Friday, January 03, 2003 :::
 
The Perch is back now, with new posts for a new year.

A friend of mine directed my attention to this article, which says that hundreds, if not thousands, of Californian Muslims are being detained in detention centers right now. According to the article, most of the detainees are from the Los Angeles area and were arrested for "routine visa irregularities". The article makes the point that these people were registering themselves under new anti-terrorism laws, but are now held in conditions that are being called "inhumane".

The ACLU has said that this treatment of Muslim detainees is similar to the Japanese detention camps created by the War Department in the early years of America's involvement in World War II. For a look at the history of these camps (from the National Park Service), click here.

I'm worried that we're going to regress to a time when entire groups of people have their civil rights violated, who are plucked from their homes and forced to endure hardships only because they fit a profile. If this thing with the Muslim detainees is true to the degree stated in the article, I think the public needs to be know about it and consider speaking out. I urge everyone to watch and read the news very carefully this year and to be aware if the government ever does cross the line.

::: posted by Andrewski at 4:08 PM