HAWORTH, N.J.—Nearly 200 residents—all family, friends and neighbors of an imprisoned Haworth journalist—turned out for a solemn show of support Oct. 28 for Omoyele Sowore to pray and call for his release from a Nigerian prison.
Scores of family and friends, including public officials, tied nearly 100 yellow ribbons around trees in the grassy median up and down Haworth Avenue, especially one tree that was the focus of a “Tie a Yele Ribbon” ceremony honoring the local journalist.
Yele is an abbreviated form of Omoyele, the nickname most friends and family use.
On a cool and cloudy night, residents tied “yele ribbons” around a tree as others stood quietly nearby holding lighted candles, offering words of support and hugs to Sowore’s family, including wife Opeyemi.
“Tonight we gather here in the center of our beautiful town to stand united along with the Sowore family…we stand here bonded by solidarity and hope,” said Mayor Thomas Ference.
‘Space in our hearts’
“Thank you for joining us tonight as we hold space in our hearts for the Sowore family and our absent neighbor, Yele Sowore, husband, father, son, brother, friend, journalist, Haworthian. We come together as a community to honor and speak now for free speech, for justice and most importantly, to bring Yele home to his family and to all his friends here,” said the mayor.
The mayor said the heavy turnout of residents to honor Yele moved him.
“I’m struck by the strength of connection here in this crowd, by this community, families joining with others to offer compassion, kindness, prayer. The power of connections reminds us all that we belong to a greater community, one that comforts and shows up in times of need,” he said.
Sowore was arrested Aug. 2 on a visit to Nigeria while he was trying to organize a peaceful protest against government corruption and malfeasance. Government agents arrested him and said he was being charged with crimes against the government.
Although he was ordered to be released Sept. 24 by a federal High Court justice, he remains held in jail.
On Sept. 20, nearly two months after being arrested, he was charged with three offenses: organizing a protest, insulting the Nigerian president, and transferring U.S. money to a Nigerian account.
“He has been unfairly detained and will go on trial for treason in early November for organizing a peaceful protest to end corruption, advocate for economic equality, and guarantee education for all Nigerians,” said Alanna Zahn Davis, an event organizer.
She said Sowore is one of several journalists currently jailed in Nigeria for dissent under President Muhammad Buhari’s regime.
Since his arrest, international human-rights groups and press-freedom organizations have called for Sowore’s release. Amnesty International called Sowore’s arrest “a misuse of the criminal system to silence critics and opposition.”
Sowore founded Sahara Reporters in 2006, an online news service which covers Nigerian government and politics. Reporters for the international news outlet are based in New York City.
Becky Quick, a CNBC journalist, resident and neighbor, said she supported Sowore’s work as a journalist. She said Sowore “is our neighbor and our friend and we’re all here for the same reason tonight: to make sure that we are supporting the Sowore family and to let the rest of the world know that we’re here waiting for him.”
Quick noted “we need him to come home as our friend, as our neighbor and most importantly as a husband and a father.”
‘Truly overwhelmed’
Opeyemi Sowore, Yele’s wife, said she was “truly overwhelmed and honored” by the outpouring of support for her husband’s release and return to the United States.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better home and a better community,” she said, thanking residents for prayers and kindness shown “while my family has been going through this rough period” of Omoyele’s imprisonment.
Opeyemi asked residents to join in a community prayer for Yele’s release.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you,” said the assembled residents in unison.
Opeyemi also said a separate prayer for Yele’s release and for all journalists facing similar fates elsewhere.
“I pray that we’re all here again shortly celebrating Yele’s release,” she concluded.
Councilwoman Jackie Guenego officiated at ceremonies where various family, friends and neighbors tied yellow ribbons to show support for Yele’s safe return home.
Guenego said 87 ribbons would be tied around the tree, representing 87 days that Sowore had been imprisoned so far.
Moreover, Guenego said an additional ribbon will be added to the tree for each day until Sowore’s safe return home. Organizers said the yellow ribbon has long been a symbol for absent and missing loved ones.
People stood quietly on a Haworth Avenue median, opposite the library, as successive groups of residents added yellow ribbons, turning a small tree into a blaze of yellow.
To conclude the ceremony, Olivia Wasser performed “Amazing Grace” and residents continued to hug, comfort and embrace Opeyemi Sowore long after the ceremony ended.
