I just wanted to let you know about a fundraiser going on this Monday, December 6th to raise money for the families of the detained hikers in Iran. Oh, how this story breaks my heart. Sheesh.

The first time I went to Iran, when I was 14 (for some reason I associate my first pair of Birkenstocks, which I inexplicably loved to wear with brightly colored socks with that age), we spent the entire summer at my uncle's house, which was basically around the corner from Zendaneh Evin. Though it wasn't explained to me, I was on some level aware of the unthinkable things that had gone on in that prison. I just figured those times had long passed.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Out here, we only hear about a fraction of the folks who are detained and violated in that prison (or any such place, really). Way out here, we're only moved to action when there's some way we can relate to the victims. That makes me sad, though I'm guilty of it myself. But you know what? Some action is better than none, and you've always got to start somewhere.

So, if you've got a chance, stop by this fundraiser, or bake some sweets for the bakesale.

On December 6, New York Times bestselling authors based in the Bay Area will perform at a benefit for the effort to release Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer from prison in Iran. Organized by bestselling author Katie Crouch with the help of friends of Shane and Josh, the benefit will feature performances by:

• Daniel Handler, screenwriter, accordionist, and author of 24 books, including the Lemony Snicket works, A Series of Unfortunate Events.
• Andrew Sean Greer, bestselling author of The Story of a Marriage and The Confessions of Max Tivoli, which was named a best book of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune.
• Lia Rose, San Francisco singer, songwriter, musician, and member of Built for the Sea.
Nato Green, comic from Laughter Against the Machine and the Iron Comic
MC’d by James Tracy, author of the Civil Disobedience Handbook and A Different Kind of Power: Working Class Whites in the Original Rainbow Coalition Melville House Fall 2011.

The benefit will also feature:
• An interview by Newsweek contributor and Stanford professor Chanan Tigay with the recently released Sarah Shourd about her experience in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison.
• A screening of Songs to Enemies and Deserts, a film by Shane Bauer and David Martinez about Sudanese farmers and herders caught between two factions of armed rebels.

There will also be a silent auction of items such as private yoga classes, massages, signed first edition books, and cooking lessons by local luminaries.

Iranian forces detained Shane Bauer, his fiancée Sarah Shourd and their close friend Josh Fattal on July 31, 2009 while they were enjoying a recreational hike in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Sarah was released on September 14, 2010, on humanitarian grounds after spending 410 days in solitary confinement. Shane and Josh remain in Evin Prison. More information can be found at http://www.freethehikers.org.

The details

When: Monday, December 6th from 7.30-9.30pm
Where: Verdi Club
2424 Mariposa St.
San Francisco, CA

If you'd like to contribute baked goods to the bake sale, please email David Brazil at dzbrazil@yahoo.com..