One year ago, Frisco, Texas high school graduate Saad Nabeel was getting ready to go off to college at the University of Texas at Arlington where he had been awarded a full scholarship. Although he had been born in Bangladesh, he had been living the USA since the age of three, and had attended Texas schools for grades six through twelve. When his father was deported by US immigration authorities in Nov. 2009, Saad’s life suddenly changed for the worst. Now he is using the computer skills that he learned in Texas to campaign for a return to the country that he has always called home.
Saad, a thin, frustrated 19-year-old boy with a Beatle haircut, is sitting on the bed. He is waiting for the electricity to come on again after yet another power failure, so that he can start up his laptop and get back on the Internet. It’s his connection to the United States and his old life — a life that was significantly better than his current life in Bangladesh. — 08/05/2010 “The YouTube Weapon: One Man’s Virtual Fight against Deportation” By Uwe Buse, Der Spiegel
Thanks to a tip from longtime friend Ralph Isenberg of Dallas, the Texas Civil Rights Review has been in contact with Saad for several months. Saad helped your editor complete his first Skype call from Texas to Bangladesh. And we are planning more coverage of his case in the future. Stay tuned. And don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for Saad’s friends.–gm
Texas Civil Rights Review 