LETTER: Take action for Africa

Please help. A human rights bill (HR 5680) is languishing on the desk of Speaker Hastert from reaching the floor because some dictators in Africa have hired a powerful lobbyist to stop it. In Darfur, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and other places dictators rule with the bayonet and most often with the gun. In Ethiopia and many African countries, dictators snuff many innocent lives of children, women, political opponents and others on a regular basis.

The suffering continues. The question is can you help end the suffering? You can do that by urging the speaker to support basic fundamental rights for the people of Africa and end his support of dictators by using any pretext.

Please call Speaker Hastert to support HR 5680 Human Rights and to pass this human rights bill (HR 5680). The Bill was sponsored by Republican Chris Smith of New Jersey and is supported by Henry Hyde. The former Congressman Dick Army was hired by the Ethiopian dictator to stop it and it’s languishing on the speakers desk since last June.

The U.S. went to war in Iraq presumably in the defense of human rights and democracy, now we can not even get the support of the Speaker for a bill for the same principle. If we don’t do it peacefully, it will end up violently and the U.S. tax payers and defense forces have to bear the burden for cozying with any dictators.

Would you do something for the people of Africa? Can you pick up the phone and dial for human rights? In the long run, it’s saving our tax dollars and some of our brave soldiers when we show we oppose innocent lives from being snuffed out and tortured to death by murderous dictators. The speaker can be reached at 202-225-2976.

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Dula Abdu

University alumnus