Mustafa Rahmani

Sara Shourd, an American journalist, in 2009 while hiking in Iraq with two other American citizens named Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, accidentally entered Iranian territory. This incident led to their arrest by Iranian security forces. These three American citizens spent 410 days in solitary confinement in Evin prison.

Ms. Shourd, after being released from prison and returning to the United States, has undertaken many activities to fight against solitary confinement and the psychological torture that comes with it. In her latest project, she has written a play called “The Box” which is currently being performed in the city of San Francisco, California. In an exclusive interview with the Peace Line magazine, Sarah Shourd says that she spent 3 years working on this project and has traveled to prisons across America and met with many prisoners.

This American citizen, in this conversation while recounting some of his experiences in Evin prison, including that some prison guards tried to befriend him, adds: “Now I am more committed to my work, I have more enthusiasm and I believe in myself.”

Mrs. Shourd, since your release from Evin prison, you have been involved in remarkable activities to defend human rights, especially the fight against solitary confinement. Have human rights always been your concern or has this experience led you to this path?

“Good, human rights have always been my concern. I was already a political and human rights activist, which is why I had decided to live in Syria. Before being arrested by border forces in Iran, I was helping Iraqi refugees in Damascus. As a journalist, I was writing and teaching. Of course, with this experience, my commitment to human rights became even deeper, but it has always been a part of my life since childhood.”

Based on your personal experience and research, what is the hardest part of being in solitary confinement?

The hardest part of being in solitary confinement is that human connection is cut off. The connection with family and loved ones is severed. In the worst moments of your life, you have no support. No love and no one to help you. No one understands you. No one holds you in their arms, looks into your eyes, and listens to your words. The disconnection from others is very painful. In any situation, this is agonizing, especially when we, as humans, are in a state of fear and need others to help calm us, organize our thoughts, and prevent us from going crazy.

Have the negative effects of that time’s experience still remained on you?

Yes, but it’s been very difficult for me to know after six years… You see, after that experience, I am a completely different person. I have changed a lot. You know, we are always changing and growing… Some of these changes are good; for example, now I am more committed to my work, I have more enthusiasm, and I believe in myself. It’s harder to mention the negative aspects. When I was in Evin, I didn’t experience darkness for 410 days and all this time the lights were on, which had a negative impact on me to the point that I wake up at the slightest noise or light. My sleep has never returned to normal.

A glimpse of the exhibition “Box Display” by Sara Shourd – Photo by Daily Beast.

You have created a narrative work of art in this field. In your opinion, how influential can art and artists be in this area?

In my opinion, art has the potential to have a permanent impact on individuals, but this impact cannot be measured. For one person, it can have such an effect that it truly changes their perspective on the world, leading them to make different decisions and choose different actions. However, for another person, it may have the opposite effect. Therefore, everyone experiences art differently. But the reason I believe in storytelling – especially untold stories, like the stories of prisoners in solitary confinement in American prisons – is that the stories we know about certain individuals may shape our opinions of them even more than the facts. Storytelling is a very ancient art and essential to being human. When you experience a story, the part of your brain that is molded by that experience is the same part that is activated when you experience a story in reality. It’s like you are taking the place of that person, and it can change your perception of a certain group of people. That’s why I believe in storytelling;

In your opinion and based on your personal experience in Iran and your research in America, what is the difference in individualism in these two countries?

Everyone has a different experience. But the situation in American prisons and the situation I experienced in Iran are very similar. 23 hours in a small cell and one hour in a larger cell with sunlight and fresh air. In Iran, it is called “havakhori” and in America, they call it “dog room”. So as I said, the conditions are very similar, with the difference being that the amount of time individuals can be kept in solitary confinement in America is much longer; possibly years and decades. On the other hand, compared to prisoners in solitary confinement in America, I was more isolated [in Iran]. For example, I was not allowed to use the phone and could not write letters. Also, my situation was worse in other ways. Well, I was a political hostage in solitary confinement in Evin Prison, not someone who had gone through the legal process to be placed in solitary confinement.

Perhaps in America, people go to court and are recognized as criminals, but even in prisons there is no protection for prisoners and they may be sent to solitary confinement for almost any reason. For example, if you look at one of the guards and they don’t like your facial expression, they will send you to solitary confinement. In fact, their policy for sending people to solitary confinement in these prisons is very unfair.

Tell us about the differences in behavior of prison guards in Iran and America.

Good, I have not been imprisoned in America and I do not have a precise understanding of their behavior. But based on the stories people have told me, one of my similar experiences with many prisoners in America is that prison guards often try to befriend you, infiltrate your mind, and establish a close relationship with you. These prison guards can be more dangerous than the ones who openly hate you. Many prison guards tried to befriend me, but trusting them was actually very dangerous. They could betray you and tell the interrogator that you have broken the law or made a mistake. This is a situation where no human can have any understanding or trust in the person in front of them; but in solitary confinement, our only human relationship is with the prison guards. It is also very dangerous to have contact with other prisoners. Therefore, resisting the urge to communicate with prison guards is very difficult. But I tried to learn to erase them from my mind.

How was the behavior and approach of prison guards towards you in Iran?

Each prisoner is an individual, it cannot be generalized. Some of them felt sorry for me, some of them knew that I was innocent and not a spy and wanted to comfort me. But other prison guards wanted to influence and manipulate me, and maybe a combination of both.

As you know, the readers of this conversation are Persian speakers and mostly live in Iran. Therefore, most of them do not have the chance to watch your performance. Do you think if they had the chance, they could connect with it like an American audience?

This performance attempts to make visible what is invisible in our country. This [invisible thing] is a manifestation of widespread psychological torture in our prisons. Therefore, I believe anyone who has such concerns will find this performance interesting. Many Iranians living in America also come to watch it.

This performance is a story of resistance. I believe that every prisoner in any part of the world can connect with the fact that in the face of the unjust and inhumane actions that have been done to them, there is a level of resilience. What keeps you alive and strong is to persevere. This is what this performance is about and in my opinion, all prisoners around the world, especially political prisoners, can connect with it.

A glimpse of the exhibition “Box Display” by Sara Shourd – Photo by Daily Beast.

Please explain more about the display box for us.

This play is about six prisoners who are in solitary confinement in a prison in America; not a specific prison in America, but an imaginary prison in an imaginary place. It is in a secluded section with three cells on top and three cells on the bottom. Most of these individuals have been in solitary confinement for many years. One of them has been there for 19 years, making him the most experienced there. These are people who have not gone crazy, because they have found a way to organize their time and have some sort of order. There is another character who is mentally ill. This character is constantly struggling with their mental illness and fears throughout the play. This character doesn’t have many lines. They can all come together and make noise when the lazy guard is on duty. At first, they hate each other, but then they start to understand each other. They realize they have a lot in common and their only hope for change is to come together and stand against their situation.

The first act of this play depicts this section of the prison. For example, the existing laws, the things they do together, the system of exchanging objects in this section, the things they create together, or the jokes they tell each other. A complex society. At the end of the first act, a provocative event occurs.

In the second act, their anger and rage are aroused and they decide to go on a hunger strike. The second act is actually based on one of the most famous hunger strikes in history, which took place 5 years ago in California prisons. Where thirty thousand prisoners in California prisons went on a hunger strike in protest against solitary confinement. So this act is about the isolated section of the prison that becomes political, about this important bias and the widespread attention of the general public to this issue.

What inspired the characters in this story and why did you choose them in particular?

These characters are fictional representations of all the real people I have met throughout the country of America. For example, one of the prisoners is a former member of the Black Panthers, another is a white supremacist, and the third is a leader of a Latin American gang. These individuals are not comfortable characters. I could have written about innocent people or non-violent crimes or drugs. Although many of those in solitary confinement have not committed violent acts, I believe we must address violence, both in prison and in society, from mass shootings to armed violence against police, and also violence against unarmed African-American youth. Therefore, violence is an important factor in my portrayal and I address it and how we as a society create a more violent community. We do this by punishing individuals who do not know any other way to release their anger and resort to violence, but in reality, we are laying the foundation for them to become even more violent. Therefore, the characters in this story are complex, flawed humans who also

How much of this performance is based on your personal experiences and how much is based on the experiences of the people you have met and talked to?

“More display is based on research. I am a journalist and this is my first professional display and project. Previously, as an anti-war activist (regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan), we have done several street displays.”

I have decided to write a play and turn it into a story. I have done research to be able to draw inspiration as someone who has survived this subject; however, I am not the subject. In fact, my issue is not personal and I truly believe that solitary confinement is a torture and not only does it have no positive role in the rehabilitation of an individual, but it also leads prisoners to be in situations where they become more violent or mentally ill. In fact, I have decided to write a play that is more imaginative and use moments that I have experienced myself and have the characters live them.

Tell us about the name of the story: Why did you choose the name “Jabeh” for it?

This name is something that in the country of America, in prison, is called solitary confinement. Prisoners call it the box, the hole, and the dungeon. These are nicknames that prisoners use for solitary confinement.

Since when did you start your activity and research for your project and in which cities have you implemented it?

I worked on this project for almost three years. I traveled to prisons across the country of America. I wrote letters to prisoners.

This is the first production of this show and it will be on stage in San Francisco for three weeks. We hope that other theaters around the country and the world will be interested and hold this show.

Sara Shourd has brought the display box to the stage for the purpose of fighting against solitary confinement – a photo of Maringi.

Are you also seeking to help improve human rights in other countries, including Iran?

Yes. I follow the news about Iran. I also still have contact with some people who were in prison at the same time as me in Iran. Many of the people who were in the adjacent cells to mine, for example, contact me through Facebook. I have kept in touch because many women in Evin prison helped me when I was there. As a result, I feel a strong sense of closeness to them.

You have traveled throughout the United States and met many victims of individual cells. This is while some people say that the global community only focuses on the situation of prisons in Iran and other developing countries and turns a blind eye to developed countries like America. What is your opinion on this matter?

I agree that many cases of human rights violations in American prisons do not attract international attention. What is more concerning is that other countries look to America as a model and follow its methods. How we build our prisons, how we treat our prisoners, and in fact, other countries see America as a good standard. But the reality is that we have the highest rate of incarceration per capita and we manage these prisons with inhumane methods.

Do you think your campaign against individualism will have an impact on changing this trend in America and the rest of the world? If so, what do you think the regulations of this new policy will be?

My display is a part of a much larger movement against the use of solitary confinement, prison reform, and ending mass incarceration. I believe that as a movement, we have already made a significant impact and I am confident that this movement will continue to exert its pressure and we will witness many changes. In my opinion, my display is also a part of it.

According to the special reporter against torture in American prisons, being in solitary confinement for more than two weeks can cause permanent damage to the brain and lead to psychological harm. In my opinion, in some cases it is justified for prisoners who attempt to harm other prisoners or guards to be placed in solitary confinement for a short period of time. However, two weeks should be the maximum and after that they should be transferred to a section where they can receive treatment. I’m not saying it will be an easy task to make these changes, but I believe if solitary confinement is eliminated or minimized and only used for the worst prisoners, then the entire prison system will be under pressure to provide rehabilitation facilities for prisoners. They should use their time constructively, for example by attending different classes and being able to complete their education, and being able to provide social services. In my opinion, ending solitary confinement can help make our prison system more humane and better.

Thank you for the opportunity that you have given us in the monthly magazine of “Khat-e-Solh”.

I am also grateful to you for this conversation and for the activity you are doing, and I wish you success in your activities.