I haven't written on my blog in ages. I have been following the story on Saeed Abedini for awhile now. I decided to try an experiment in contacting our U.S. Senators. Below is a brief synopsis of my experience and an email to family and friends:
Some of you know that I am following the plight of Saeed Abedini. He is an American imprisoned in Iran for basically being a Christian. His wife has worked tirelessly on his behalf to try and secure his release. We all get moved by different stories at different times and this one has struck a cord with me. Saturday there are prayer vigils around the county on his behalf. There's one at the Capitol at 10:00 a.m.
What I really wanted to share with you was my experience of calling our two U.S. Senators to see what someone does if this happens to one of us. No, I'm not planning to go to a foreign country and end up jailed anytime soon, but I was curious about the process.
I started with Sen Franken's D.C. office and they said two things: call the State Department and call our St. Paul office. The St. Paul office staffer had very little idea of what to do.
I called Sen Klobuchar's office and was told something similar - call the White House and call our Mpls. office. The Mpls office staffer at least knew that I would have to be a close family member and would have to fill out a form similar to a Power of Attorney that would give them permission to work on my loved one's behalf.
UGH! I can't believe that advocating for a family member is that complicated. Here we are *supposedly* the most powerful country in the world, and our elected officials offices have very little idea of what to do in a situation like this. In addition, the attitude I got from 3 out of the 4 people I talked to was "not my problem."
So why share this with all of you?
1. If God moves you, please pray for Saeed Abedini. His family needs him home. He is being treated horribly.
2. The experience of calling for help to our US Senators showed me that there's a big disconnect between our representatives and issues of their constituents. Sure they're busy, but I would think if a constituent called and was looking for help, they'd want to do everything possible to help. Nope. They just want to get on with their day.
If you have interest, google Saeed Abedeini and learn more. I know, we're all busy, but what if this was our dad, brother, friend etc?
Thanks for reading,
Scott
