Passive Resister Murtari: "I'm Back On [Hunger] Strike

(reproduced here by request)

Passive Resister Murtari: "I'm Back On [Hunger] Strike,"
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John Murtari, 49, former Air Force training pilot and loving father to 13-year-old Domenic says he's back on strike. The New York father stopped eating and drinking July 31 to highlight the desperate need for family law reformwhen he reported to serve a 6-month sentence for child support arrears .
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"This is about civil rights," he says. Murtari claims the money he was ordered to pay in child support was necessary to maintain a relationship with his son who was moved across the country by the mother. When discussing the high cost of travel he asks, "How many of those [visits] could I have traded away — and not lost our relationship?"
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During the first 10 days his health deteriorated and he was given a nasogastric feeding tube, after the press starting asking questions. The tube was removed yesterday to give his throat time to recover from the irritation and to allow him to have a good night's sleep.
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Murtari was surprised when doctors declined to reinsert it as planned today. "They want me to feed myself, or at least drink on my own," he said, "I didn't; the only water I'll have now will be to keep my mouth moist." His health is expected to decline even more quickly this time since he's not starting out in pefect health.
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Inspired by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Murtari is a gracious and gentle man . He blames no one for his situation, only the bad laws in existence. Even when he was suffering extreme dehydration, he asked that all who act on his behalf do it with
kindness. Murtari communicates by publishing a near-weekly enewsletter with help from the office staff of his small internet company, and by replying to letters sent to him in jail.