Hey guys,
I’ve spent the last couple of days busying myself with the case of Jason Puracal.
Frankly, at first, I wasn’t particularly interested in getting involved with another “wrongfully convicted American imprisoned abroad” case. As fascinating and, ultimately, as rewarding as my advocacy for Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito has been, I realized that I was mentally exhausted after their exoneration and had become concerned about sheer volume of time I’d spent following their case. Although Sarah has been posting links to Jason’s website for a few months now, I just didn’t feel like there was any more room at the emotional inn for another cause.
A few days ago Sarah started posting a barrage of links and threads dedicated to Jason’s case. Partially out of curiosity and partly out of respect for Sarah’s instincts I started clicking on links and learning Jason’s story.
Awwww….CRAP!
I will spare you the details of the story as I hope, if you haven’t already, you become curious and embark upon your own inquiry. However, in addition to the many things that I’ve learned over the last few days about Jason and Nicaragua and San Juan del Sur, I was also reminded of some things that I learned as a result of my Knox/Sollecito advocacy that I would like to share.
I was reminded that ultimately my enemy is not the Italian legal system. My enemy is that dark force inside all human beings that can allow an injustice perpetrated against an individual to seem inconsequential.
I was reminded that ultimately my enemy is not the tabloid media. My enemy is power to strip an individual of his or her true identity and replace it with a cartoon.
I was reminded that ultimately my enemy is not guilters. My enemy is the flawed mechanics of the human mind that is inclined to accept as “true” the first thing alleged, and thereafter, inclined to misuse the capacity for reason to validate whatever “truth” has erroneously been accepted.
These were the true enemies of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. These are the enemies of Jason Puracal.
I was also reminded that while these enemies are both powerful and insidious, they are not invincible. Men and women of conscience and good will can battle these enemies and they can win. They can stand and say “This person whose humanity you’ve deemed as unimportant has value and the injustice you’ve inflicted upon him is unacceptable.” They can stand and say, “This person upon whose face you’ve smeared the rouge and lipstick of your own sick imaginations is not the caricature you’ve made him, and your subversion of his identity for your cynical purposes makes you not a journalist, but a monster.” They can stand and say, “A lie repeated remains a lie, and no matter where you are or how persistently you scream, I will be there will be there with the truth and the will necessary to set the record straight.”
If you haven’t already, I urge you take a good look at Jason’s case. He’s married with a small child and, although he’s done nothing wrong, this morning he woke up in a Nicaraguan prison. I think this guy could really, really use our help.
Okay, so what can you do?
First, check out the support group page set up by Jason’s family and friends at
http://freejasonp.com/ and learn about his case. During my review of the site and other materials Sarah has shared, one of the big things that struck me is how many questions remain about his situation. While the folks over at Free Jason P have done a great job with the site, it’s a lot like the FOA site – full of information, but barren of discussion. As I read through the available information, it occurred to me how valuable it has been to have this forum as a place to take the core information about the Kercher murder and pull it apart in every way conceivable. Right now, my sense is that this is exactly this robust exploration that is missing in the “Free Jason” effort. So check out the site and let’s start talking about it.
Jason’s situation differs from Amanda and Raffaele’s in a number of significant ways. Probably the most important of these is the fact that anti-Americanism is not merely a latent bias that no one is prepared to admit out loud….it’s essentially Nicaraguan foreign policy. While this is a daunting obstacle, it is also opens avenues of advocacy that were only marginally helpful in the Knox/Sollecito case. Chief among these is the effectiveness of addressing our concerns to congress. This leads to the second thing you can start doing. If you're an American citizen (or hell, even if you're not) write your representatives in congress to let them know that you’re interested in Jason’s case and fully expect them to be interested as well. The Free Jason P site provides instructions and a sample letter to send (
http://freejasonp.com/contact-government-officials/). It’s quick, it’s easy and I think, if the people over at “Free Jason P” had a Number 1 item on their priority list, it would be to get people to let our elected officials know that we care.
Finally, reach out to Jason yourself. I don’t think any of us can truly appreciate how awful a Nicaraguan prison is and as an American, Jason’s life is literally at risk every second that he spends behind bars. I think the guy is friggin’ terrified, and any words of support and encouragement that he receives are worth their weight in emotional gold! I’m going to set up a separate thread in a few minutes to talk specifically about the best way to get letters to Jason, but in the meantime, think about jotting him a quick note to introduce yourself and let him know you care. If Jason appreciates getting letters from American supporters, he's going to be blown away by any support letters he receives from people of other countries. To know that his case is not only being watched by his countrymen, but also, by people all over the world would be incredibly powerful.
