Sabrina
08-11-2009, 12:44 AM
<style></style>:heart:OKILI UPDATE AS OF AUGUST 10, 2009
Since Okili got back home on July 17, 2009, we've been just so happy that he's home. He of course is working around the house like crazy getting all his things in order. When they'd picked him up he'd been right in the middle of so many projects when he was siezed by the ICE officers that April 20th morning. He's really happy to be back with his various enterprises and endevers. We really want to take a healing break with our family somewhere on a remote island vacation location, but we still have work to do to ensure our freedom of movement around the world as citizens of it. We really have a message to get out about the learning experiences we've all had with this immigration ordeal.
For one, I Sabrina, have had a very intense learning experience; I've been moved to tears about how our beautiful communities were able to come together to help us the way they did. The support we received during the FREE OKILI event on May 22, was overwhelmingly the message of the mass spirit of love and determination talking through all of us. This is really what a community is all about; many parts making up the a whole; just like the ocean, the universe, the macrocosm and microcosm speaking as one. And we are connected and joined by many different communities independent of one another and yet becoming a greater part of the whole as they are actually intertwined with one another like twisting vines, as nature is our role model.
We cannot accomplish this without you; we all need oneanother, and must not forget to continue to ask for what we need of one another. We speak in a mass voice and we are heard - we hear one another; the community hears us; the world hears us. We have a message.
In addition to working on the case to legalize my husband from home, there is a greater message we have learned and want to expose; that of the prison industrial complex and it's relationship to ICE and Homeland security. Okili has stories to tell, and I have insights about all of this. It is a lot to write, and one day I hope to have the time to do it. Or perhaps the right people will interview us to collect the information properly.
New Lawyer
Finally we can speak about our new lawyer. During all of this ordeal, when it bacame clear that we would need to change lawyers, we really didn't want to speak about it too much on line as it felt like a sensitive subject. But now we are happy to announce our new lawyer Ms. Florence M. Ndedi who's offices are located in Oakland CA.
Meeting w/ Congress Woman Lynn Woolsey Aug. 11 (Today)
We've been on the waiting list to meet with Lynn Woolsey. Even though I was told that her office could do nothing to help us, as a constituent of Lynn's for probably the last 20 years in all of her political positions, I did not give up. I insisted on getting on the waiting list for an interview. Just last week I got a call that they had a cancellation for an apt. today. Even though it's only 15 minutes or less, we took the apointment. Initially I thought I'd bring a whole crowd in with me, but they seemed a bit concerned with knowing exactly who and how many were coming in, so I just kept it simple. I will be presenting to her all of our case; our marriage certificate, petition of signatures, other letters of affidavit, his receipts for membership to the class action law suit (NWIRP vs USCIS), and other immigration filings, and anything else we think of. She will have all her own copies to keep. We will be asking her for an affidavit of support or some such letter.
RADIO INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
So far we've already had an interview on KRCB's Northbay Report with Bruce Robinson, and just today with Emmanuel Nado of San Jose's KKUP "voices of Africa" Program.
We just set up an apt. with Dennis Burnstien on KPFA's Flashpoints, for this FRIDAY, Aug. 14, at 4:30 PM (show starts at 5). YES!!
This SUNDAY Night, Aug. 16, at about 9:00 PM during David Sharp's Music International Program (world music program featuring a lot of African stuff) on KBBF, we will be calling in to interview, and have also arranged to have Amadou Camara play live on the show, (a preview of his playing for the Welcome Home Party)Listen to David's whole show from 8 - 10 PM Sunday.
SATURDAY August 22, at 1:00 PM we will also be on KBBF's woman's voices with Amy Contardi doing an in depth interview (I think it's a full hour).
MONDAY. August 24, we will again interview with Emmanuel Nado on San Jose's KKUP's "voices of Africa" program, 4:30 PM.
TEUSDAY, August 25 we will come on again with Amy Contardi on KRCB, at 10:00 PM probably also interviewing with one of the musicians that will perform at the Welcome Home Party (still to be determined).
We also intend to inteview on Guerneville's low power station KGGV with John Chapman (a.k.a. "Milo) and we're open to more interviews with anyone else.
SUPPORT IS STILL NEEDED:heart:
Although we have accomplished alot, we are not through with this yet. We still have a ways to go, fees to pay, etc. and are still graciously accepting donations. If anyone wants to contact us or donate funds, you can go to Okili's webpages at: ChipIn: Okili's Legal Funds (https://okili.chipin.com/okilis-legal-funds). Also feel free to email us at [email protected].
:heart::heart:WELCOME HOME PARTY FOR OKILI - FRIDAY AUGUST 28, 2009:heart::heart:
Here's the press release I sent around:
On Friday, August 28, 2009 there will be a Welcome Home Party celebrating the release of Okili Nguebari from the ICE Detention Facility where he had been held for 3 months in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">ELOY</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">AZ.</st1:state></st1:place> The event, serving also as A legal fundraiser for on going actions to resolve the still unsettled case, will take place at The Sebastopol Community Center with doors opening at 6:30 PM. There will be a dinner and drinks available for purchase, and a sizzling danceable line up of live African, <st1:place w:st="on">Caribbean</st1:place>, soulful, inspirational, and original music. There is a $20 suggested donation at the door.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Last April 20th, 2009, Okili, who had married His American wife, Sabrina Krauss, 22 years ago, and who fathered and co-parented their two American born children, was unexpectedly seized from the front of his Santa Rosa home of the last 15 years by 6 Dept. of Homeland Security ICE officers. They arrived in three unmarked cars, and spirited him away to a privately owned detention facility in the remote AZ dessert, with the intent of deporting him from the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Just as unexpectedly he was released on July 17 to the <st1:city w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:city> Greyhound station in which he boarded a bus and came back to his home in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Rosa</st1:place></st1:city>. It is assumed that he was released due to the fact that he is a member of an immigration class action law suit regarding the Amnesty of 1987-1988, NWIRP vs USCIS in which he is currently protected from deportation. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Also, considerable support has been received from the community as the result of a successful event held last May 22, 2009 at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Sebastopol</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Community Center</st1:placetype></st1:place>. That event generated the legal funding that has taken us this far. Also there was assistance from Senator Mike Thompson’s office in the form of phone calls to the ICE detention center. There were signatures collected, letters written, phone calls made, all pressuring for his release.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
We are celebrating his homecoming with an African inspired dinner /dance party, and continued legal fund-raising. Entertainers include Midnight Sun, Olembe Nguebari, Sky-I and Inna Riddim, Sandor Diabankouezi, Sang Matiz, Lucky Otis, Belly dancer Sarafina, and many more. This event will also be a time for healing all those friends and family who were hurt by this disastrous and scary, situation, nearly removing a popular and well loved community member from his village and wife and children. For more information call Sabrina at 707-320-9383 or the Sebastopol Community Center at 707-823-1511.
:shaddanccouple:
Since Okili got back home on July 17, 2009, we've been just so happy that he's home. He of course is working around the house like crazy getting all his things in order. When they'd picked him up he'd been right in the middle of so many projects when he was siezed by the ICE officers that April 20th morning. He's really happy to be back with his various enterprises and endevers. We really want to take a healing break with our family somewhere on a remote island vacation location, but we still have work to do to ensure our freedom of movement around the world as citizens of it. We really have a message to get out about the learning experiences we've all had with this immigration ordeal.
For one, I Sabrina, have had a very intense learning experience; I've been moved to tears about how our beautiful communities were able to come together to help us the way they did. The support we received during the FREE OKILI event on May 22, was overwhelmingly the message of the mass spirit of love and determination talking through all of us. This is really what a community is all about; many parts making up the a whole; just like the ocean, the universe, the macrocosm and microcosm speaking as one. And we are connected and joined by many different communities independent of one another and yet becoming a greater part of the whole as they are actually intertwined with one another like twisting vines, as nature is our role model.
We cannot accomplish this without you; we all need oneanother, and must not forget to continue to ask for what we need of one another. We speak in a mass voice and we are heard - we hear one another; the community hears us; the world hears us. We have a message.
In addition to working on the case to legalize my husband from home, there is a greater message we have learned and want to expose; that of the prison industrial complex and it's relationship to ICE and Homeland security. Okili has stories to tell, and I have insights about all of this. It is a lot to write, and one day I hope to have the time to do it. Or perhaps the right people will interview us to collect the information properly.
New Lawyer
Finally we can speak about our new lawyer. During all of this ordeal, when it bacame clear that we would need to change lawyers, we really didn't want to speak about it too much on line as it felt like a sensitive subject. But now we are happy to announce our new lawyer Ms. Florence M. Ndedi who's offices are located in Oakland CA.
Meeting w/ Congress Woman Lynn Woolsey Aug. 11 (Today)
We've been on the waiting list to meet with Lynn Woolsey. Even though I was told that her office could do nothing to help us, as a constituent of Lynn's for probably the last 20 years in all of her political positions, I did not give up. I insisted on getting on the waiting list for an interview. Just last week I got a call that they had a cancellation for an apt. today. Even though it's only 15 minutes or less, we took the apointment. Initially I thought I'd bring a whole crowd in with me, but they seemed a bit concerned with knowing exactly who and how many were coming in, so I just kept it simple. I will be presenting to her all of our case; our marriage certificate, petition of signatures, other letters of affidavit, his receipts for membership to the class action law suit (NWIRP vs USCIS), and other immigration filings, and anything else we think of. She will have all her own copies to keep. We will be asking her for an affidavit of support or some such letter.
RADIO INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
So far we've already had an interview on KRCB's Northbay Report with Bruce Robinson, and just today with Emmanuel Nado of San Jose's KKUP "voices of Africa" Program.
We just set up an apt. with Dennis Burnstien on KPFA's Flashpoints, for this FRIDAY, Aug. 14, at 4:30 PM (show starts at 5). YES!!
This SUNDAY Night, Aug. 16, at about 9:00 PM during David Sharp's Music International Program (world music program featuring a lot of African stuff) on KBBF, we will be calling in to interview, and have also arranged to have Amadou Camara play live on the show, (a preview of his playing for the Welcome Home Party)Listen to David's whole show from 8 - 10 PM Sunday.
SATURDAY August 22, at 1:00 PM we will also be on KBBF's woman's voices with Amy Contardi doing an in depth interview (I think it's a full hour).
MONDAY. August 24, we will again interview with Emmanuel Nado on San Jose's KKUP's "voices of Africa" program, 4:30 PM.
TEUSDAY, August 25 we will come on again with Amy Contardi on KRCB, at 10:00 PM probably also interviewing with one of the musicians that will perform at the Welcome Home Party (still to be determined).
We also intend to inteview on Guerneville's low power station KGGV with John Chapman (a.k.a. "Milo) and we're open to more interviews with anyone else.
SUPPORT IS STILL NEEDED:heart:
Although we have accomplished alot, we are not through with this yet. We still have a ways to go, fees to pay, etc. and are still graciously accepting donations. If anyone wants to contact us or donate funds, you can go to Okili's webpages at: ChipIn: Okili's Legal Funds (https://okili.chipin.com/okilis-legal-funds). Also feel free to email us at [email protected].
:heart::heart:WELCOME HOME PARTY FOR OKILI - FRIDAY AUGUST 28, 2009:heart::heart:
Here's the press release I sent around:
On Friday, August 28, 2009 there will be a Welcome Home Party celebrating the release of Okili Nguebari from the ICE Detention Facility where he had been held for 3 months in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">ELOY</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">AZ.</st1:state></st1:place> The event, serving also as A legal fundraiser for on going actions to resolve the still unsettled case, will take place at The Sebastopol Community Center with doors opening at 6:30 PM. There will be a dinner and drinks available for purchase, and a sizzling danceable line up of live African, <st1:place w:st="on">Caribbean</st1:place>, soulful, inspirational, and original music. There is a $20 suggested donation at the door.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Last April 20th, 2009, Okili, who had married His American wife, Sabrina Krauss, 22 years ago, and who fathered and co-parented their two American born children, was unexpectedly seized from the front of his Santa Rosa home of the last 15 years by 6 Dept. of Homeland Security ICE officers. They arrived in three unmarked cars, and spirited him away to a privately owned detention facility in the remote AZ dessert, with the intent of deporting him from the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Just as unexpectedly he was released on July 17 to the <st1:city w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:city> Greyhound station in which he boarded a bus and came back to his home in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Rosa</st1:place></st1:city>. It is assumed that he was released due to the fact that he is a member of an immigration class action law suit regarding the Amnesty of 1987-1988, NWIRP vs USCIS in which he is currently protected from deportation. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Also, considerable support has been received from the community as the result of a successful event held last May 22, 2009 at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Sebastopol</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Community Center</st1:placetype></st1:place>. That event generated the legal funding that has taken us this far. Also there was assistance from Senator Mike Thompson’s office in the form of phone calls to the ICE detention center. There were signatures collected, letters written, phone calls made, all pressuring for his release.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
We are celebrating his homecoming with an African inspired dinner /dance party, and continued legal fund-raising. Entertainers include Midnight Sun, Olembe Nguebari, Sky-I and Inna Riddim, Sandor Diabankouezi, Sang Matiz, Lucky Otis, Belly dancer Sarafina, and many more. This event will also be a time for healing all those friends and family who were hurt by this disastrous and scary, situation, nearly removing a popular and well loved community member from his village and wife and children. For more information call Sabrina at 707-320-9383 or the Sebastopol Community Center at 707-823-1511.
:shaddanccouple: