A charming and winning young Iranian who knows about war was arrested in Arizona last November as an "illegal" after pedaling around the world for six years in the name of peace. He may be deported.
Originally, he planned to end his trip in Canada, but while standing on the Champs-Élysées on Sept. 11, 2001, his mission became clear: ride to Ground Zero on the first anniversary of the attacks and present to the American people the good wishes that he had collected on his travels.He doesn't seem to understand his situation, as he runs circles around the exercise yard in the detention facility where he currently resides.Then he got caught on Nov. 10. Immigration officials confirm that Mr. Baluchi had applied for a visa in Monterrey, Mexico. He was found with little beyond a tent, the binder of clippings, some personal effects and a mass-produced bicycle. The little man with the big heart can be persuasive when he starts to cry. "I sorry. I make mistake. I love America."
"I go Ground Zero," he said. "I have something for people. Love."This week Reza K. Baluchi had his opportunity to explain himself in fededral immigration court. The judge is expected to rule on thursday whether he will be sent back to Iran where he has already served 18 months in prison for association with "counterrevolutionaries."
For for more about this "idyllic wanderer who thinks one man can change the world," but at the risk of breaking down while reading it, see The Arizona Republic story I found on the interesting, "The Iranian," website.
Instead of bicycling from Los Angeles to New York, Reza Baluchi intends to run the final 2,500 miles."I cannot stop me," he says. "I run for peace."
For great pictures and stuff see this website and this one, apparently the work of admirers.