Amar Wala
The Arrest of John Greyson and Tarek Loubani
It’s been nice to see the outpouring of support for the two Canadians arrested in Egypt recently. One of those Canadians is of course a good friend, mentor, and former professor of just about everybody working on ST5. In fact, if it weren’t for John Greyson, ST5 and my short film The Good Son wouldn’t even exist. So as you can imagine, hearing John and Dr. Loubani had been detained without charge in Egypt had a serious impact on our whole crew, and we continue to be frustrated that they have not been released to date (September 3, 2013).
We have however been happy to see the support their arrest has galvanized here at home, both from everyday people and Canadian authorities. People are outraged, and rightfully so. Imagine for a moment that we flipped the script here. Imagine if two Egyptians were arrested in Canada and detained without charge. Imagine for a second that, like John and Tarek, these individuals were accused of serious crimes - crimes that are completely implausible, and downright laughable to their loved ones.
Now imagine that despite the very serious allegations, no charges are laid against these individuals for days, months, even years. Imagine that in all that time, they’re never told why the government believes these things about them. Imagine that neither they, nor their lawyers are allowed to see the evidence against them. Imagine that a decade goes by, with their families still waiting for answers. Sounds ridiculous, right?
Those of you following the making of The Secret Trial 5 know that I’m being facetious, and that the unthinkable scenario I just described is the all-too real story of Mahmoud Jaballah and Mohammed Zeki Mahjoub. Combined, these two men have spent the last 25+ years living under a security certificate in Canada. This includes about 13 years in prison WITHOUT CHARGE. They are accused of being terrorists, accusations that they deny. And much like John Greyson and Dr. Loubani, when their families ask for answers, they receive little in return. Like John, Mr. Jaballah is a teacher, but unlike John, who was merely traveling through Egypt, Mr. Jaballah was building a life here when he was detained. As was the case with Mr. Mahjoub. This includes working here, making friends here, and having Canadian kids.
It’s easy for us to point the finger at Egypt and denounce its actions. It’s easy to say, “those people over there, they’re the crazy ones, holding our citizens without charge!” It’s much harder to point that finger at ourselves. It’s much harder to hold ourselves accountable for the blatant human rights violations taking place in our name. My point is not that we shouldn’t be outraged at the treatment of our friends being held in Egypt, we should. But as our friend and supporter Chris Wiseman recently wrote, “we cannot continue to fight "terrorism" in the way that we do, without expecting that other governments will also use arbitrary and undemocratic measures against people…”
To be frank, I sincerely doubt that the plight that John and Dr. Loubani face will cause any self-reflection here at home. The Canadian public has made it clear that they don’t care much about these issues. Perhaps we’re kidding ourselves in believing that when The Secret Trial 5 is done, it will spark a conversation Canada desperately needs to have with itself.
But if John has taught us anything, it’s that when art and activism come together in just the right way, the results can truly inspire.
On behalf of the ST5 crew, a deep and sincere thank you to everyone working so hard to ensure the safe release of John Greyson and Dr. Tarek Loubani.
Please visit, share and take action: www.tarekandjohn.com
Amar Wala – Director, THE SECRET TRIAL 5
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