# blog free ahmed issa, april 2009

Voices, images and perceptions

Carl Mercer, april 2009

In the last week the campaign to “Free Ahmad Isa” has shifted gears and launched a renewed focus on public awareness. M2M Radio (Migrant to Migrant) and All Included have in the last week unveiled two key platforms in their campaign to represent the ‘scapegoat’ of the Schiphol Fire: a window exhibit (located at Ferdinand Bolstraat 6) and a theatrical production.

The challenge of course is to attract the attention of the average citizen. With minimal media attention and three and a half years since the actual event, the ‘Schiphol Fire’ has receded in the memories of most Dutch citizens and has probably taken on a ‘case closed’ feel. For the “Free Ahmad Isa” campaign the goal then is to once again raise the issue as one of importance, and, if possible, to ignite sympathies and understanding for a cause not too well understood or acknowledged.

As a grassroots campaign, run mostly on volunteers, donations and communal support, the effort has been considerable and the results impressive.

On Tuesday the 21st of April a window exhibit was made available at Ferdinand Bolstraat 6 in Amsterdam and will remain available for one week. With a speaker located on the street and a film admonishing the mistreatment of detainees playing on repeat, it is an easy opportunity to attract attention. Work from such artists as Ghalia Elsrakbi, Libia Castro and Olafur Olafsson were featured here.

While it is the film and the sounds which will initially attract the passerby, I personally feel that it is the subtle compliments which will have the most impact. On the one hand is a map and floor plan of a typical detention centre, demonstrating the prison-like and confined nature of the environment. On the other hand is a series of custom made post-stamps, each depicting separate detention centres throughout the country and crowned with the words ‘the Netherlands’. These two additions illicit emotional responses, first by portraying the conditions whereby detainees reside, and second by positing this image on a stamp, which is typically a symbol of national pride and adorned with images of heroics and patriotism. For the casual observer who is otherwise unaware of the issue, these images will, at the very least, raise questions.

On Wednesday the 22nd of April the first ‘tryout’ of a theatre production was shown for some 60 individuals. With the participation of the victims of the ‘Schiphol Fire’ the drama consisted of a series of 4-monologues surrounding and pertaining to the Schiphol fire and detainment in general, the depiction was both graphic and emotional, offering varied characters by talented actors in portrayals that were candid, amusing, and sometimes uncomfortable in their honesty. Again, imagery and language were employed extensively to reach out to viewers and tap into sentiments. The opening scene, a difficult to watch portrayal of a man wrapped in plastic and frantically trying to breath/scream/escape, immediately sets the stage for the rest of the show, and sets the mood of the piece and the campaign as a whole.

The campaign to “Free Ahmad Isa” will not be an easy one, burdened by delays in the trial and financial/logistical constraints, however both the window exhibit and the soon to be finalized (and again presented) theatre production demonstrate that public support and creative ideas go a long way.