A Call From Joseph Hitti For Help
January 12/07

Dear Friends,

Attached is a Call for Help from one the fledgling, non politically-affiliated Lebanese Human Rights organizations, SOLIDA (Support for Lebanese Detained
Arbitrarily). The organization is directed by Wadih Asmar and Marie Daunay, whom I know personally very well - I do translation work for them, cataloging each of the hundreds of cases of Lebanese prisoners and detainees in Syria. They just opened a rehabilitation center in Dora in Beirut, in which they are helping former Lebanese prisoners in Syrian jails readjust to their country, their families, to a life where no one offers them work, etc. I know the stories. I have translated every single testimony by these former detainees. The Syrianized Security Services recently attacked and ransacked SOLIDA's offices, and stole their equipment, because they were raising the issue of the mistreatment of prisoners by in Lebanese jails.

These people are truly laying the foundation for future human rights work in Lebanon, which must be done to bring this area of civil society in the country up to par with political change and economic development.

I sent out their latest CALL FOR HELP campaign a couple of weeks ago, but sadly the response from the entire Lebanese Diaspora worldwide has been a mere
couple of hundreds dollars, most of which in fact came from European, not Lebanese, donors. All they need is $1,000 a month. That's not extravagant. I personally
put in $50 a month.

Please help them. We, in the Lebanese Diaspora, should really translate our words and our "glory" into action in meaningful tangible ways. $25 or $50 a month will
go a long way to help these pioneers meet their monthly needs. Go to their web site and start your regular monthly donation via Paypal.

I have attached the flyer we sent out worldwide. The President of the group, Marie Daunay, sent me a desperate e-mail in which she wonders how can the
Lebanese demonstrate by the thousands for weeks in downtown Beirut or spend wildly on extravagant showoff dinners and cars and what have you, but will do
nothing to support the real hard work of cataloging, writing, documenting, appealing, lobbying, interviewing, counseling, and all the difficult leg work one has to dedicate to this arguably the most noble of causes: Help our former prisoners and create a truly compassionate society for the future in Lebanon.

Thank you for your help and for disseminating this message as far and wide as you can.
Joe Hitti

Neal Web Site http://www.neal-us.org