Before the Law

Franz Kafka, one of my favorite writers back when I was in high-school , wrote a story called "Before the Law," in which a man comes to the gates of the Law and asks the gatekeeper for permission to enter. The gatekeeper tells him he has to wait but that he will probably get to enter. The story goes on to chronicle the man's attempt to bribe the gatekeeper, so he can enter, but years pass. Then, just as the man is about to die, he asks the gatekeeper why no one else has ever come to seek justice with the Law. The gatekeeper tells him that this doorway was meant only for him (the seeker) and that only he could have entered here. Then he shuts the door forever.

As with all of his stories, Kafka's view of justice and the law seem imbued with a sense of hopelessness, alienation,and self-blame. His characters try to do what is right in order to be accepted and respected by the power structure. But if "Metamorphosis" and The Trial have taught us nothing, such outcomes are highly unlikely. More probable is emptiness, denial, and despair. I believe this expectation of continuous disenfranchisement is the universal norm, rather than some depressing, Kafkaesque anomaly.

And so it is with great pleasure that I now introduce some of people who have been dragged into the courtyard of the Law, in person, in corporate form, and in absentia if necessary.

(In progress at the Hague)

Name: Charles Taylor
Location of offense: Sierra Leone
Charge: He's facing "11 counts including murder, rape, conscripting child soldiers and sexual slavery during the 1996-2002 civil war in the impoverished West African state." He's charged with your basic crimes against humanity
Details: Some have said that (among other things) Taylor encouraged cannibalism as a way to terrorize the population, demanded human sacrifice, and buried pregnant women alive. One hopes that there's a special ring in hell for people who would do things like this, doesn't one?

January 26, 2009, International Criminal Court

Name: Thomas Lubanga Dylio
Location of offense: Democratic Republic of Congo
Charge: Crimes against humanity
Details: “conscripting and enlisting children under the age of fifteen years and using them to participate actively in hostilities” including training them to rape, kill, torture, and perform other horrifying atrocities.

Although Lubanga is facing charges related to the use of child soldiers, some contend that he should also face charges for the mass killing and torture of civilians, primarily those from the Lendu ethnic group.

January 30, 2009 – reopening of a case by US Court of Appeals

Name: Pfizer, American-based pharmaceutical company
Location of offense: Nigeria
Charge: Tort violation under US law
Details: The defendants are the parents of multiple children in Nigeria. They accuse Pfizer of using their children as human guinea pigs without their knowledge or consent during a meningitis outbreak. They further claim that the use of the untested, unapproved medicine led to illness and death. The case was originally rejected but has been reopened.

(Coming soon to a New York court by you) April 29, 2009

Name:
Location of offense: Nigeria
Charge: complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria, including the execution and torture of members of a group of environmental leaders, known as the Ogoni 9.
Details: EarthRights International reports that Shell provided arms, transportation and other assistance to the military in the hopes that they'd be able to restart drilling and business there. Go capitalistic imperialism! This case will explore the executions of the Ogoni 9, a group of environmental activists, along with the torture and deaths of other Nigerians.