FW: ACTION ALERT: Calls Needed today to STOP Liberian Deportations from US

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REQUEST FOR SUPPORT AND SOLIDARITY—For your consideration. Thanks, Arnoldo

 

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From: Nunu Kidane [mailto:nunukidane@att.net]
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 10:35 AM
To: BAJI_Steering_Committee@yahoogroups.com; 'Arnoldo Garcia'
Subject: FW: ACTION ALERT: Calls Needed today to STOP Liberian Deportations from US

 

 

 

From: alona3649@hotmail.com [mailto:alona3649@hotmail.com]
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 10:00 AM
Subject: ACTION ALERT: Calls Needed today to STOP Liberian Deportations from US

 

please add your voice - alona

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Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:50:18 -0800
From: priorityafrica@yahoo.com
To: priority-africa-network-bay-area@lists.kabissa.org
CC:
Subject: [PAN-Bay-Area] ACTION ALERT: Calls Needed today to STOP Liberian Deportations from US

Priority Africa Network (PAN) ACTION ALERT: 121908 Contact: PriorityAfrica@yahoo.com   Dear PAN friends and allies   A good friend and fellow activist Oni Richards is a Liberian woman who sends this message requesting your support. We need you to make a call to the capital switchboard (numbers given below) and urge your representative not to deport Liberians living in the US when their temporary visas expire in March 2009.   Below is also background information on the situation in Liberia and brief history on the extended visa for Liberians living in the U.S   Nunu Kidane, PAN     Friends: Please, please support this effort related to Liberians living in the U.S. This directly affects me, members of my family and friends and your support on this would be greatly appreciated.   Thousands of Liberians living in the U.S. will be up for deportation in march 2009 if this doesn't go through. Families will be torn apart (because if for example, someone had a child here, the child would be put into human services, and the parents sent back to Liberia) and people will be sent to a nation that is trying to rebuild after a civil war.   Congressman Kennedy (MA) and Ellison (MN) have circulated letters to Members of Congress asking for their signatures and these letters will be sent to President Bush and President Elect Obama asking them to support continued protection for Liberians in the U.S. So far, 60 Reps have signed, and we need more to do the same. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO CALL, so please call the Capitol Switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask for your Representative.   Once you get your Reps office, ask to speak to their FOREIGN AFFAIRS STAFFER as they are handling this and tell him/her that you want your Congress member to support the letter calling upon President Bush and President-Elect Obama to extend Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to Liberians. If your Congress Member has already signed, please thank them.   Call Congress Today to Urge Continued Protection for Liberians in the United States   How To Call Congress   Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative's office.   Calls are usually taken by a staff member. Ask to speak with the person who handles immigration issues.   Identify yourself and tell the person you would like to leave a brief message, such as: "I support the immediate extension of Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberians. I urge Representative (Name) to sign the letter to President Bush and President-Elect Obama urging the extension of DED."   -------------- Note: the following Reps in CA have already signed: Maxine Waters, Dianne Watson, Lynn Woolsey, Sam Farr, Barbara Lee, Gary  Miller, Grace Napolitano --------------   Give reasons for your support of the issue. Ask for your representative's position on the letter. You may also request a written response to your telephone call if you wish.        Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) have circulated letters to Members of the House of Representatives calling upon President Bush and President-Elect Obama to extend Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to Liberians. The current DED period ends March 31, 2009.   Please call your Representative today to urge them to add their signature to the letters to President Bush and President-Elect Obama. If they have signed the letters, call to thank them for their support. The letters are circulating right now, so your calls are needed immediately!   Learn more about the Liberian immigration issue at Energy of a Nation.org <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001bnTRF4Fy5drQu75yaPORELNxncVqrQ_6ViABK444c9mOQqOy JTDGZHCIlUh6zE-vqm70foijxDlsS3CJyLdylJUXxHcM8iT8yNkJ5YkURd8iokP7e5s_YWJZQN8t GjeAL77icCUOwTI4f754sk1nMMRwcPvKeH0EzsI4OWRouQM=>   +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ BACKGROUND Why Liberian DED Should Be Extended:   Liberians living in the United States left one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history. Horrific human rights abuses, including mass executions, torture, dismemberment, rape, looting, banditry, and the widespread use of child combatants, traumatized the Liberian population and left the country's infrastructure in ruin.   Since the end of the conflict, Liberia has achieved a fragile stability. However, more than 85 percent of its remaining population is unemployed. Nearly the entire country lives in Monrovia, the capital, which has virtually no infrastructure-power, clean water, habitable buildings. The average life expectancy is under 42 years.   The Department of Homeland Security estimates that over 3,600 individuals currently are registered for DED. Liberians residing in the U.S. have been a source of assistance to Liberia, sending money that helps stimulate Liberia's weak economy. This source of support would be severely diminished if Liberians are forced to leave the U.S.   Liberians who sought protection in the U.S. painstakingly rebuilt their lives. They raised families here, including both U.S.-born and Liberian-born children. Forcing their return will tear families apart. Liberians contribute to our local and state economies. In metro areas with large Liberian communities, the deportation of Liberians will harm sectors of the economy, such as long-term healthcare, that employ large numbers of Liberians. In towns that are home to Liberians, entire neighborhoods will be affected by people leaving their homes and businesses behind.   When civil war erupted in Liberia in 1989, forcing hundreds of thousands of Liberians to flee, many looked to the United States for peace and safety. The United States has extended protection to Liberians since 1990. That protection is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2009.   --------------------- Priority Africa Network Mailing Address: P O Box 2528 Berkeley CA 94702 Office: AFSC Office/PAN 1730 Franklin St. Ste 212 Oakland CA 94612 Tel: (510) 238 8080 ext. 309 Fax: (510) 238 8088 PriorityAfrica@yahoo.com www.priorityafrica.org

 

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