Meriam Yahya Ibrahim Who Has Been Condemned for Her Christianity Gave Birth In Prison

… to her second child, a baby girl Maya

 

Meriam Yahya Ibrahim, 27, gave birth to her second child five days earlier while shackled to the floor inside a filthy Sudan prison. The mother of two made headlines after a Sudan court sentenced her to a horrific death solely because of her Christianity, which has since sparked international outrage. Meriam’s American husband, Daniel Wani, is desperately fighting for her freedom before it’s too late.

 

This story continues to break our hearts.

 

Meriam, 27, was sentenced to death by hanging earlier this month after being found guilty of converting from Islam to Christianity and marrying a Christian man, U.S. citizen Daniel Wani, who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire.

 

She will receive 100 lashes before she is executed – sometime in the next two years.

 

Before the birth, Meriam made the defiant claim that she would rather die than give up her faith.

 

In a heart-wrenching conversation with her husband during a rare prison visit, Meriam told him: ‘If they want to execute me then they should go ahead and do it because I’m not going to change my faith.’

 

An Islamic Sharia judge said she could be spared the death penalty if she publicly renounced her faith and becomes a Muslim once more.

 

Meriam insists she has always been a Christian and told her husband she could not ‘pretend to be a Muslim’ just to spare her life.

 

Meriam was arrested in mid-September, three weeks after her second child was conceived.

 

She told him: ‘I refuse to change. I am not giving up Christianity just so that I can live.

 

‘I know I could stay alive by becoming a Muslim and I would be able to look after our family, but I need to be true to myself.’

 

Daniel, a 27-year-old biochemist, revealed his wife’s defiant stance during an exclusive interview with MailOnline at his modest home in the dusty Sudanese capital city of Khartoum.

 

At first the couple dismissed the allegations against them as trivial, but when the case grew more serious Daniel went to the American Embassy in Khartoum for help.

 

‘I thought this would be the one place which would help me, but they told me they didn’t have time to do anything,’ Daniel said. ‘I was upset because now that I am American citizen I thought they would help me.

 

‘I was threatened. They said “well your wife isn’t American, so we can’t help”. I felt disgusted. My home is in America and still they won’t help. It’s getting uglier and it’s not going in the right direction.’

 

Mr Wani said the State Department asked him to provide DNA evidence proving that Martin was his biological son.

 

He added: ‘I have provided wedding documents and the baby’s birth certificate, but this is clearly not enough. It’s very upsetting that they don’t believe me.

 

‘They want me to take a DNA sample in Khartoum, then send it to the US for testing. It’s as if they don’t believe a word I say.’

 

They say the marriage is void. Now, even my wife is no longer my wife. And my son is not mine and my new daughter is not mine. They say I am a stranger to them.

 

Her lawyer, Mohaned Mustafa Elnour, a Muslim, has received death threats for defending her but has already lodged an appeal. If he does not succeed at the Appeal Court, he will take the case to Sudan’s Supreme Court.

 

Speaking from his office in a ramshackle building close to the River Nile, he said: ‘Once this case became public there was only one way that this case was going to go.

 

‘The clamour for a guilty verdict from the Sudanese press and from government figures intensified and they got what they wanted. There is a large section of the public here that want her to be hanged.

 

‘But even if Meriam was freed she would never be able to live in Sudan again. It just wouldn’t be safe.

 

‘There are many Muslims who are very angry with this situation and they say that if the court doesn’t kill her then they will when she is released.

 

A petition calling for her release had last week reached more than 650,000.

 

Selected comments:

 

“I first read this story over a week ago about Merriam’s terrible plight I find it totally outrageous that the world leaders have sat around and left this woman and her family to this in humane fate.”

 

“How the hell can this be happening in these modern times? It is like something from the middle ages. I hope something can be done to get her out of there.”

 

“What is being done to help this poor family? This is shameful and all humanity must hang their heads in shame if this goes ahead. No one should be persecuted because of ‘religion’”

 

“And yet President Obama has done NOTHING and said NOTHING. John Kerry – NOTHING. Michelle Obama has no hashtag for Meriam Ibrahim. Its disgusting.”

 

“For all those Mothers who complain about Midwifery care in the UK….. Just stop and think about the drugs, medication, clean sheets, expertise and care you were given….. then think about what this woman possibly went through.”

 

“Unfortunately, this woman’s story is emblematic of what goes on daily in countries that don’t acknowledge or respect human rights or human dignity . . . “Their” God is an enigma to me; “their” religious practices, barbaric.”

 

“Poor woman! I admire her for her faith and courage can you imagine a Muslim being arrested in a christian country and forced to convert or die? Where is moderate muslim outrage? She is blessed in that this case is making mainstream news many nationals of Islamic countries that convert are murdered. I hope this will shine the light on christian persecution all over the world as for sudan what a wicked country they must be so afraid that if they give people freedom of religion or belief many will desert national religion. I am believing she will be rescued!!! Please any kind hearted muslim speak up for her”

 

“I’m not surprised she wants to be a christian and not a muslim if that is the kind of behaviour they believe to be acceptable.”

 

“This brave woman is an example to Christians everywhere to stand up for their faith and she is a huge inspiration to stay true and a confirmation to the doubters that Christianity is a faith worth dying for!”

 

“May The Lord have mercy and spare her life. It’ll be a great testimony.”

 

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Three Waves of Resource-Driven imperialism: The Battle For Water

ነጠብጣቦቹን ለማገናኘት……ቱሎው ኦይል በመባል የሚታወቀው እንግሊዛዊው የነዳጅ ዘይትና ጋዝ አውጪ ኩባንያ ጥቁሩን ወርቅ / የሰይጣንን ደም ከአገራችን ቅዱስ ምድር ቆፍሮ ለማውጣት ሲሠማራ: “ይህች ምድር ውኃ እንጂ ዘይት የላትም አለ።”

ለመሆኑ ቆሻሻው ዘይት ወይስ ቅዱሱ ውኃ? የቱ ይሻለናል?

የጥንታዊቷ ግሪክ የታሪክ ሊቅ፡ ሄሮዶቶስ፡ ረጅም እድሜ የሚሰጥ ቅዱስ ውኃ በኢትዮጵያ ምድር ይገኛል ሲል ጽፎ ነበር። ምናልባት ይህ አስቀንቷቸው ይሆን እኛ ኢትዮጵያውያን እንድንራብና እንድንጠማ የእድሚያችን ዘመንም በጣም እንዲያጥር የተደረገው? ሰሞኑን በኢትዮጵያ በህይወት የመቆየት እድሜ ከ45 ወደ 64 ከፍ አለ ተብሏል፡ ታዲያ መንስኤው ያላችሁን ሁሉ መተው ነው፡ ዘመናዊውን አኗኗር ምረጡ፤ በጤፍ ፈንታ ድንች ብሉ፣ በጠላ ፈንታ ቢራ፥ በውኃ ፈንታ ፋንታ ጠጡ ሊሉን ይሆን? ለነገሩ በማለትም ላይ ናቸው! ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ከሃያ ዓይነት በላይ የታሸጉ ውኃዎች ቢኖሩም በጥራት የብቃት ማረጋገጫ የወሰዱት ስምንት ብቻ ናቸው።

በአሁኒቷ ዓለማችን ወኃ ከምንም ነገር ይበልጥ ውዱ ንብረት እንደሆነ እንገነዘባለን። ታዲያ ያልተነካና ያልተበከለ ንጹህ ውኃ ከቅዱሳን ተራሮቿ ሥር የተቀበሩባት አገራችንን ከዚህ ጋር በተያያዘ ሆን ብለው ብዙም አያነሷትም። እነዚህ ነዳጅ ያወጡ ዘንድ ወደ አገራችን የሚመጡት ተቋማት እውነት ዘይትን ብቻ የምፈልጉ ይመስለናልን? ለመሆኑ በአሁኑ ጊዜ በአገራችን የሚታየው የመጠጥ ውኃ እጥረት ከምንስ ጋር የተያያዘ ይሆን? ጥማተኞቹ ከብበውናል!!

 

Water is to the twenty-first century what oil was to the twentieth century: the commodity that determines the wealth and stability of nations.

 

People who think that the West’s interventions in Iraq, Libya and Syria are only about oil are mistaken. Broadly speaking, Western interest in the Middle East is becoming increasingly about a commodity more precious than oil, namely water.

 

According to the U.S.-based Center for Public Integrity, Western nations stand to make up to a US$1 trillion from privatizing, purifying and distributing water in a region where water often sells for far more than oil.

 

Although over two thirds of our planet is water, we face an acute shortage. This scarcity flies in the face of our natural assumptions. The problem is that 97 percent is salt water. Great for fish, not so good for humans. Of the world’s fresh water, only one percent is available for drinking, with the remaining two percent trapped in glaciers and ice.

 

Put differently: if all the water on earth was represented by an 11-litre jug, the freshwater would fill a single cup, and we can only access the last drop.

 

Nature has decreed that the supply of water is fixed; all the while, demand is rising as the world’s population increases and enriches itself. By 2030, climate change, population growth, pollution and urbanization will compound, such that the demand for water globally is estimated to outstrip supply by forty percent.

 

Increasingly, for water to be useful, it needs to be mined, processed, packaged, and transported, just like gold, coal, gas or oil. Unlike oil, there are no substitutes, alternatives or stopgaps for water.

 

There have been three waves of resource-driven imperialism in the modern era.

• A quest for gold

• Thirst for oil

• The Battle For Water

A quest for gold fueled the first wave. Old-fashioned colonialists, regal and unembarrassed, rode in on horseback, brutally took control of American territories, sent in ostrich-plumed governors, minted coins with the Queen’s head on them, and gazed proudly over natives toiling away in perilous mine-shafts. An unprecedented kidnapping of millions of Africans ensued, so as to replace the indigenous Americans that had initially been exterminated by their European conquerors. This coincided with white pioneers brutally conquering Southern Africa, also in search of gold.

 

The second wave of imperialism has been driven by an unquenchable, post-industrial thirst for oil.

 

Modern petro-imperialism, the key aspect of which is the U.S. military’s transformation into a global oil-protection armed force, puts up a democratic facade, emphasizes freedom of the seas (or pipeline routes), and seeks to secure, protect, drill, and ship oil, not to administer everyday affairs. Nevertheless, the means by which the U.S. is centering its foreign policy around oil is hardly new in spirit, albeit unprecedented in scope.

 

The third wave of imperialist wars is currently being fought over nature’s most valuable commodity: water.

 

Prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, CIA analysts reported on a prediction of a new theater of war: hydrological warfare, “in which rivers, lakes and aquifers become national security assets to be fought over, or controlled”. These predictions became realized in quick succession, beginning with the recent wars in Iraq, Libya and Syria. It is now clear that the age of hydro-imperialism is upon us.

 

On April 17, 2003, in Iraq, the American company Bechtel received a no-bid reconstruction contract from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for US$100 billion; thus, making it the largest Iraq reconstruction contract. Therefore, the most lucrative Iraq reconstruction contract was not used to repair oil facilities, build schools and hospitals, or to repair bombarded infrastructure: it was used to source, process, and distribute water.

 

The secretive, opaque and no-bid nature of the water contract award process is made even worse by one incredible fact. Bechtel has botched many of its previous projects.

 

In California, Bechtel installed one of the nuclear power plant reactors backwards. In Boston, what promised to be a US$2.5 billion job for an infamous “Big Dig” project became the most expensive in U.S. history costing US$14.6 billion. The tunnel project was plagued by charges of poor execution, corruption, criminal arrests, and even four deaths.

 

In Bolivia, Bechtel`s record is one of privatizing water by inflating prices by 35 percent. The inflation caused public riots, in which several people died. Bechtel was ousted from the country and tried to sue the Bolivian government for canceling their contract.

 

Since the turn of the century, Iraq was the first casualty of hydro-imperialism, and Colonel Gaddafi’s assassination marked the second. Libya sits atop a natural resource more valuable than oil: the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer, which is a vast underground reserve of fresh water, estimated to be the largest in the world. Mr. Gaddafi had invested $25 billion into the aquifer, which had the potential to turn a country that is 95 percent desert into an arable oasis. As it now stands, France’s global mega-water companies: Suez, Ondeo, and Saur, control almost half of the world’s $400 billion water market. They are poised to rake in billions of dollars from Libya’s eighth wonder of the world.

 

Mr. Gaddafi had intended the scheme to be designed by Libyans, constructed by Libyans, for the benefit of the Libyan population. Now it is being redesigned by Frenchmen and women at inflated costs, constructed by French contractors, largely for the benefit of French shareholders. Libyan taxpayers will undoubtably be stuck with the bill and higher water bills.

 

The most recent case of hydro-imperialism is the war in Syria. Israel has been leading a Western campaign to support Syrian rebels; in part, because its leaders assert that the Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, poses an existential threat to Israel on the issue of water. Assad has vowed to reclaim the Golan Heights – a strip of land that Israel captured from Syria in the Six Day War of 1967. The Golan Heights provides a staggering 40 percent of Israel’s fresh water.

 

“Syrian control of half of our water poses more of a threat than Iran with one bomb”, once remarked ex-Israeli intelligence head, Meir Dagan.

 

Assad has also been reticent to privatize the water industry and expose the population to predatory pricing, thereby preventing the West from tapping into a multi-billion dollar revenue stream.

 

Mr. Assad`s refusal to play ball on water privatization and his choice to play hardball over the Golan Heights meant that the Syrian President, like Mr. Hussein and Colonel Gaddafi before him, is an obstacle to the West`s hydro-imperialist agenda.

 

Control of nature`s most precious and increasingly valuable commodity will, for any nation, spell the difference between greatness and decline. Mr. Hussein, Colonel Gaddafi and a defiant Mr. Assad know that all too well.

 

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