0 OPINION Page 4 Thursday, September 28, 1989 TheM*hlgan Daily. Av Terry Boulatta is a twenty two year old Palestinian political prisoner from Bir Zeit University. She majored in Sociology be- fore the closure of her university. Boulatta has an undiagnosed liver ailment, but her attempts to receive proper medical diagno- sis and treatment have been continually hampered by her arrest and detention by the Israeli authorities. She is in the United States for medical treatment. While in Ann Arbor, Daily reporter Dima Zalatimo had a chance to interview Boulatta. Daily: Terry, you have been in and out of prison several times starting on November 4,1987. Why were you imprisoned and charges were brought against you?, Boulatta: The charges brought against me were student activity in the student coun- cil. I was secretary of the arts committee which used to bring cultural and folkloric groups to campus. That got me two months of detention in 1987. Then the following year on November 14, on the eve of Palestinian Independence I was arrested for three days, during which I was interrogated. As punishment, I was placed in a vertical "coffin." Since I had just been released from the hospital that morning after having a liver biopsy, I started bleeding. Two hours later, I fell unconscious. I was released due to my de- teriorating condition. I was hospitalized until mid-December. I was arrested again on February 12. This time I had a secret file, so neither I nor my lawyer were informed of the charges against me. I was held for twelve days un- til they released me for health reasons. They scheduled my trial on March 8, International Women's Day. My fourth imprisonment was on March 8 when I ap- peared for trial with health reports explain- ing my condition. Despite that, the judge issued an order for my arrest. Only then was I informed of the charges against me. I was in prison for three months and six days until June 15, 1989, after the inter- tew from an Israelip central prison like Tel Monde prison. The first stage for any prisoner is inter- rogation in the detention center. You are kept in isolation in a small cell, with your arms handcuffed behind your back and a dirty sack over your face. You would sleep like this all night. After interrogation, you are taken to an- other cell that you share with other pris- oners and it is there that you await your trial.When I was in Mascobiya, we started singing once and the soldiers immediately came and started beating us and they con- fiscated our sponge mattresses that we slept on. We were singing because there was a bride with us. She had just gotten married and her husband was waiting out- side for her. The sentenced women are kept in the cen- tral prisons. We were only allowed to walk around outside twice a day and were kept under very strong surveilance. We would be punished for singing or wearing the colors of the Palestinian flag. When I left prison, our families were not allowed to visit us. They also threw out all the books the Red Cross workers brought us. The only medication I was given in prison was valium for my pain. Daily: Many people have said the experi- ence of being imprisoned in Israeli jails is a form education in terms of developing your national identity. Do you agree? Boulatta: Yes. The first time I was im- prisoned, I was twenty one years old. I had never experienced such brutality. I saw eleven and twelve year old children being brought in and beaten terribly. Such a child must ask why he was beaten. Other )n in prisoners will explain to him that it's be- cause he is Palestinian. That is where the education process begins. They think they tiate be- can make us forget our identity by beating There is us and imprisoning us. They are closing ascobiya schools and opening prisons. The prisons re is the have become our schools. Prisoners edu- rison cate each other. Daily: Here at U of M, we feel that stu- dent activism is an important part of stu-r dent life. Can you describe activism on your campus and what consequences it has? Boulatta: As I mentioned, I was impris- oned for being on the arts committee at school. At Bir Zeit, we aren't allowed to distribute our own student newspaper. We have an old campus and a new one. There was (when the university was open) a check-point between the two. We were often late for classes. We would be arrested for having any kind of student leaflets, even those protesting apolitical things like tuition. Daily: With the closure of Palestinian schools and universities, and the rise of al- ternative education, has education taken on a new meaning in the Occupied Territories? Boulatta: Education is a means of exis- tence as a civilized, literate nation for Palestinians. It means being aware of our national identity and our common strug- gle. The Israelis would like to see us as an illiterate nation which they can use for cheap labor. Daily: One of the tasks of the delegation of U of M students that weik, to the Occupied Territories this summer was to discuss the establishment of a sister uni- versity relationship between our University and Bir Zeit University. How do you feel such a relationship is benefi- cial for students at both universities? Boulatta: It would make us feel thatA other students are in solidarity with us. It would also allow our students to comet here and study. On the other hand it would allow U of M students to come and expe- rience the life of a Palestinian student: Also, it is important for students here to. use their education to work for a more peaceful global community where all are insured basic human rights. Families of missing children confront an Israeli soldier at Ansar II priso Gaza. vention of many human rights organiza- tions and dignitaries such as Madame Miterand and Jimmy Carter. Daily: Could you the describe the condi- tions of your imprisonment. What sort of medical treatment did you receive? Boulatta: First, we must differen tween the two kinds of prisons.' the detention center such as the M; (the Russian compound) and the I ii Eiebde i v o Michig ad Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Helms v. artistic freedom 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Vol. C, No. 16 Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Doily's Editorial Board. All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. Healthcare is a right SINCE THE late 1960s there has been a mounting health care crisis in the United States. Today, hospitals and physicians' offices around the country are closing their doors to people in need of primary health care who can't afford rising medical costs. In 1986, 1 million Americans could not find a healthcare facility that would treat them; 14 million more did not even seek help because of expected denial. The main factor which motivates the denial of medical treatment to those who need it is money. There are 37 million people in the middle and lower income working class who lack the health insurance necessary to acquire fundamental medi- cal care. Since 1980 this group has grown by over 1 million people every, year. This trend has led analysts to predict that by the end of the next decade 50 million Americans -nearly one out of every five citizens - will lack any form of health insurance. This issue can no longer be ignored. The Basic Health Benefits for All Americans Act is the latest in a series of congressional proposals which will at- tempt to address the growing problem of inaccessible and unaffordable health .care. The bill will secure a basic health insurance benefits package for all U.S. citizens by the year 2000. The package would cover medically necessary hos- pital, physician, pre-natal, and well- baby care; and will include a limited mental health benefit. The bill would not create a massive bureaucracy to accomplish its ends, but would use existing forms of public and private health insurance to efficiently procure coverage for the vast number of uninsured. The two faceted program will first mandate employer provided insurance plans for all workers and will second phase in a $6.5 billion expan- sion in medicaid. While small businessesbhave raised concerns over the new burden they would incur, larger businesses have come out in strong support of the bill, siting a predicted deflation in insurance premiums as other employers begin to share the responsibility of employee health insurance. Further amendments have been made to ease the burden on small businesses, including the pur- chase of insurance at lower group rates. The bill has won wide support in the health community with endorse- ments from the American Medical Association and the Catholic Health Association. The Basic Health Benefits Act is not the last health bill we will ever need. Inefficiencies and inequalities will con- tinue to exist in the health system in the U.S. Health care cost remains high, accessibility to health care is still diffi- cult for many poor people and people of color, and people with AIDS con- tinue to be marginalized. The bill is one way to begin to attack the national health problem which is reaching grotesque proportions. With the exception of South Africa, the United States is the only developed democracy in the world not to guaran- tee health care for its citizens. In the face of 50 million U.S. citizens unable to attain health care, this is a first step. By Jonathan W. Fink Last July 26, on a voice vote before a virtually empty Senate floor, Jesse Helms (R-NC) sponsored and passed an amend- ment to ban the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from supporting what he deemed to be "obscene and indecent art." He proposed to stop funding two galleries which used NEA money to put on a show of work by two provocative photogra- phers. Helms' amendment violates the original purpose of the Endowment. If it is passed, it could infringe upon our con- stitutional right to freedom of expression, and deepen the crisis in this seriously un- derfunded sector of American culture. In 1965, Lyndon Johnson established the NEA to promote cultural excellence. At the time of the announcement, Johnson warned against legislators determining what art is and what it is not. To prevent this from happening, Congress set up a grant-making process known as peer re- view, whereby members of the art com- munity pass on grant applications in their respective areas. The Helms Amendment, which prohibits federal art funds from be- ing used to "promote indecent materials including... depictions of sadomasochism, homceroticism,... or individuals engaged in sex acts," violates the goals of the NEA. Most artists will hold that no par- ticular group of individuals who have lim- ited knowledge of the arts is in a position to determine what cultural excellence is for the rest. The Helms Amendment is an unquali- fied backlash that will limit the right to freedom of expression. The restriction arose from legislators' unease about fund- ing works by Andres Cerrano and the late Robert Mapplethorpe which showed a cru- cifix submerged in urine and alleged ho- moerotic scenes. Although controversial, not "being sensible", it is censorship. Additionally, the Senate has placed lim- its on how much money the NEA can ap- propriate to the visual arts. This action will neither eliminate the views of Mr. Cerrano and Mr. Mapplethorpe nor will it help to improve the condition of our al- ready underfunded culture. France, which is arguably the arts capital of the world, spends almost five times as much as the United States in this. area while it has only one quarter the population. The NEA bill is now in joint conference between the House and Senate. It seems a ; R ... b M k R t Po t a 'The Helms Amendment is an unqualified backlash that will limit the right to freedom of expression.' these photographers do represent legiti- mate self-expression of artists' views of parts of the world. Furthermore, since homoerotocism is not, in itself, illegal, Helms should not be allowed to legislate against its depiction in art. Finally, to squelch these dissenting views with an amendment as broad and vague as the one Helms has proposed will put serious lim- its on the ideas that can be expressed. It is clear that what is most necessary is not re- stricted expression and decreased appropna- tions to the arts to improve American cul- ture; but a removal of the Helms Amend- ment and an increase in federal funding to the arts and humanities. Jonathan W. Fink is an LSA junior who interned on the U.S. Senate subcommitte on arts and humanities issues. : 4 ti:i: ' :v::y::$irrj;{':$}iji::^'r'ry :{{;$::} :;{>:::"i $ii$: }??::}}}: :: ;"$:%: - : i: 'v:::t:r}::}: ? }r}$} }:4i "ri}?}$i: ?i: :ti: }:%i _<:i7: ?i:: ?: ?i}}? ir$::i : il$}ii$$:vi: "' i:: is : i: : .:.:.........................................::........................... -: v :- :{::? :':::' ::!: :i>: is ;:};:;:;:1 : : :i i}'" : : : $: }::::; ;,..-:' -: ::}: : :<:}: $: :"Y"" :::L:: : ..... ................................. .. ... IIX d };: ....... .. ..... ........ . ............ i- Not a dime for death squads To the Ann Arbor Community: We apologize for any incon- venience we may have caused you with our "Not a Dime for Death Squad Government" posters and stickers. If the resi- dents of the United States would allow themselves to be inconvenienced once in awhile by this country's murderous war against the people of El Salvador, actions like ours would not be necessary. We hope our materials will make you take time to reflect today on why the U.S. gov- "Shame on you" To the Daily: In "Starting Young," (Daily, 9/26/89), Philip Cohen, Associate Opinion Page editor, expresses feelings of disillu- sionment regarding his Jewish identity. He states that "nationalism... was tied to an international political situa- tion," but bases the use of "nationalism" on his Jewish education. Mr. Cohen also states that "for all intents and purposes, Judaism has lost me." This indicates that the au- thor, who is writing from the perspective of a Jew, is ques- not only this position, but also the credibility of edit board as it makes the biases of your as- sociate editor clear and in print. From the viewpoint of a Reform Jew, who hardly con- siders himself right-wing, Mr. Cohen's editorial smacks of self-hate. I speak only for my- self, but may speak for others when I say shame on you, Philip. We are not fooled. -Scott Sulkes. September 27. 4 LIFE DEGMtS AT fir ' K/FROSTINGI! Opinion Page staff drive ThP [nanin ac .. .e ant~i rP., ,a,.ina ,,mun n nnnia of ThmII i 1 .19