Looking Back on the International Day for Shia Rights

Last week people around the world commemorated the first annual International Day for Shia Rights in honor of the 1700 soldiers killed at Camp Speicher in 2014. Broadly speaking, the day was meant to engage people in a discussion about ending all religious oppression, regardless of belief system, especially when children and youth are involved. This year’s events focused primarily on bringing awareness to the 550 minors detained in Bahrain due to their participation in peaceful, lawful protests. Each day children in Bahrain sacrifice their futures and are subjected to torture, imprisonment, and sometimes death, in hopes of creating a better future for their country. It is for this reason that Shia Rights Watch dedicated International Day for Shia Rights 2015 to these children by launching both an international social media campaign and a ‘Rose for a Rose’ campaign in D.C. The International Day for Shia Rights is not about religion, ethnicity, or politics, instead it is about raising awareness of the human rights violations that people struggle with around the world. This is why volunteers were happy to see people of all races and religions participating in the two campaigns both in person and on social media.

On June 10th and 11th, Shia Rights Watch volunteers spent hours preparing 1100 roses to be handed out over the course of the two days. Every rose was tagged with a message about human rights as well as a number, counting from 1 to 550. Each rose handed out was representative of one of the children in Bahrain that would not have the opportunity to spend time with their family, go to school, or have fun because of their illegal imprisonment. It only took volunteers and hour and a half each day to hand out all 550 roses and by the time volunteers were done on the first day, people were already using the hashtag #612ShiaDay on social media telling us which rose number they received. By the end of the day Friday 27 posts were made to Facebook, 124 to Instagram, and 149 posts to Twitter with countless retweets. The reach of the campaign extended well past the American borders and touched people all around the world.

Over the days of the campaign three notable things occurred. First, the reach of the social media hashtag far exceeded our initial expectations proving that, given the opportunity, the necessary information, and the tools to do so, people want to engage and have this type of conversation. Secondly, by using the roses as a material substitute for each imprisoned child, the emotional impact was much stronger for the people receiving the roses and they were able to understand the extent of the issue both in a basic, factual manner, as well as in an emotional context. And finally, participation in the rose campaign crossed ethnic, age, socioeconomic, and religious lines. The people who stopped to talk to volunteers and participate in discussions did so due to a genuine interest in how they can make things better. Looking back on the International Day for Shia Rights it is easy to say that awareness of the issue of minority rights spread around D.C. – one rose at a time.

International Day of Shia Rights 2015

Published in Communities Digital News

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2015 — The first International Day of Shia Rights, June 12, is an effort to bring attention to the daily human rights violations against Shia Muslims.

Shia Rights Watch established the International Day of Shia Rights one year after 1,700 Shia soldiers were killed at Camp Speicher outside of Mosul, Iraq. This was the deadliest single event of anti-Shiism in 2014.

The campaign notes that abuses against Shia are daily occurrences around the world. By bringing attention to the situation, Shia Rights hopes to improve the chance of gaining justice.

As an example of the problem, Shia Rights notes that currently more than 550 Bahraini Shia minors are in prison cells instead of in classrooms. Their absence from study groups, lunch tables and classroom discussions is emblematic of the suffering inflicted upon the Shia community in Bahrain. Children whose academic and professional futures were once boundless are now burdened by months of unlawful detainment.

These children were arrested for participating in periodic demonstrations. Crackdowns by Bahraini security forces over the past couple of years have sent thousands of Bahraini children into police custody.

In Pakistan, Shia are targeted for assassination. The government does little to stop this process or to bring perpetrators to justice.

Over the last few weeks, Shia mosques in Saudi Arabia have been bombed. While ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, the Saudi government bears responsibility for the anti-Shia climate in the country.
The two main ways you can get involved in this campaign are through social media and by contacting your public officials. On social media, use the hashtag #612ShiaDay to increase the visibility of this day. Call your senators and representatives and urge them to co-sponsor H. Res. 105 and S. Res. 69. These two pieces of legislation call for the protection of religious minorities, including Shia Muslims.

By simultaneously informing our peers and our congressional representatives of these atrocities, we work to create a culture of respect for basic human rights at all levels of American society.

This campaign will not be easy, but Shia Rights Watch is working towards chipping away at the strong forces resisting positive change around the world. I am lending my voice to the pursuit of peace and justice and hope you join me in doing so.

International Day of Shia Rights: Freedom for Bahrain

On June 12, 2014 ISIS militants transported hundreds of Iraqi plain clothed air force cadets to Camp Speicher under the promise of returning the cadets to their families. What ultimately ensued was one of the deadliest Shia massacre in Iraqi history. With 1,566 Shia casualties and only one known survivor, June 12th lives in infamy. However, Shia Rights Watch aims to transform the negative stigma associated with the day into a day of remembrance and change. On June 12th, 2015 Shia Rights Watch has established International Day of Shia Rights to bring current human rights violations into the international spotlight.

The theme of this year’s International Day of Shia Rights focuses on the illegal incarceration of 550 Bahraini minors. On December 28, 2014 Bahraini opposition leader, Sheikh Ali Salmon, was arbitrarily arrested under charges of supporting a regime change. This led to several days of peaceful riots in which Shia protestors were met with tear gas and rubber bullets from the non-Shia backed government. The Bahraini government sought to strip the youths of their voice, but in defiance, they still managed to accept the consequences and speak up to their oppressors.

Despite the ratification of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Bahrain has grossly disregarded the regulations associated with signing these documents. The detainment of Salmon and the 550 Shia minors directly violate Article 9 of the ICCPR:

Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law”.

The international community must come together and hold Bahraini authorities accountable for their transgressions. With civilian riots as recent as May 29th, the political instability demands immediate intervention. This call to action and the demand of freedom for the Bahraini minors is what International Day of Shia Rights seeks to promote. With terrorist organizations like ISIS directly calling for war against Shiites in the Arabian Peninsula, awareness and interference has never been needed more.

In an effort to combat Bahrain’s illegal detainment, Shia Rights Watch strongly encourages the public to participate in International Day of Shia Rights. This can be done a number of ways, such as participating in their international awareness campaign, on June 10th 1:00-2:00 pm at Farragut Square and on June 11th 4:15-5:30 pm at Dupont Circle. SRW’s project entails the distribution of free roses with messages that draw attention to the cause. We ask that you join social media campaigns through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram using the hashtag #612ShiaDay. Shia Rights Watch also encourages you to write to you congressional representative in support of H.Res 105 and S.Res 69. For more information on these resolutions, the human rights violations occurring around the world, or on how to get involved, visit SRW’s website at shiarightswatch.org.