Christian man who is a United States citizen -- a fact that makes her two children eligible for American citizenship.
At this point the Sudanese government has refused to entertain Meriam's release, and has refused to turn over the children to their father upon the claim that her marriage is not valid because she married a Christian. Now, Meriam and her two American babies languish in Khartoum's Omdurman Prison -- a place which a 2008 United Nations report said had an infant mortality rate of one infant death per day in the summer months.
The situation is critical. The lives of the babies and their mother hang in the balance. While many international groups have taken up efforts to pressure the Sudanese government to release Meriam and her children, the Obama administration has said little, and done nothing.
Think about this: two innocent American children are imprisoned abroad as their life hangs in the balance. If President Obama will not act in a situation like this, what will he act upon? Does Obama care?
The President has at his disposal the means to quickly grant Meriam and the children the ability to come to the U.S.; once here, she could seek permanent asylum. He could also put great pressure on the Sudanese government over this gross human rights violation. He could do any number of things, but President Obama's inaction speaks volumes about his diminished view of what being an American means. Apparently the latent American citizenship of these children is not a status the President sees as worth acting upon.
Help us today pressure the Obama administration to take action. Join me in signing a petition we have created on the White House website to move the President to pave the way for Meriam and her children to seek asylum in the U.S. If it reaches 100,000 signatures in 30 days, the White House, according to the guidelines they have established, must respond to the petition.
We may not have 30 days. Please sign the WhiteHouse.gov petition.
Me: I signed the petition. Please do so as well.
** Original post 5/21/14: What good is the State Department and U.S. Consulates if they won't stand up for American citizens abroad?
From the Family Research Council:
For three months, a young Christian wife -- now almost eight and a half months pregnant -- has been shackled in a Sudanese prison on death row. Authorities, who refuse to recognize her marriage to a Christian man, have sentenced her to 100 lashes for adultery and execution for her faith.
As if that weren't horrifying enough, her stateside husband, Daniel Wani, an American citizen, says their 20-month-old toddler is behind bars with her, enduring unspeakable horrors at the hands of the oppressive Sudanese. Her frantic husband, who continues to plead with the U.S. Embassy for help, flew from New England to Khartoum to visit his wife, Meriam Ibrahim -- and was beside himself to find her bound up and swollen. For now, authorities refuse to release his son to Daniel, because of his faith. Although the court gave Meriam days to recant her Christianity, she refused, saying, "I am a Christian, and I will remain a Christian."
And while the court does allow pregnant women to give birth before their hanging, the international community is pressing to overturn the verdict. Unfortunately for Daniel, his home country has barely lifted a finger to help the family, saying only that it was "disturbed" by the case. Yesterday, in a shocking exchange with CNSNews.com, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki showed the absolute indifference of the Obama administration toward this family's nightmare. Asked if Daniel was in fact a U.S. citizen, Psaki told CNSNews, "Typically we don't confirm those type of details, but I'm happy to check and see if there's more to share." "You don't know whether that little boy in prison is a U.S. citizen?" CNS fired back. "I don't have any more details to share," Psaki answered.