Taking Refuge

So, a rough day is enough to precipitate a retreat. Such a wonderful retreat, however. One of the things I always appreciate about Nottingham (in comparison to Salisbury, which, lovely though it is, is a backwater) is that there are cinemas here that screen films I actually want to see. The other week I finally saw Waltz With Bashir, and it was worth the wait. Tonight I went to see The Wrestler (in fact, I immersed myself in it completely, and came up drenched in sweat and tears).

I'll note my thoughts on it tomorrow (clue: I liked it), when I can gather them. Suffice to say, combined with a stop-off at Lee Rosy's, it was a fairly perfect evening and I felt positively resurrected walking home, my day of dissertation-toil and application-frustration well behind me. But for now I just want to note that the feature was preceded by this trailer, the first time I've seen it in full:

Sure enough, Milk is next in my list of must-sees. I don't even care that it could be a bit of an Oscars love-in, or that it's one of those deliberately serious-accessible films. I care that this is almost as 'important' as a film could conceivably be dubbed, and it is as emphatically pro-equality with regard to sexuality as you could say Malcolm X or Remember The Titans were with regard to race (for some reason I don't award Brokeback Mountain this accolade, maybe unfairly, but in some way I don't feel it made the same point).

So within my (admittedly myopic and goldfish-like) experience, this is sort of a watershed event in cinema, possibly similarly to Milk's real-world impact. Gays are OK, in a slightly schmaltzy way. Maybe I'm just emotional tonight, but I can't wait.

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I know, I know, I'm so melodramatic. But here it is, and it's no big surprise; I'm tired of listening to partisan arguments for the time being, and more tired still of participating. It's a shame because I've often learnt valuable things in such discourse, both about myself and the subjects in hand. But the internet is an uncivil place. Maybe it's the anonymity, the testosterone, or the ease of finding allies in a global network. At any rate this over-abundant aggro taints everything, and it's boring.

While I thought I had a sense of humour, I'm clearly not terribly thick-skinned, and I wouldn't care to be either. It hurts me in some way to see so much hatred, both casual and calculated. I can't find the precise quote (I do need to watch Stalker again soon; I will correct this later) but when man is born he is sensitive to all things and drinks them in, and when he dies he is cold and hard as stone. Anyway, this is all a bit E/N but, like, whatever.

Staying Alive

Hicham was due to be deported today, but there's been good news. The original removal directions have been cancelled. It's good news, but he's not out of the woods yet!

Please, if you're interested, keep an eye on freehichamyezza.wordpress.com/. There are facebook groups, one for the nottingham network, one global, from which information is being disseminated!

A Worthy Cause

I'm afraid I'm no expert, I shall have to cut and paste, but this is a worthy cause and deserves support:

Stop The Deportation Of Hicham Yezza!

(from facebook group)

Hicham Yezza, a popular, respected and valued former PhD student and current employee of the University of Nottingham faces deportation to Algeria on Sunday 1st June. That's NEXT SUNDAY.
This follows his unjust arrest under the Terrorism Act 2000 on Wednesday 14th May alongside Rizwaan Sabir and their release without charge six days later.

On his release Hicham was re-arrested under immigration legislation and, due to confusion over his visa documentation, charged with offences relating to his immigration status. He sought legal advice and representation over these matters whilst in custody. On Friday 23rd May, he was suddenly served with a deportation notice and moved to an immigration detention centre. The deportation is being urgently appealed. Hich maintains he will be able to sucessfully fight deportation in the courts.

Hicham has been resident in the U.K. for 13 years, during which time he has studied for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Nottingham. He is an active member of debating societies, a prominent member of an arts and theatre group, and has been writing editorials for the Student Peace Movement magazine for the last five years. He is well known and popular on campus amongst the university community and has established himself as a voracious reader and an authority on literature and music. An application for British citizenship was underway, and he had been planning to make his yearly trip to Wales for the Hay Festival when he was suddenly arrested.

There's more information at http://freehichamyezza.wordpress.com/ which has information as to how you can help. But if you've only a limited amount of time and still want to do something, please do the following:

1. Sign the e-petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/freehich/ this is FREE (despite the conspicuous donation ad) and will take a minute MAX.

2. Send an e-mail to home secretary Jacqui Smith at the home office informing her of your support of Hicham's case and asking her to stop the deportation of this man who is being dealt with without trial. A template and e-mail address are available at http://freehichamyezza.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/model-letter-to-the-home-office/.

There's an awful lot to this, none of which I can claim to totally understand. A complex set of worrying implications for academic freedom and right to due process. But I cannot explain these. All I would hope is that Hicham gets an opportunity to defend himself in court before anyone can eject him from the country he's lived in for 13 years.

Thanks for any time you can give.