After becoming involved with the Iranian resistance in Australia in 1992 during a protest Pastor Medway’s church became involved and provided accommodations to some Iranian dissidents.
The Pastor immediately felt a strong bond with the Iranian people and identified deeply with their cause and their efforts. In the past four years, Pastor Medway has been involved in and supportive of the cause in any way possible and has now been on hunger strike for more than 25 days – committed to showing his support and encouragement to those in Camp Liberty and to the hostages.
The following is an Iran News Update (INU) interview with Pastor Medway detailing his efforts, his inspiration to help create democracy in Iran and the hunger strikes in Melbourne.
INU: What are you asking of the churches and the congregations in Melbourne and Australia to help in this situation?
Pastor Medway: I am the National Chairman of a network of churches called Cross Link and over the years I have been involved in various leadership groups across Australia connecting with leaders of other denominations. So, quite frankly, I have had the opportunity to connect with people across the board. When I tell them about my experiences with NCRI and Madam Rajavi and about the circumstances for the people in what was formerly Camp Ashraf and now in Camp Liberty, I always encourage them to understand what is going on, to see for themselves, to see the facts.
The thing about this whole campaign, this whole cause, is that it really sells itself. When you see the facts, when you see what is happening and when you see the integrity and the passion of the people who are wanting to see change in Iran – it sells itself. I always tell people about this, and sometimes they are a bit curious about why I would be involved in this way – but when they hear the story and read about it for themselves, they very often feel the same way as me.
INU: Are other members of the Protestant Churches supportive and/or involved in this cause?
Pastor Medway: Well, sadly, the [majority] of people involved in this cause in Australia are mostly extradited Iranians. But, the people in our church, the whole church here in Canberra, they all love the Iranian people. We have had lots of times to be together and work together and they understand the cause. They are incredibly supportive and have been to some of the protest rallies and things that we’ve held.
I am always sad – because you’ve got to understand that Australia is very self-sufficient, affluent, comfortable country – and not enough Australians care enough about the plight of people in other parts of the world. People who do understand this story and connect with it, generally they see how important it is for us to be a voice and a presence in this country regarding the issues related to Camps Ashraf and Liberty and the Regime in Iran.
INU: What inspired you to join the hunger strike and how long have you been fasting?
Pastor Medway: I joined the hunger strike just a little bit after the others in Australia began hunger striking. I joined because the honest truth is that I really belong to these people. I can’t say that I belong to the people in Camp Liberty in quite the same way that they do (the Iranian people in Australia), yet I feel a tremendous bond. Obviously I haven’t had the exposure to things they have; I haven’t suffered like they have suffered; I haven’t had family members killed by the regime like many of them have. But even after all of that, I feel that I belong to this as much as I belong to anything.
The desire to identify and stand with these people, these friends – they’re like brothers and sisters to us – and so to stand with them was a very simple thing. I joined because I wanted to, as much as I could, say what they were saying, how they were saying it and where they were saying it. So, not only did we join the hunger strike, but we visited with them in Melbourne a number of times. We spent days there speaking at the rallies that they had and encouraging people. I just love the bond that is between us. Not only that, but when I got some letters from some of the women in Liberty who said that they had seen that we were hunger striking with them, and how encouraged they were – that was more than enough reason for me to do this, and my daughter as well.
INU: What do you and the other hunger strikers hope to accomplish with the hunger strike?
Pastor Medway: Our efforts together will bring attention to this horrible injustice. What we’re looking for is the international community to put pressure on the U.S and the U.N so that the Iraqi government will own up to its actions and the seven hostages will be released safely, back to their own people, so that this process can go on. So, we are asking that the seven hostages be released. We’re working now, with the government in our own nation, in hopes that our government, who have been shameful up until this point – we’re hoping that the Foreign Minister will acknowledge what’s going on and work to overturn this great injustice.
INU: How are you feeling after more than 25 days of fasting?
Pastor Medway: I’ve just been feeling not as energetic as I have at other times, but other than that I have not felt any physical effects up to this point in time from the hunger strike. I think for me, because fasting and praying is a part of Christian tradition as well, I have been on a number of fasts before. I find that, depending on what it is I am fasting about, fasting is a way of expressing grief and sorrow. So, when you feel intense grief or sorrow or pain about something, it happens inside your body as well as everywhere else. Fasting is just a way of recognizing this.
For me, it just focuses my attention. I have thought about a lot of other things during this time, but nothing near what is happening to the seven hostages right now and the people who are supporting them. It’s just that strong identification – and that makes me feel grateful to actually be able to make that connection.
INU: How long will you and the other strikers continue to fast?
Pastor Medway: Well, we are making a day-by-day decision about this. We are trying to make that decision as strategically as we can. On the one hand – we want to identify with our strong connection with the people in Liberty and our identification with hunger strikers in other parts of the world. But, there is another part to this in Australia, as there would be in other places where we are engaging with the government on this issue. I have been a number of times to the Foreign Minister’s office about this and it may well be that we will stop the hunger strike here in Australia – not because we want to stop our identification with the others around the world, but because strategically to gain what we need to get in Australia we need to be able to stop the hunger strike and then go and have meetings with our representatives. So, we will make decisions day by day on the long term benefits related to the cost of the hunger strike. Some of the others in Australia have been on strike longer than I have – so that decision will be made by them also in the same way and for the same reasons.