Vermont
‘A beautiful prison’: Mohsen Mahdawi seeks solace in rural Vermont as he fends off deportation – The Boston Globe
“It‘s amazing,” he said of the view, grinning.
A Columbia University student who grew up in the occupied West Bank, the 34-year-old Mahdawi was detained in April after being summoned to a federal immigration office in Vermont for what was supposed to be his final test to become a US citizen.
After 16 days in prison, Mahdawi was freed by a federal judge in Vermont who likened the Trump administration’s actions to McCarthyism. Mahdawi made a beeline for the Upper Valley, which he’s called home for more than a decade, most recently in nearby Hartford. He visited his cabin and said a prayer.
Mahdawi’s freedom may be fleeting. The Trump administration, which has called him a threat to national security, continues to seek his detention and, more than likely, deportation. The judge has limited his movements to Vermont and New York.
“What it reminds me of is Palestine, where I was supposed to be in one area and, if I crossed to the other, I don’t have rights,” he said. “But I am grateful that I have this nature. I mean, it‘s a larger prison, but it‘s a beautiful prison to be in.”
Mahdawi carries himself with confidence and engages others with an intense and absorbing gaze. His expression conveys high spirits, in spite of the turmoil he’s faced.
But when the prospect of deportation comes up, his ever-present smile fades away. “It would be similar to a death sentence,” he said.
Family members in the West Bank have been targeted by Israelis since Mahdawi became a leader of Columbia’s pro-Palestinian movement, he said. Were he to return, he believes, Israeli soldiers or settlers would seek revenge.
Mahdawi, though, says there’s something he fears even more than death: not being able to continue the peacemaking efforts he’s been building in the United States. He sees himself as “a baby diplomat” who is uniquely poised to bring together Palestinians, Israelis, and Americans to resolve the ancient conflict in the Middle East. He’s even written a 68-page peace plan.
“I am going to school in order to make peace — peace and justice,” said Mahdawi, who is slated to begin graduate studies at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs in September. “And if they deport me, they are killing this possibility, this opportunity that I am seeing.”
Mahdawi bought the West Fairlee property for $51,000 off Facebook Marketplace in October 2020 as a pandemic project of sorts. Clearing trees, digging ponds, and building the cabin also served as a form of therapy, he said, to work through the trauma of a youth spent in violence and hardship within the Far’a refugee camp.
“I said in my head, ‘If I die tomorrow, what is the one thing I would want to have in my life?’ And it was something that none of my parents had … [for] three generations, which is a piece of land,” he said.
Mahdawi named his sanctuary Jannah Ndakinna. Jannah means “paradise” in his native Arabic, he said, and Ndakinna means “homeland” in the Indigenous Abenaki language. “So it‘s a paradise, in my eyes, but it‘s a homeland — the homeland for all the Abenaki people who used to be here before,” he said. “I am just a caretaker.”
The cabin is not fancy. It is just 8-by-16 feet, not much bigger than his recently vacated jail cell, he joked. It gives off the vibe of a tiny home crossed with a man-cave. But the view of the verdant countryside from its deck is majestic.
“Isn’t it magical?” he said. “The cabin has helped me, really, to realize that, in order to find joy, you don’t need much.”
That joy has been sharply tempered by President Trump‘s campaign to root out protesters of Israel’s deadly war in Gaza. Betar US, a radical Zionist group, began calling for Mahdawi’s deportation in late January. On March 8, Mahmoud Khalil, who had led pro-Palestinian protests with Mahdawi at Columbia, was seized by federal officials outside his New York City apartment.
Mahdawi laid low for 23 days, he said, with only three people knowing where he was. He paced constantly, and, as a practicing Buddhist, meditated. When immigration officials notified him his long-awaited citizenship interview would take place April 14 in Vermont, he suspected a trap.
After consulting with friends and attorneys and making a list of pros and cons, he decided to show up for the interview.
“I’d rather be detained in Vermont,” he reasoned. “That‘s the main pro. If I get detained in Vermont, I have a better chance.”
As soon as he completed the test, the person administering it opened a door, Mahdawi said, “and the officers stormed in — you know, masks covering their faces, hats. … They said, ‘You’re under arrest.’”
When the officers led him away in handcuffs, Mahdawi said, he carefully considered how the moment might be captured by friends who had prepared for this possibility. He raised his hands in two peace signs, a gesture that soon went viral.
Mahdawi had two goals, he said: to reassure worried loved ones he’d be OK and to avoid projecting fear.
“I wanted to tell people that if you are fighting for something that you believe in, you should not surrender to intimidation or fear: I am not afraid,” he said. “This is the message I wanted to send: no intimidation.”
The officers told Mahdawi they planned to ship him to Louisiana, where other deportation targets have faced a more conservative court system. But the entourage missed its flight by minutes, he said, giving his lawyers time to get a court order keeping him in Vermont.
“I looked at [the officers] and I said, ‘Congratulations! You’re gonna be enjoying the Burlington-Lake Champlain area now, instead of traveling on an airplane,’” he recalled.
Mahdawi, however, ended up in a state prison in rural Vermont, which he said was dehumanizing and humiliating all the same.
“You lose your basic rights,” he said.
A few days into his stay, he was joined by a group of migrant farmworkers who had been detained in a high-profile raid of a nearby dairy farm. One became his cellmate.
“He doesn’t speak English, but he says to me, ‘Good.’ And they call him ‘amigo,’” said Mahdawi, who doesn’t speak Spanish. “So, ‘amigo’ and ‘good.’ That‘s what we shared.”
As a key court hearing approached, Mahdawi tried to temper his eternal optimism — what he called his “strongest muscle.” But the night before he had a dream of his favorite Palestinian dish, mansaf, which he said was a signal he would soon be released. He packed his meager prison belongings and headed to court.
After the judge ordered his release, Mahdawi again sought to use his public platform to speak out against what he described as the administration’s campaign of intimidation. In impromptu remarks outside the Burlington courthouse, he declared, “I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you.”
His release, however brief it may prove, “is a major, major signal that the justice system is working,” Mahdawi said.
On Thursday, Mahdawi joined several prominent elected officials at Vermont‘s statehouse to announce the creation of a fund to aid in the legal defense of immigrants facing deportation.
Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
After hiking down from the ridgeline, Mahdawi paused at two ponds he had excavated and named “Harmony” and “Melody.” Picking up several stones, he tried, with mixed success, to skip them across the water.
“America is the first place I learned how to do that. We didn’t have bodies of water,” he said of the refugee camp in which he was raised. “Most Palestinians won’t experience this, this or the sea.”
He tossed another rock across the pond.
“This is what we’re doing here: You throw a stone, it hits a spot, but the ripple gets through the whole water,” he said. “My release … it‘s a rippling going around. A lot of people are feeling more hope nowadays.”
Send in the Songs
thursday 15
Consummate singer-songwriter Judy Collins inspires guests at Paramount Theatre in Rutland with selections from her prolific career spanning more than six decades. Through showstoppers, poignant ballads, and visionary interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards, the esteemed music legend reminds listeners why her work has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Lit Lovers
Thursday 15-Sunday 18
Guests step into the world of literary legends at QuarryWorks Theater’s poignant production Dearest Friend: A Love Story Written in Letters at the Frank Suchomel Memorial Arts Center in Adamant. Actors Elizabeth Wilcox and G. Richard Ames reanimate the remarkable romance of Victorian writers Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning through real-life correspondence — including cherished poems among the missives.
Hooked on Fibers
Wednesday 14-Sunday 18
The Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild hosts hookers and onlookers at its vibrant “Hooked in the Mountains” show at Sugarbush Resort in Warren. The biennial expo began in 1996 and has evolved into a major mecca for crafters, with workshops, vendors, daily hook-ins and the “Magnificent Bugs in Rugs” traveling exhibit. (No bugs were harmed in the making of these rugs.)
Northern Exposure
Thursday 15
Vermont Historical Society gives a nod to our northern neighbors with some well-deserved gastronomic recognition at Vermont Eats: The French Canadian Experience at Green Mountain Technology & Career Center in Hyde Park. Epicureans dive into a bespoke dining experience curated by the center’s culinary students, underscoring the impact of Québécois culture on civic life in the region.
Give Peas a Chance
Thursday 15
“Vermont Edition” host Mikaela Lefrak invites folks to “Get in the Garden” at Vermont Public’s annual spring show in Colchester. Now’s your chance to be part of a live studio audience as Lefrak digs deep into all things horticultural with gardening guru Charlie Nardozzi. Attendees eat up tips about topics ranging from cultivating early bloomers to prepping for wet weather, followed by a Q&A and a jolly seed swap.
Timber Time
Saturday 17
Theresa Maggio’s historically significant documentary Bills Lumber brings the closing chapter of an antique sawmill in Wardsboro, Vt., to viewers at Next Stage Arts in Putney. Filmed in 2023, this touching tribute to the Bills family’s legacy employs heartfelt stories to paint a picture of how tradition and tenacity helped maintain the mill — through flood and fire — for 86 years.
Ciao, Bella
Saturday 17 & Sunday 18
Bella Voce Women’s Chorus marks 20 years of filling up cups with “Glorious Celebration” — featuring special guest artists Solaris Vocal Ensemble — at McCarthy Arts Center in Colchester. Audience members take in dynamic works ranging from exhilarating to ethereal, including Francis Poulenc’s sparkling midcentury gem Gloria and soul-stirring favorites from the past two decades.
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Vermont is a great place to visit.
With its beautiful scenic views, the lush forests perfect for hikes and nature walks and rich history, Vermont has everything that makes New England wonderful.
And that’s why Yankee Magazine included two Vermont locales in their list of the 12 most beautiful places to visit in New England.
“More than anything, look through these photos and then find their equal wherever you may travel in New England: villages, cities, woods, waterways, orchards, farms,” Yankee Magazine said. “Be alert for even the smallest moments of beauty.”
Here are Yankee Magazine’s picks for best Vermont places to visit in New England.
Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, VT
If you’re looking to walk through a paradise of color and warmth, this Yankee Magazine pick might be perfect for you.
What Yankee Magazine said about Shelburne Farms: “In a region of rocky soil and notoriously changeable weather, few things say resilience like gardens whose roots go back decades. Among New England’s horticultural gems are the gardens at Shelburne Farms, sited between Lake Champlain and the property’s 19th-century mansion turned inn. Created by the former lady of the manor, Lila O. Webb, they’ve been extensively restored—much to the delight of visitors to these verdant grounds more than a century onward.”
You can visit Shelburne Farms at 1611 Harbor Rd.
Burt Henry Covered Bridge in North Bennington, VT
Do you want to take your family out to a blast from the past? Then Yankee Magazine’s other Vermont pick for a best place to visit in New England might be for you.
What Yankee Magazine said about Burt Henry Covered Bridge: “Covered bridges weren’t built to star on calendars,” writes New Hampshire author Howard Mansfield in his 2016 book, Sheds. “They weren’t built to be pretty.” Yet the same structures that once were practical solutions to 19th-century problems—including this classic Town lattice truss bridge in North Bennington—are now scenic lures for 21st-century visitors.”
You can visit the Burt Henry Covered Bridge at 475 River Rd.
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.
This commentary is by a group of former Vermont lawmakers. Their names are listed below the text of the commentary.
More than 50 years ago, Vermont recognized the hardship faced by homeowners whose property taxes were rising faster than their ability to pay them. Since then, state fiscal policy has moved, in fits and starts, toward a system where school taxes are based on Vermonters’ income, the best measure of their ability to pay.
We, former Vermont legislators, urge you not to abandon a half-century of progress. Instead, we hope you will fulfill the promise of Act 60, which we helped pass in 1997, and ask Vermont homeowners with the most income to contribute their fair share to the cost of education by paying based on income.
Vermont’s education funding system is committed both to fair taxation and local decision making, and we can strengthen both of those. Instead, H.454, the education reform bill that recently passed the Vermont House of Representatives, weakens them.
Income-based school taxes ease pressure on homeowners with modest earnings that don’t keep pace with rising real estate prices and property taxes. For high-earning homeowners, income is a more accurate reflection of their means than a single piece of property, so taxes based on income are critical to fair school funding for all.
H.454 as passed by the Vermont House takes the state in the opposite direction. The bill would repeal the law’s current provision allowing residents to pay some or all of their school taxes based on their income, which 70% of Vermont homeowners do. Instead, H.454 recommits the state to regressive property taxes that hit low- and middle income residents the hardest.
To temper the negative impacts of the property tax for those with incomes of $115,000 or less, the plan puts in place homestead exemptions, which provide relief for some but still rely on property taxes. Lawmakers have considered homestead exemptions over the last
50 years and repeatedly rejected them as too complicated and failing to achieve the fairness of income-based taxes.
H.454 does nothing to address the unfair tax break in the current funding system. Many of Vermont’s wealthiest homeowners pay school taxes on their property that are less than their income-based taxes would be. H.454 allows these homeowners to continue to pay property taxes instead of asking them to pay the same share of their income to support education as average Vermonters pay.
H.454 also brings back a foundation formula — state-determined and state-funded grants that can be supplemented by local school districts — which Vermont tried before the state supreme court declared it unconstitutional in 1997. The constitutional problems can be overcome, and H.454 attempts to do so. But this, too, is something the Legislature tried decades ago and found unworkable because it was overly complicated and made tax rates unpredictable from year to year.
None of the sweeping changes in H.454, the associated risks, nor the hassles to school districts are necessary. The sharp increase in taxes last year was due in large part to costs outside of school districts’ control and also to legislative missteps in the previous two years.
And while the governor likes to say the message from the election was that schools are spending too much, that’s not the case. School spending in Vermont as a percentage of the state’s economy has been a stable 5.5% to 6% for decades.
Unfair taxes anger taxpayers and alienate them from participation in decision-making about their schools — and that hurts students, teachers and communities. H.454 does not solve these problems. Rather, in reaching for elusive “efficiencies,” with promises of better education, the bill doubles down on school consolidation, which many Vermonters have rejected; that will alienate more citizens by taking budgetary decision-making out of communities’ hands.
There are immediate, affordable changes to the existing law that would make the system fairer for the Vermonters hurt last year. Instead of rushing to new and unproven — or old, proven-unworkable — financing mechanisms and an unprecedented move away from local control, the Legislature should adopt those changes.
We are proud that for 30 years Vermont has had the most equitable school financing system in the country, supporting schools that produce some of the highest test scores in the country. Not incidentally, our schools hold together many of the small rural communities that make Vermont an enviable place to live.
H.454 risks destroying much of this. Vermont deserves better.
Former Rep. Elaine Alfano
Former Sen. Susan Bartlett
Former Rep. Paul Cillo
Former Rep. David Deen
Former Sen. Matt Dunne
Former Rep. John Freidin
Former Rep. Martha Heath
Former Sen. Cheryl Hooker
Former Rep. Carolyn Kehler
Former Rep. Karen Lafayette
Former Rep. Gini Milkey
Former Rep. Donny Osman
Former Rep. Ed Paquin
Former Rep. Ann Seibert
Former Rep. Mary Sullivan
Former Rep. John Tracy
Former Rep. Michael Vinton
Former Rep. Mark Woodward
Former Lt. Governor David Zuckerman
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