Your Excellency,
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA ) writes to you today to register our strong condemnation over the denial of entry and forced repatriation of seven Filipino human rights defenders who came to South Korea to attend the Seoul G20 International People’s Conference organised by Put People First! Korean People’s G20 Response Action. We note that although all of them were granted South Korean visas prior to travel, but they were prohibited from being admitted to the country for the reason that their names were on a blacklist.
In addition to this, we also learned that a number of human rightsdefenders from Pakistan, Nepal and Indonesia—who were invited to attend the same conference—were refused visas to South Korea without reasonable grounds...
Politics
Dear President Obama,
Eleven years ago, I took a flight from India to the “land of opportunity” — America. I was 17 then, and it was the first time I left home to live somewhere else. Although Purdue University in Indiana was surrounded by cornfields, I found myself surrounded by bright folks from all around the world. The university was incredible — in my first semester itself, I took a Physics class taught by a Nobel laureate. A few weeks later, I attended the career fair, searching for a summer internship.
I still remember I was so excited about finding my first job. Unfortunately, 90%+ companies wouldn’t even speak with me because I had a student F1 visa. The odds were worse if you didn’t study engineering or computer science. On the bright side, it did make prioritization...
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Dear MP,
I am writing to you because of my deep concerns about the impact militant Islam is having on our country and to ask you to raise the question as to whether Islam really is a peaceful religion.
We are told constantly by politicians and in the mainstream media that it is a peaceful religion. This is going unchallenged. We are told that the militant extremists have misunderstood the real Islam. If this is true, there are an awful lot of extremists who are misunderstanding Islam. Their numbers are increasing and the atrocities they commit are increasing.
To answer this question honestly we have to examine the life and teachings of Muhammad, the religion's founder, as reported in Islam's foundational texts. Muslims are brought up to believe that he was the perfect human...
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A Man For All Seasons:Barack Obama
Wherein did you learn the secrets
written on buried scrolls and tablets-
that the power of a man
is unto a cosmic system?
Presiding as a robust star
sending matter into orbit.
Wherein did you learn
that if faithful over a few things,
like David, you might be King?
A dream so preposterous
Eclipsed all in its wake!
Feet planted in integrity.
Tempering power
with love and equality.
Running the race with patience.
Carrying forward the baton
of History with indomitable dignity.
Wherein did you learn
that though once in the bulrushes,
like Moses,
you could be raised in Pharaoh's very House?
Copyright@2014Terry-Ann Foster
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Dear UK Politicians and Media,
"The Islamic world is heading toward that which it embraces: Islam as a complete code of life, as believed by every Muslim. This transformation seems inescapable at this moment. But our major concern now is the infidel world, particularly the West. The native population in Europe is declining from low birthrate, while Muslims are procreating at unbridled rates. In the UK, Muslim population is increasing 10 times faster than the rest; the trend should be similar in other Western European countries. And where does this lead? By the middle of this century, Muslims will become the largest religious group in Europe."
M. A. Khan was a Muslim for 35+ years. After the 2001 Twin Tower attack on the USA, he began to examine his faith for what it might be within...
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Dear Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl:
I’ve read quite a lot about you in the media; I even wrote an opinion column about you in the Express-News (“Sorry, Mr. President; Bergdahl swap still wrong,” June 15). Since you and your lawyer have been rather descriptive about your situation, including your experiences while a captive of the Taliban, I thought I’d correspond directly with you — soldier to soldier, so to speak.
But first, please permit me to give you some background — a little context, if you will — so we start out on somewhat of an even footing in terms of our backgrounds and motivations leading to our experiences as members of the U.S. military.
You’re a young man; I sometimes describe myself as an old fart. I’ve spent more than seven decades in the military in some capacity. Two of...
3,015
Dear Jacob,
No, wait, that’s too informal. As Chris Rock, the US comedian declared about his own president during a demonstration of leadership about gun control: “The president of the United States is – you know – our boss, but he’s also you know, the president and the first lady are like the mom and the dad of the country and when your dad says something you listen...”
You’ll appreciate that sentiment, no doubt, having earned somewhat of a reputation for virility as a patriarch yourself. So, let me begin again.
Dear Father Zuma,
I write this letter because I feel angry. And confused. Angry and confused. And betrayed. I write this letter because I feel angry and confused and betrayed. And I have a fanatical devotion to not feeling that way.
In other words, I (or should I...
2,655
Dear Katie,
It is plainly obvious to anyone who is unfortunate enough to come into contact with your remarks that you make such comments purely to gain attention and prompt unnecessary controversy. With this in mind, I thought hard about pandering to your needs by composing this letter knowing that it would have a slither of responsibility in inflating your already ballooning ego. The importance of the subject of mental health, however, compels me to write.
I, I’m sure you may have gathered, am one of the many who suffer from clinical depression. I have been diagnosed by a GP and take medication in order to stay well and to help me to function. I still often have suicidal thoughts and have attempted to take my own life on two occasions. So I suppose this makes me one of those “...
3,291
OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT - IMMIGRATION REFORM
Dear President Obama,
Hoping upon hope, and with no other recourse, I respectfully request your attention to a personal immigration matter that represents both the detriment caused by a lack of reform and the innermost aspirations of an entire nation. My husband and I, we yearn to be free. We ask for nothing more than to love and to hold, as any life partners should. But currently, we have been denied.
It instilled renewed optimism to believe you when at Selma you said: “change depends on our actions, our attitudes… and if we make such effort, no matter how hard it may seem, laws can be passed, and consciences can be stirred”. As President, you have moved America forward on sustainable healthcare, you have brought the economy...
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Dear Mr. President:
The Karen Human Rights Group would like to call your attention to human rights violations that have resulted from the ongoing government military presence throughout Southeast Myanmar.
The Karen Human Rights Group has documented human rights abuses in Southeast Myanmar since 1992. We maintain a team of dozens of local community members trained in human rights documentation. Twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, most recently KHRG was the recipient of the 2013 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award from the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
Reports from our researchers have demonstrated that, despite the ceasefire signed between the Myanmar Government and the Karen National Union in January 2012, the Tatmadaw maintains a substantial and growing presence in...
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