Comments on: 5 things you can do to help free the hikers

By: mayssa

mayssa — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 12:32:42 +0000

i watch oprha i was atracted by this story i really hope that the boys get home again, i m just 15 years pld so i can´t do alot of things 2 help but i promis u 2 tell your story 2 every one d i´m go in 2 ask god for help d i´m shore that things will change just keep the faith

By: Andreas Moser

Andreas Moser — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 06:35:05 +0000

As Shahrzad mentioned, I was imprisoned in Evin in June 2009. Even though I was very lucky to be released after just one week, it was quite tough. And I had to discover that one week was enough to have a huge impact on one’s personality. Unfortunately, such an experience doesn’t leave you just when you walk out of the prison.

By: Sandy Brisbane

Sandy Brisbane — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:31:57 +0000

I think the mother was right to cover her head. It is all very well for us to watch the video and sympathize but the best way to make progress is for the Iranians to consider this video. The mother looks properly considerate and respectful of their culture. If she appeared anything less, why would her daughter be thought of any differently?

By: SF_Infidel

SF_Infidel — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 07:55:01 +0000

Why on Earth did the mother cover her head?

By: Shahrzad

Shahrzad — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:08:22 +0000

Just because the Iranian people are hospitable does not mean its government officials and prisons are. I have family members and friends in Evin, and have read countless accounts of prisoners (now released) that tell of the torture, physical and psychological, and hell of solitary confinement that is something you cannot call “comfterable.” So before you blur the line between the Iranian’s hospitality and the regime’s tyranny in the same place, read the testimonies of Roxana Saberi, Maziar Bahari and Andreas Moser (all citizens of a country besides Iran).

By: BCOT

BCOT — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:21:25 +0000

I feel for these families. I hope that their loved ones eventually are released. I must say though…I’m all for adventure, but what in the hell were they doing in Iraq near Iran? I mean, really. With all the places on earth you can go…why were they even near this place? I have much respect for adventurous people. However, some people think the world is their playground, they’re ready to venture anywhere, and it’s just not worth their lives, or the hurt it causes loved ones, when things like this happen. This is not the governments fault, and they can not make the Iranians release these people, who probably should have chosen a different vacation destination.

By: 5 Matador Members to Meet Right Now: The Journalists’ Edition

5 Matador Members to Meet Right Now: The Journalists’ Edition — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:10:16 +0000

[...] Her trip gave her plenty of writing material–so much so that she spent the period following her return from the trip writing a memoir about it. Her memoir finished, she’s now looking to pick up where she left off as a journalist. You can read more about her in this interview or on her blog. And don’t forget Matador contributor Sarah Shourd, one of the three Americans detained in Iran. Learn more about how you can help the effort to free Shourd and her friends in “5 Things You Can Do to Help Free the Hikers.” [...]

By: The 2010 Olympics from a Traveler's Perspective | Vancouver Olympic Games 2010 | Kaleidoscopic Wandering

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:38:32 +0000

[...] is exactly the way the travel community reacts. If something should happen to any one of us (like Matador contributor Sarah Shourd, who is currently being detained in Iran), we would honor that person because they are one of [...]

By: Kia

Kia — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:31:28 +0000

It is noble what you’re doing for the hikers, but it is vain, the Iranians only keep them because the U.S kidnapped (or detained, depends what side your own) 4 Iranians in Iraq for up to 2 years, without access to lawyers, or family. So, you can expect the Iranians to hold these people for at least the same amount of time, without access to their families. It is a tit-for-tat situation, which the American authorities know, and understand very well. That’s why they don’t really say, or do anything on behalf the hikers, because they know it’s just a game with the Iranians.

Another option in prisoner exchange, but I doubt Washington considers these hikers important enough to do that.

So, it’s just a waiting game. Don’t worry about them TOO much, they are probably comfortable, and reading a lot, and learning Farsi. The Iranians are very hospitable, even to foreign prisoners.

By: Sandra Shove

Sandra Shove — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:39:05 +0000

I plan to help spread the word. Hope my efforts will help!