Jane Novak
Jane Novak irritates the living daylights out of the Yemeni government. She’s like a gnat that’s constantly buzzing around them and bringing world attention to the struggles of the people of Yemen and corruption in the government there. Its an odd relationship they have. She’s a New Jersey mother, housewife and blogger who has never been to Yemen and doesn’t speak their language. Yet she’s been able to be a catalyst for so much change in Yemeni that the government has a list of names for Novak. My personal favorite is when they called her a ‘docile pupil of the Monkey Monk’. I have no idea what that means, but it makes me laugh out loud every time I read it.
Jane owns the Armies of Liberation blog and has recently been calling attention to the story of Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, a Yemeni journalist who is currently facing sentencing for criticizing the government there and …. being friends with ‘The Evil Novak’ (that’s Jane!). He is facing a possible death sentence for writing stories that the government didn’t approve.
Jane Novak and her fight for the life of Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani was featured in an article in the New York Times this week.
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Jane Novak, a 46-year-old stay-at-home mother of two in New Jersey, has never been to Yemen. She speaks no Arabic, and freely admits that until a few years ago, she knew nothing about that strife-torn south Arabian country.
And yet Ms. Novak has become so well known in Yemen that newspaper editors say they sell more copies if her photograph blond and smiling is on the cover. Her blog, an outspoken news bulletin on Yemeni affairs, is banned there. The governments allies routinely vilify her in print as an American agent, a Shiite monarchist, a member of Al Qaeda, or the Zionist Novak.
The worst of her many offenses is her dogged campaign on behalf of a Yemeni journalist, Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, who incurred his governments wrath by writing about a bloody rebellion in the far north of the country. He is on trial on sedition charges that could bring the death penalty, with a verdict expected Wednesday.
More stories have followed as well as appearances on CNN and BBC. There is outrage around the world. This is a government that freed the terrorists who bombed the USS Cole, but will put to death a journalist who believes in democracy and is trying to bring about change in his country.
One woman with one blog is making an impact in the world. You can too. Just sign the letter to the Yemen government asking them to respect democracy and spare the life of Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani. Your signature probably won’t result in you getting called a ‘docile pupil of the Monkey Monk’, but it’d be kind of cool if it did.
Read about Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani at Jane’s blog.
Fight on, Jane Novak! I’m proud to be your friend!
