Beijing: Citizen Journalists, Videoblogger, Activists Detained
AUGUST 25 UPDATE: The six Tibet supporters mentioned below have all been released and are now home. More information soon.
“As a Tibetan, I want to say thank you to all of these wonderful people and their families. I know what they are going through right now is not easy. No matter what they might say. But regardless, their voices and their sacrifice at this time, means more than I can ever express.”read on…
Beijing - Brian Conley, creator of the well-known videoblog, Alive in Baghdad, was detained with his friend, Jeffrey Rae, early Tuesday, August 19th in Beijing. Their detention appears to have taken place at the same time as that of international artist James Powderly, whose detention was reported Tuesday. Three other bloggers and activists, Jeff Goldin, Michael Liss, and Tom Grant, have also been missing since Tuesday morning. Conley, 28, Rae, 28, Goldin, 40, Liss, 35, Grant, 39 are all American citizens.
Photo of “Ethnic Park” Protest taken by Detainee Jeffrey Rae on August 13th
The five “citizen journalists” and activists were in Beijing to support and promote human rights, freedom of expression, and freedom for the Tibetan people. They and numerous others have acted as an independent media centre for the dozens of pro-Tibet activists in Beijing who have sought to draw attention to the Chinese government’s occupation of during the Olympics. Rae and Conley shot and released online high-resolution photographs and footage of the recent protest by Students for a Free Tibet supporters at the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park.
Video shot by Detainee Brian Conley of “Ethnic Park” Protest on August 13th
Beijing: Ethnic Park Protest - Aug. 13, 2008 from Students for a Free Tibet on Vimeo.
According to hotel staff, Rae and Conley checked out of their hotel in Beijing before dawn Tuesday morning. At 12:30pm Beijing time on Tuesday, Conley’s wife in Philadelphia received a text message from him reading “In Jail. All fine.” A “twitter” message to Students for a Free Tibet suggested that they were being held with James Powderly, the artist and co-founder of Graffiti Research Lab who was preparing to debut a new work and technology of protest, the L.A.S.E.R. Stencil. (See http://freetibet2008.org/globalactions/jamespowderly/)
The detention of the citizen journalists comes amidst reports Tuesday and Wednesday that iTunes has been blocked by China’s internet firewall, likely due to its sale of a pro-Tibet album, “Songs for Tibet – the Art of Peace.” The producers have encouraged Olympic athletes to download the album free of charge as a gesture of support for Tibet and freedom of expression.
Students for a Free Tibet has staged seven protests in Beijing over the last two weeks, placing the issue of Tibet’s occupation front and centre as China hosts the Olympic Games. The protests have included a dramatic banner hang near the Bird’s Nest Stadium; a display of Tibetan flags near the Bird’s Nest just before the opening ceremony began; a symbolic die-in at Tiananmen Square; a protest by a Tibetan woman with flags outside Tiananmen Square; a blockade of the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park; and “Free Tibet” banner hang outside the CCTV headquarters. Thirty-seven members and supporters have been detained and deported, not including those detained today.
ABOUT ALIVE IN BAGHDAD
Alive in Baghdad employs Iraqi journalists to produce video packages each week about a variety of topics on daily life in Iraq. Through the work of a team of Americans and Iraqi correspondents on the ground, Alive in Baghdad shows the conflict through the voices of Iraqis. Alive in Baghdad brings testimonies from individual Iraqis, footage of daily life in Iraq, and short news segments from Iraq to you.
http://aliveinbaghdad.org
ABOUT BRIAN CONLEY
Brian Conley been shooting video since 1997. He began working in video with the hope of telling interesting stories that might not otherwise be seen. Although he first imagined himself as a narrative filmmaker, he soon moved to documentary and journalism work. In 2004 and 2005, through screenings of his film “Libertad y Justicia para Todos”, he raised money for an initial trip to Baghdad in October of 2005. After producing written and video work on his own in 2005, in 2006 he began the second phase of Alive in Baghdad (http://aliveinbaghdad.org). At the end of 2006 Brian formed Small World News with Steve Wyshywaniuk, in the hopes of expanding the Alive in Baghdad model to establish similar projects, or bureaus, around the world. In November ‘06 he travelled to Oaxaca City and elsewhere in southern Mexico to begin SWN’s next project, Alive in Mexico.
ABOUT JEFFREY RAE
Jeffrey Rae was born and raised just outside of Philadelphia in Wayne, PA. He graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2003 with a degree in photography. Over the years Jeffrey has spent much time documenting social and economic movements both in the United States and abroad. In November of 2006 Jeff went to Oaxaca, Mexico with Alive in Baghdad founder Brian Conley just after the murder of their friend and videographer Brad Will by local police there. They had been planning to go to Oaxaca for months to work on a video blog, “Alive in Mexico”. In the last 5 years since college Jeff has been working full time doing communications for labor unions and now resides in New York City.
Michael Liss, 35, New York
Michael Liss does film programming and business development for the Vail Film Festival, and is a freelance project manager in New York City. He has traveled extensively around the world, and spent time in Tibet with an SFT board member. If you’re reading this now, then it’s his first time being detained. Go Red Sox.
Jeff Goldin, 40, New York
In his own words: “I’m a 3rd/4th generation NYer born and raised in and around manhattan- I currently live somewhere between los angeles and manhattan nyc. I was raised to be a Jew but my christian nannies made sure i knew about jesus so by the time I could think i began to question religion in general..I traveled a LOT at an early age and it’s safe to say i took the path less traveled on most occasions.
why am i doing this? not something I can easily type but……..imagine if some people stood up to hitlers germany when the death camps started? and got the media involved ( that’s my answer for my jewish parents ) but my personal reason is something like ….for all the religions in the world that I’ve heard of and know something about…the basic teachings of His Holliness are the best example of how i try to live my life on a daily basis. and what i personally believe life is all about…and the voice of the Tibetan people MUST be heard - non violence is the only true way to peace so I’m ready to lend a hand.”
Tom Grant, 39, New York
Tom is a documentary filmmaker who grew up in New York City. His work as a filmmaker has taken him to India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan….anywhere there is a story to be told.
Most recently Tom has been working on a documentary on the international Polio epidemic for Google.org. In January of 2002 Tom traveled to Afghanistan to document the lives of families and children affected by the US bombing of Afghanistan. Tom was first camera and co-producer of the resulting documentary which won an Emmy Award. Tom is a regular contributor to Rollingstone.com.
