A Message to Roxana Saberi

For those who may not know: Roxana Saberi is an American journalist who has been imprisoned in Iran. Roxana was fascinated with Iran in part because of her Iranian heritage. She has constantly expressed a deep love for Iran and the Iranian people. She was originally detained for purchasing a bottle of wine. Her 8 year prison sentence is for alleged espionage based on a coerced confession.

Roxana,

You have the support of millions of Americans and many more millions of people around the world. You are in our hearts, on our minds and in our prayers. You are a symbol of what it means to pursue your passion honestly and diligently. You were imprisoned for simply wanting to your job to the best of your ability and to share your deep interest in the Iranian people with the world.

Please take this support to heart and remain strong. Those who imprison you have temporarily taken control; they cannot take the power you have to continue your work. Power is your ability or capacity to act or perform effectively; your story is now reaching millions of people who were previously unaware of your work. Your captors have in fact given you more power!

To fully utilize this power you have to stay strong!

It was reported in the TimesOnline-UK that you are considering a hunger strike. Reza, please reconsider this action! Harming yourself in any way will do nothing to deter your captors. If they have the audacity to imprison an American citizen during these challenging times they are obviously firm in their resolve to use you to further their agenda at whatever personal expense to you.

I personally implore you to stay focused on your return home to the people who love you. Your father is doing everything in his power to affect your return and many will be joining his efforts. Draw on the strength of resolve your father and others are employing to bring you back home.

Keep yourself healthy. Feed your body on whatever resources your captors provide and nourish your mind and spirit on the thoughts and prayers of all of us who are following your story.

You are obviously a powerful and driven young woman. You're already extremely successful in the challenging and highly competitive field of journalism. You chose to report from a country which has historically seen foreign journalists as a threat. You knew that going to Iran was much more dangerous than reporting from the safety of the States; still you felt a calling to go and report first-hand.

Draw on the deepest reserves of your physical, emotional and spiritual power not only to survive, but to return to us as a dynamic force for understanding the complex dynamics of the Middle East. You are, in fact, continuing the incredible vocation you have chosen. You've got to stay strong and healthy so you can return home and share your experience with the world.

Your captors have restricted your physical freedom for the moment. It's up to you to preserve your liberty. You have the power to stay strong and return home. I personally look forward to hearing your reports on this ordeal and with many others; will follow your story to your safe return and beyond.

Best thoughts always!

Jim Bouchard

It is my hope that somehow, Roxana will receive these words of encouragement. I hope at the very least she'll find out that many people are following her story, respect her courage and will be keeping her in our thoughts and prayers.

Please help spread this message by adding your thoughts and forwarding these sentiments to your networks. Together we can create a critical mass that will somehow reach Roxana and her family so they will know they have our support.