|
Washington Update Keep Our Doors Open, Part 2 How can we restore the U.S. refugee program and get more refugees back in the lifeboat? As Annie Wilson wrote (for Part 1 of "Keep Our Doors Open," read this month's From the President's Desk), we can do it, but we need your help. We have posted sample letters that you can send to President Bush, your two senators and your House representative urging them to restore the commitment made to refugees by treating fiscal years 2002 and 2003 as a single year admissions period. Based on current estimates for arrivals in 2002, we ask that the ceiling for 2003 be 115,000 refugees. This would turn a one-year shortfall into a two-year success. You can simply address the letters, sign them and fax them. We will hand deliver the originals if you mail them to LIRS, 122 C St. NW, Suite 125, Washtington, D.C. 20001. Feel free to underline portions of the text for emphasis or write your own comments in the margins! Or, to make your letters even more effective, use the form letters as guides to compose your own letters. Anything you can add from your own experience and any opinion put in your own words will let your representatives know that this is very important to you—and that counts for a lot. After the letter, then what? Stop and think—who else would care about this? Make a list of maybe half a dozen of your friends and colleagues. Ask them to write as well. Will your church or civic organization take up the issue? Write an official letter on its letterhead? Get its members to write? You never know unless you ask! Ready to do more? Great! Give us a call, 202/783-7509, or send us an e-mail and we will put you in touch with others in your area and tell you how to organize a visit to your representatives’ local offices. Whatever you can do will help, so please do whatever you can!
|
|
