When an entire people are systematically oppressed and marginalized, small actions to make their story heard can have dramatic consequences. Similarly, small actions to silence their voice can have dramatic and tragic consequences.

RojTV is one of the only international Kurdish language channels available to Kurds. It broadcasted everything from children’s programmes to Kurdish music and film. But most importantly, it filled the large gap of Kurdish news and politics, information that is ignored or censored from mainstream media. For over a year, RojTV had been embroiled in a long legal battle after being accused of violating Danish anti-terrorism laws. Perhaps you’ve read an article related to the case over the last year, or had been following it avidly. Or maybe the first time you ever heard of RojTV and its legal battle was when the case was closed. Kurds celebrated when RojTV kept its license, despite being found guilty of “terrorism” and charged a hefty fine.

Kurdish celebration was short lived, however. On January 19, Eutelsat Communications decided to stop broadcasting RojTV, effectively shutting down one of the biggest sources of Kurdish news in the world.

With the closing of RojTV, Kurds lose a powerful voice, one that frequently was the only one on their side. With the closing of RojTV, Turkey will no longer be held accountable for the arrest of hundreds of journalists, activists, academics, and even children. Iran can continue to hide the murder of Kurdish migrant workers on the Iranian border, and the arbitrary detention and execution of Kurdish activists. Images of Turkish massacres, like the most recent in Roboski, will no longer flicker across the screens of thousands of people, who can then mobilize to demand justice for their dead.

To you, perhaps, the only emotion you felt was “good riddance”. RojTV was provocative, some say. Or worse, an incitement to terrorism. Its messages had no place in anyone’s living room, you claim.

Dear reader, we’re here to tell you your claims are wrong.

Differences in political opinions should flourish. We’re not telling you to think exactly like us. But the dangers in silencing any political opinion are always more dangerous than any political opinion itself. The censorship of RojTV by the Danish courts, Eutelsat Communications, and by the pressures of Turkey itself extend far beyond the closure of this one Kurdish station. With the closing of RojTV, the voice of the Kurds has been silenced, and because Kurds are humans, who proudly claim their basic human rights, a voice of humanity has been silenced.

For you see, the Kurdish struggle isn’t just the Kurdish struggle, just like the Palestinian struggle isn’t just the Palestinian struggle, and the Egyptian struggle and Bahraini and Syrian. Wherever people sacrifice their time, and their lives, for greater freedom for their people, all of us who are invested in human rights and social justice gain. We, the authors of this letter, aren’t Kurds. One of us is Bahraini, the other Syrian. We’re from two countries run by dictatorships. Our people understand very sharply how valuable freedom is. It is only because we value freedom in our own countries that we feel a duty to stand with the Kurds. We cannot advocate for our own voices while we accept the silencing of others.

This is what motivates us. This is our cause. We are not terrorists, nor advocates of terrorists. Odds are, the word doesn’t mean what you think it means anyway. But either way, there is no political agenda behind our efforts. We merely speak up against violations of human rights, something the Kurds suffer far too often.

And because we speak up, we, as Arabs, are the target of some of the same attacks that Kurds face themselves. We receive hate mail and threatening comments, usually in the name of extremist Turkish nationalists. Our site has faced numerous hacking attempts. All because we stand up for Kurds. If we, as non-Kurds, face this abuse, then what do our Kurdish brothers and sisters have to put up with, simply for claiming their right to their rich historical and cultural background? For asking to live with dignity?

We realize we are reaching out to an unfamiliar audience. You may have never met a Kurd, or have your own opinions regarding the Kurdish struggle. Regardless of anything else, everyone has a basic human right to a voice, and a voice that is heard. Despite centuries of abuse, despite their very language being banned, the Kurdish voice has never been louder. At the very least, you have an obligation to hear them out. Banning TV stations and imprisoning journalists won’t silence the Kurds, but it will lay the foundations for a dangerous world where we all surrender our basic human rights to the people in power, where surveillance and censorship are valued more highly than dignity and liberty.

The Kurds are facing a painful battle for their freedom, one they’ve paid for with their lives. With your support, crimes against the Kurdish people will no longer weigh on humanity’s conscience. Speak up for a world where everyone can be heard regardless of ethnicity or faith. Freedom is non-negotiable. If these crimes are allowed to go unnoticed and unpunished, you could be next.

In solidarity,
S. Boulad
E. Al Shafei
The Alliance for Kurdish Rights

You can see an Arabic copy of the new regulation below, it consist of 4 paragraphs, each one is restricting wearing certain clothes and shoes to females employed in the ministry and signed by the women affairs coordinator.

It therefore baffles me how little consideration they have for those individuals who need to be protected online especially if they use the internet as a resource to engage in risky (but necessary) activities. Anything from discouraging anonymity on the likes of Facebook and Google+ to requiring legit photos on sites like LinkedIn, not realizing that some of us live in areas where human rights advocacy is not just frowned upon but severely punishable by our governments. Anything you do to protect yourself – these companies consider to be against their “user agreement” forcing you to reveal sensitive information, making this field 10 times more dangerous just so these companies can be more “relevant” and therefore profitable. The problem is that we can’t just simply quit these services. We need them as tools to empower our work.

Every other week I’d get an email from an internet service stating that my account has been deleted or disabled.

Why? “You’re not using a real photo.” No, I use an avatar, which they deleted, and then another avatar, which they also deleted, and attempted to keep it empty, which they didn’t allow, and then finally resorted to just having a logo – but uh oh! Disabled again. This is despite my several attempts at communicating this to customer service reps at these companies. They couldn’t care less. Regardless of what their CEOs say at tech conferences. Irrelevant. They do not abide by these values when it comes to managing their companies and reviewing their user agreements and privacy policies. Do we matter?

Despite all that is being said about the future of the internet, and how great and open it’s going to be specifically in light of the SOPA debates, this remains to be a huge issue. We talk about censorship but we don’t expose the double standards of some of these online companies. Sure we can simply stop using their services – it’s theirs and they can do whatever they want to their terms of agreement (which to be fair we had to agree on before signing up on the site), but it’s still alienating, it’s still dangerous and the more and more companies that adopt these policies the more we risk losing in this struggle against censorship and surveillance.

I want internet companies to realize that they’re not doing their service a favor by alienating many of us who prefer to keep ourselves protected. There is certain information that we really prefer to simply not share. It’s not because we’re stubborn. It’s because not all of us are courageous enough to share every aspect of our lives, checking in from every location, uploading every photo, revealing our physical addresses or phone numbers. Some of us have a lot of reason to be scared shitless of the likelihood of being an easier target by ruthless regimes and armed groups if we did share all of these bits and pieces that these services require.

We’re not asking you to recreate your products to be more fitting for our needs. We’re not asking you to make your products more tempting for spambots and potentially abusive users.

We’re asking you to be considerate.

We’re asking you to make an exception.

For some of us out there, our lives literally depend on these little exceptions.

Respect our privacy if you want users to be loyal to your service. After all, you need us to keep churning up those big checks, don’t you? And we could also your help in staying connected without having to magnify the risks involved in our sensitive online activities.

Please don’t ban me from every service you produce simply for wanting to stay safe.

The stabbing by three masked men Friday night of Mahmoud Abu Rahma, international affairs director of al-Mezan Human Rights Center, is seen as one of the more serious incidents of internal violence since the Islamic militant group’s armed takeover of Gaza in 2007. Hamas leaders have condemned the attack, which wounded Abu Rahma in the hand, back and leg, and insist it is not related to his criticism, human rights activists counter that the assault is the latest in a series of episodes undermining free expression for which the government bears ultimate responsibility.

”From what we have heard from Mahmoud and al-Mezan and according to the investigations they have made, this is a continuation of the attack on freedom of expression,” said Jaber Wishah, deputy director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). ”As long as the authority is the responsible body, the full responsibility falls on its shoulders to stop such attacks.”

Abu Rahma had received numerous death threats since January 1. That was when he published an article on the Maan news agency website accusing resistance groups of causing death and injury by deploying and training next to schools and homes, a charge frequently leveled by Israel but until now not publicly voiced by Palestinians.

On January 3, Abu Rahma was roughed up by unarmed men, and on Friday he escaped being stabbed in the chest only because he was able to use his laptop as a shield, his brother Imad said, adding that the assailants shouted at him that he was a ”collaborator” with Israel.

In his article, Mr. Abu Rahma wrote:”Many citizens fall victim to the continuous negligence of the resistance groups, who show little or no care for people’s life and well being, or worse, fail to take responsibility for shocking acts by their members.Numerous people were injured by live fire coming from resistance group training sites including children, and at least one man lost an eye.”

He added that there is a training site in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya ”that threatens people every day including a girl who was injured inside her school when an explosion occurred in this site.”’

Abu Rahma also criticized the ”misfiring” of rockets aimed at Israel that ”fall on houses and kill [Gaza] civilians”
”Many children have been killed or maimed by explosive devices left in the streets or on farms,” he added. ”And there is the young man who was shot in the legs for daring to criticize a local resistance leader.”.

”Who will protect the people from the wrongful acts of the resistance and government?” Abu Rahma asked.
The assault on Abu Rahma follows a string of attacks against media outlets last year, including an attempt to set fire to the Maan offices in July and an incident in March, during which armed men entered the offices of Reuters and threatened employees with guns. According to Reuters account, the men struck one journalist on the arm with a metal bar and threatened to throw another out the window of the high rise. They took away a video camera apparently after they spotted a reporter filming a demonstration from a building. The group smashed a television set and other equipment before leaving and also seized videotapes from nearby offices of CNN and the Japanese station NHK. Reuters reported that the men said they came from Hamas internal security, but senior Hamas officials condemned the action and denied the group was involved in it.
”We are seeing a silencing of the press,” says Wishah, from PCHR.”These acts cause internal censorship which is even more harmful than external censorship.”

Salah Bardawil, a Hamas legislator, termed the attack against Abu Rahma ”a deplorable act.”

”Any attack on a Palestinian citizen is a crime and an attack on a human rights activist is a bigger crime,” he said. Bardawil stressed, however, that he thought the attack was the work of criminal elements and not political or related to Abu Rahma’s article.

He said Hamas works to uphold freedom of expression ”but on the ground there are some transgressions and we in the legislative council are working to correct this.” Bardawil took issue with Abu Rahma’s assertion that fighters endanger the lives of civilians by positioning themselves close to homes. ”These are the houses of our children and we don’t ever allow any resistance training that endangers civilians,” he said.

I have set up an e-petition urging the British Government to recognize the Genocide inflicted upon the Kurdish population by the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

If we get 100,000 signatures than they will debate this cause in the British Parliament, thus please sign and pass on your petition.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/25526

I would like to thank you all for the support and for being a friend to Kurdistan.

Laween Atroshi

As a British – Born Kurdish Health professional whereby having graduated in the cutting edge field of Biomedical Informatics I wanted to prove locally, nationally and internationally that this is not an accurate reflection of the Kurdish people.

Indeed, after visiting Kurdistan for the first time in July 2011 & October 2011 it was quite hard not to notice the wealth of talent, determination and skills that stem from the Kurdish professionals.

After visiting different universities and hospitals it was clear professionals and the youth were very dynamic and keen to grow. Moreover, the influx of girls being encouraged to study and work was overwhelming and an area that carries my support. As with any system, there will be flaws but a reform is happening and I always think of the saying ‘Rome was not built in a day’.

My message to my fellow Kurds has always been to study and utilize the knowledge gained effectively and contribute it back to Kurdistan. For Kurdish Anfal recognition I started an e-petition on the British Government website urging them to recognize and remember the Kurdish Anfal. Indeed,www.ekurd.net the weapon of defense for our forefathers was riffles but now it’s the pen and it should be used to protect Kurdistan and show the world the talent this forgotten nation holds.

However, actions speak louder then words so I nominated the Slemani Autism Centre a project initiated by a non-political NGO called Kurdistan Save The Children working collaboratively with the Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs for the most prestigious award of public service from the United Nations. This is the first time in history that Iraq has been nominated for such an award and my rationale for doing so was because it promotes and integrates disability into society. it acts as a platform to encourage community partnership & serves as an educational tool in reforming the stigmatization of disabilities.

We may not win the award but at least we are striving hard to try and compete intellectually at that platform and will be recognized for attempting.

Kurdistan may not be independent at the moment but by working collaboratively as one voice we can claim independence at other channels, nationally and internationally which will gradually lead to Kurdistan’s independence by having people informed on our capabilities and peaceful rich culture.

Thus, as Kurds we must never give up, never be pessimistic and always support each other and aim high, with the hope we may become recognized for our good qualities and talented workforce.

Laween Atroshi
UK Health Informatician & Ambassador For Peace (UPF)
All views & opinions are of my own and do not reflect my employers or any organization whom I have a direct or indirect affiliation with.

Tweet me @laweenatroshi and let me know your opinions, I could be wrong but this is how I feel from my experience. My views do not reflect any individual or institution. www.laweenatroshi.com

- Half of the period of Kareem
Whenever I think of the length of my sentence (2 years), I remember that Kareem Amer was imprisoned for 4 years and he was ignored more than me million times… I was sentenced with half of the period which he spent, despite I was exceeding the limits a million times more than him… The universe isn’t fair! 2011/12/16

- The ones who kept silent
What did injustice to me wasn’t the military… What did injustice to me were the ones who kept silent on the societal racism against me for the past years and the ones who kept silent on the military’s continued violations against me. 2011/12/16

- Public debate
Military officers are capturing (making themselves as lions) and everyday the come in newspapers and TVs to say lies about me, they know that I’m imprisoned, I won’t be able to respond to their lies… If the military officers (and the leaders of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces) had the courage, I invite them to a live debate on air in any subject he chooses… What’s up then? 2011/12/16

- Maltreatment
There are many prisoners who treat me very badly… Many times I feel that there are many Egyptians who don’t deserve the sacrifices which were made for them. Many of the Egyptians don’t deserve anyone but Mubarak, Tantawi and Abboud El-Zomor… No angel is going to come by elections in a society of devils! 2011/12/16

- El-Ganzouri and the Chinese experience
All of El-Ganzouri’s interest is in economy and security, he has no relation with politics or political reform… This is the same line for the National Democratic Party which was repeating the Chinese experience which was built upon the economic reform while continuing in political tyranny! 2011/12/20

- Prison is
Prison under the rule of the militarist regime of July is a place where criminals restrict the freedom of the nobles! 2011/12/21

- Post in prison
I get so happy with the letters which reach me in prison, this elevates my morale so much… I don’t feel strange of the letters which reach me from Europe, America and Canada, but I didn’t expect that I would receive letters from countries such as Bahrain and South Korea. A few letters reach me from Israel, I feel delighted by them, despite that I am sad of their scarcity… Freedom must come. 2011/12/22

- The accused is convicted till proven innocent
The military keeps on stating in the media that the sentence issued against me was because I couldn’t deny the charges against me. Maximum impertinence! What are the principally?! Is the accused innocent till proven guilty, or is he convicted till proven innocent? Principally, the human is innocent and a sentence is issued against him if a proof was found proving his conviction, and if the proof was missing he should be acquitted even if he had actually committed a crime. But the philosophy of distributing the charges to the people without a proof and demanding them to find a proof of their innocence, it’s a legal futility which doesn’t exist in any respectable country. 2011/12/22

- I forgot the keyboard
I feel that because of the length of my confinement, I forgot the places of the letters on the keyboard… Damn. 2011/12/23

- The civilian judiciary isn’t less corrupt
My experience in dealing with the civilian judiciary says that the civilian judiciary isn’t less corrupt that police, military judiciary, State Security courts or any other corrupt establishment… The civilian judiciary was the one to imprison Saad El-Din Ibrahim, Kareem Amer and Ayman Mansour, also it was the one to imprison Ayman Noor and forfeiting of his political rights and refused to re-try him again after the revolution. The civilian judiciary is the one to confine Alaa Abdel Fattah right now, and it was the one to aid Mubarak and later Tantawi to manipulate the results of elections… Even in my presence inside prison, the public prosecution is colluding with the ministry of interior and is helping them to escape punishment of their crimes… A total revolution is needed to purge the judicature. 2011/12/23

- I need a lawyer
It’s unbelievable that I’ve been imprisoned for 9 months and I asked for a lawyer to visit me in prison and no lawyer practiced this mission came to visit me… I think that it’s my right for the revolutionary lawyers that they come to visit me and help me to take legal steps against the violations which are committed against me inside prison. 2011/12/23

- Against the judiciary supervision on elections
For all of my life I’ve been against the judiciary supervision over elections, this was the reason that I didn’t sign the statement for Baradei before the revolution… I knew that the Egyptian judiciary is Islamized and would give the country to Islamists. The Egyptian judiciary is racist, against women, it was clear from its refusal to appoint women in judicial positions. The Egyptian judiciary is racist against non-Muslims, it was the reason in the disgusting rulings against atheists, Bahais and sometimes Christians… In the respectable countries, there is a national council for elections, representing all factions of the society, and there is an essential role for the civil society, we should do that if we loved to be a respectable country and to have fair elections. 2011/12/23

- Defenders and opponents
I feel it’s strange of the people who defend me without having been read my articles. How come you defend someone without knowing what did he say? I also feel it’s strange of the people who attack me and swear-word me without having been read for me anything. How come you attack me and criticize me without knowing what did I say? Isn’t it possible that when you read for me you would be convinced with I say? All the issue reminds me of all the ones who defended or attacked Sayyed El Qemni, Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid and Farag Foda, without even reading anything of their writings… A nations that doesn’t read is a disgusting nation. 2011/12/23

- The girl whom they stripped
It pained me so much to see the picture of the girl who was stripped by Tantawi army during the breaking of the sit-in of the cabinet… I tell her that nudity isn’t a sin, the body isn’t a shame, many girls around the world recuperate on beaches with bikinis without any problem… But, the shame, the scandal and the disgrace have to be attributed to the soldiers who take their salaries from our taxes to protect us, but instead they betray the trust and direct their weapons to their citizens and rape the nobles… All the shame and disgrace on the Egyptian military and all who is in it while keeping silent on what happened. 2011/12/24

- The military elongated its period of conflict with me
I was supposed to travel to Europe in the last June, and I would have started a master, then a doctorate, I would have been out at least 5 years outside Egypt… But, the military’s stupidity confined me and made me free to write against it, it confined many people against the military and is contributing in taking-off its legitimacy gradually… The one who takes the decision inside the military holds a doctorate with an excellent rating in folly. 2011/12/25

- My hunger strike and Nahhas Pasha
I just knew that Mustafa El-Nahhas Pasha died in 23 August… It was the same day I started my hunger strike… I’m happy with this coincidence, because Nahhas is almost the only political personality that I respect in the contemporary history of Egypt… A rose on your grave, the leader of the nation. 2011/12/25

- The dentist
I almost wonder of my bravery in confronting death and my strong frighting of the dentist… How weird are humans! 2011/12/26

- How many members of the Muslim Brotherhood died a martyr in the revolution?
We know that many Christians and Muslims died in the revolution, men and women, old and young people… But, the vital question: how many member of the Muslims Brotherhood was killed! 2011/12/26

The involvement of the Arab League, and its recent dispatch of observers to different regions in Syria, have fueled protests throughout the country, including in the Kurdish region. On December 23rd, named “the Friday of the Protocol of Death” in a mockery of the “protocols” that Bashar al Assad supposedly agreed to with the Arab League, Kurdish protesters filled the streets of Qamishlo, waving giant Kurdish flags and Syrian independence flags. This last Friday, the Friday of “God Will Grant Us Victory”, resulted in protests in essentially every Kurdish region of Syria, from Amûdê, Kobanî, Dirbêsî, Hasakeh, Dêrik, Tirbesipî, to Qamişlo.

In this clever protest from Amûdê, a protester dressed as the late Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi in a mockery of him.

Also in Amûdê, protesters had criticism for both the Syrian regime and for the crimes of Turkey after an air strike killed 35 Kurdish villagers.

The Kurdish cities of Syria have also been enthusiastic participants in the Dignity Strike, which continues to unfold in various stages. In Qamishlo, entire streets have been completely shut down at different points, and even some merchants in Aleppo (which has been the most reluctant city in participating in the protests) shut down their businesses at great risk to themselves, especially in the Kurdish region of Kobanî (Ein al-Arab).

Although Kurds have been enthusiastic participants of the Syrian revolution, the question of the Kurdish role in a future free Syria remains to be seen. The main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, displayed some problematic tendencies in its supposed inclusion of Kurds, including a disturbing statement by SNC president Burhan Ghalioun where he compared Kurds in Syria to immigrants in France. Since then, however, the Syrian National Council has made explicit overtures to Kurdish organizations, including the Kurdish youth organizing committee. The SNC also made a strong statement during its first congress in Tunisia that it will seek constitutional recognition of the national Kurdish identity, and stated that it will seek a democratic resolution to the issue of the denial of Kurdish human rights.

As the Syrian opposition takes shape, a second Kurdish opposition coalition has been formed, explicitly outlining their position on many key issues. Some of their positions are to ensure “dialogue with all Kurdish political powers outside of the coalition, coordination of the efforts to ensure the unity of the Kurds” and “[rejecting] violence and the encouragement of forgiveness, reconciliation, and tolerance among all citizens, as well as respect for all international treaties and conventions, as well as for human rights”.

Protest in support of the Kurdish National Council in Kobanî (Ein al-Arab):

One of the highlights of Kurdish participation in the Syrian revolution has been the emergence and celebration of the Kurdish identity within Syria. Protesters continue to chant in both Kurdish and Arabic, and wave Kurdish and Syrian independence flags. As the regime weakens, Kurdish involvement in a new and free Syria should be of upmost importance.

beautiful hoisted flags in Derbasiyeh sit-in protest

Crowdvoice’s page “Kurdish Protests Against Assad” contains a comprehensive collection of the latest videos, pictures, and blogs from Kurdish protests in Syria.

This post was cross-posted from our website KurdishRights.org. For ongoing updates follow us on Twitter @KurdishRights.

- Please describe AWB: when was it established, by whom, and what is the objective or statement of purpose for the organization?

AWB was founded in 2007 by young Assyrians from Sweden who had traveled to Tur Abdin, South-Eastern Turkey, to visit their home land. For many, that trip was their first to the land of their ancestors. Most participants were surprised by the low living standards of their fellow men. For some of them this trip became a turning point in their lives and the beginning of Assyrians Without Borders. When they came back to Sweden they decided that something needed to be done, and this time, it was to be done properly. They applied for membership in SFI, a Swedish foundation that controls Swedish humanitarian organisations to make sure that every penny that is donated to the organisation is well spent. This means that our activities are closely watched and that our donors know that their donations actually reach the target group.

AWB is the one humanitarian organisation in Europe with Assyrians as a target group which is being scrutinized by an official national institution. This implies that AWB is an organisation to be trusted, but also an organisation that is professional, which follows Swedish organisational standards and above all which is devoted to its cause. Our overall aim is to help Assyrians in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran to help themselves. By Assyrians we mean all churches included, Syriac, East-Assyrian and Chaldean. By self-help, we mean implementing long term sustainable projects that aim at helping the target group improve its own standard of living. We implement long-term sustainable projects such as infrastructural ones like the construction of water tanks, the reparation of water channels or the installation of generators. We also put much emphasis on education by supporting schools and facilitating access to them. We grant scholarships to Assyrian university students two times a year (once every semester). We implement emergency relief, mostly for refugees, trough the distribution of life necessities such as food, baby diapers or medicine. Last year, we distributed wheelchairs to disabled refugees in Damascus. We work both directly with the target group, through village schools and with the students that apply for scholarships and with partner organisations located in the area. Part of our work is also to raise public opinion about Assyrians’ situation. Everyone that works for AWB is a volunteer.

- What are the current projects of the AWB?

Our latest project was the financing of a school bus which now safely drives Assyrian children to Assyrian schools in the governorate of Duhok, northern Iraq. In total, 85 Assyrian students, living in the remote villages of Koregavana, Bagere and Romta, now travel safely to Akkad Basic School and Nasebin High School, where they can practice their native language freely and where tuition is in Assyrian. We also granted 6 students from Iraq and Syria scholarships of 600 € each. This year’s Christmas project aims at helping 353 Assyrian refugee families from Iraq that now live in Damaskus by providing them with foodstuff. Most of the refugees are widows and orphans and thereby some of the most vulnerable Assyrians in the world at the moment. Our primarily goal is to work on a long term basis, which such an emergency relief isn’t. In a better world, there would be no need for food distributions, but the reality is harder than many would like to believe and these Assyrians are in acute need of a helping hand. We wished to reach out to them and brighten up their Christmas holiday.

- What are some of the success stories of AWB?

Following last year’s Christmas campaign, we collected some of the reactions within the target groups. Jameelah Bazo, one of the 29 disabled refugees who received a wheelchair during our Christmas campaign said: ” Before, I always needed someone to help me in and out of my bed, you gave me new legs and the possibility to move”. Villagers reported, through our partner organization, following our second Christmas project 2010, “Water and Electricity for Assyria” that: “We (villagers of Peposey and Sardarava) are now able to link water to our houses”. They added that “the new water tank in Bebad now is a source of water supply to a large number of households providing us with clean drinking water and the irrigation channel gave life to many farms”.

- What are the best ways for people worldwide to support AWB?

Spread the word about AWB and the Assyrians’ situation. Increase your own and other people’s awareness about Assyrians. Follow our work through our web site: assyrianswithouthborders.com and make a difference by donating or just spreading the word. Inspire people from all backgrounds to understand the situation and find interest in it.

- The plight of Assyrians within the Middle East have been largely ignored by the international media and rights groups, how can we best communicate the urgency of this situation to such audiences to increase awareness and inspire action?

The power of the media is not to be underestimated. Use the new generation of social networking to reach out. It is also important to push through information and recognition to congresses and parliaments. Write reports and send them everywhere, never take no for an answer.

Thank you Robel for your work and for taking the time to inform our readers about it!

To our readers: Don’t forget to support AWB by spreading awareness about the plight of Assyrians and to donate to the initiative.

This article first appeared on our website AssyrianRights.org.