Statement from Families of 3 Hikers Held in Iran
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 11, 2009
STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILIES OF
SHANE BAUER, SARAH SHOURD AND JOSH FATTAL
The families of Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal are releasing the following statement regarding their children’s detention in Iran.
“It is now twelve days since our children were detained in Iran, when they strayed across the border while on a brief hiking vacation in Iraqi Kurdistan. As loving parents, nothing causes us more heartache than not knowing how our children are, and not being able to talk to them and learn when we will hold them in our arms again. Shane, Sarah and Josh are young travelers who share a great love of the world and a deep respect for different cultures, societies and religions. We believe that when the Iranian authorities speak to our children, they will realize that Shane, Sarah and Josh had no intention of entering Iran and will allow them to leave the country and reunite with their families. We continue to hope that this misunderstanding will be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, are graduates of the University of California, Berkeley.
Bauer has been living in Damascus, Syria since the Fall of 2008 and is a student of Arabic. He is a freelance journalist and photographer who has written from the Middle East. He has never reported from Iran.
Shourd lives with Bauer in Damascus, where she teaches English and had been studying for the Graduate Record Examination in preparation for graduate school. She has written occasional travel pieces from the region.
Fattal is an environmentalist who worked at the Aprovecho Research Center in Cottage Grove, Oregon, which teaches sustainable living skills. Fattal had a Teaching Fellowship with the International Honors Program’s “Health and Community” study abroad program in the Spring semester of 2009. Fattal was visiting Bauer and Shourd in Damascus prior to their hiking trip in Iraqi Kurdistan.
