Give me your tired, your sick, your huddled masses...but please don't give me an Iranian cyclist on a worldwide tour for peace. We'll lock him up. Way to go, Arizona!
Iranian cyclist's peace tour stopped cold in Ariz.Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 13, 2003 12:00 AMFLORENCE - Iranian bicyclist Reza Khoshvravesh Baluchi traveled through six continents on a world tour for peace, but now he runs in circles at an INS detention center.
Smiling like a little boy about to begin recess, Baluchi follows a guard into the visitation room, opens a scruffy binder and produces his introductory note, hand-printed in child-like English:My name is Reza Balouche. I'm from Iran. I lift my country in 1996 in my way to Eurap on bickal (bicycle). My goal is to try peac betwin Iran and USA. I don't like violence. I like peac and freeadem . . .
In broken English, he tells of pedaling 46,000 miles before his travels came to an abrupt halt two months ago at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol agents.
That'll teach you a lesson about peace'n'love, Mr. Brown-skinned Terrorist Person!