Hell of a Friendship Bracelet

Friends' plan to swim English Channel in limbo over visa

The Channeling Peace Initiative

We are all fortunate to have friends who care about us, for whom we would jump in our car at three a.m. just to talk them out of something stupid (or join them in doing it). We commemorate friendship in any number of ways, with pictures and notes passed in class, with yearbook comments and friendship bracelets.

Swimming the English Channel? That is a hell of a friendship bracelet. But for those who know Usman and David, who can expect anything less?

The Channeling Peace Intitiative has been a source of hope and inspiration for those of us who have been a part of it, from the passerby who visits the site periodically or who may have stumbled on the story on CNN to the friends and family who are closest to these two awesome men, and those of us who have sent letters of support or additional documentation through available channels to help push for Usman's emergency visa.

The window is closing for the swim to take place, so in a few short days there will be a resolution to the legal/administrative question at hand. But I say this to you: this venture has already been a success. As Usman said in his interview: "Even if I have to swim in a lake in Pakistan while David swims in the English Channel, it's still a powerful symbol."

Because they took on this project. Because they have the support of parents and friends from Pakistan, the United States, and worldwide. Because an entire college community -- students, faculty/staff, and alumni (mad love OWU!) -- are standing behind them as they work toward a goal far greater than making the strokes and taking the breaths to make it across the English Channel...

They are tying knots in the world's biggest, most visible friendship bracelet.

And that's a hell of a thing.

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