Support Adnan and Emin

One year ago today two young men, bloggers, in Azerbaijan were jailed. Amnesty International has declared both men to be prisoners of conscience. One of these young men is the son of a colleague of mine.

Right before I visited Baku this past May, Adnan and Emin were moved to separate jails outside of the city. The stories his poor mother told me of the prison… 

The English language fails me at a moment like this. Pray; sign petitions; follow their stories; blog about the injustice; anything to keep them in the forefront of the news, in the public eye, and to let the Azeribaijan government know that this is not acceptable. They must be freed.

Heading out

It’s been a long five (six?) weeks. We had a lot of fun, got to see lots of friends, spent a lot of time with family. But it’s been a long visit to the US.

We miss our cat, miss having our own space and our routines. We’re also getting a bit tired of correcting people to say “Ukraine” instead of “the Ukraine”. But that’s not nearly as bad as the many friends and acquaintances who still think I live in Russia, not understanding that Ukraine is a separate country entirely. *Sigh*

I stopped calling this trip “vacation” about 3 weeks ago – we’ve been working our tails off pretty much non-stop. Igor did manage to get in a few days of just fun and relaxation at a friends’ farm in Texas (can’t wait to see the picture Eilene! 🙂 ), while I was in DC for a conference. I wish I could have been there with him when he bought his cowboy hat, но что делать? What can you do?

We both feel good about the work we were able to help others with during this trip. No regrets by any means. I’m just looking forward to a vacation! 🙂