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CHANGE: Organizing for America has put together an interactive map showing the progress made by President Obama's administration in its first 100 days.

You can also read about the individual issues and stories from real people showing how these changes are making an impact in our life worldwide. Check it out: 

Clipart of a newspaper; Size=234 pixels wide

BANGLADESHI EVENT ON 21st FEBRUARY:  

গত ২১শে ফেব্রুয়ারী শনিবার ভার্জিনিয়ার আর্লিংটনস্থ টমাস জেফারসন মিডল স্কুল অডিটোরিয়ামে অনুষ্ঠিত হল বাংলাদেশ সেন্টার ফর কমিউনিটি ডেভেলপমেন্ট ইঙ্ক (বিসিসিডিআই) এর আয়োজনে ৫৭তম ভাষা শহীদ দিবস এবং ৯ম আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবস স্মরণে মনোজ্ঞ সাংষ্কৃতিক অনুষ্ঠান।

The Nonprofit Gazette

New Edition

To be continued;

Q & A to Secretary Clinton:

Town Hall Meeting

Town Hall Meeting

February 04, 2009

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Secretary of State

Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy

Dean Acheson Auditorium

Washington, DC

 

Dear Readers: To save your time, I have added my Q & A on the top. I encourage and request you to continue and read entire question and her historical positive remarks:

QUESTION: Honorable Secretary, my name is Mohammad Saifullah. I am with the IRM Bureau, working for the government for 20 years in the Foreign Service. I also work with the local South Asian community. And during the campaign we had a slogan, “Change.” And I used that slogan also in our community. And at the same time, I just recently visited Bangladesh and India, and I have observed increasingly human rights, women rights, and child labor violation. And what kind of policy you – and measurement you are taking to Bangladesh, India, Southeast Asian countries, to protect their rights and their local South Asian community member? If I can help you with my experience and anything I can do for protecting their rights. Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you for your service, and thank you for that offer. And I hope you will share any ideas you have.

You know, this is kind of coming full circle. Our first question was about women’s rights and disability rights, child labor rights, human rights, which are at the core of, you know, our mission and who we are as a people. We will be, you know, sending a very clear message that we are hoping to encourage changes in law and behavior. I feel very strongly, and said so at my hearing, that the abuses of human rights, particularly women and children, is a crime against all of us, and it is not cultural. You know, when a young girl on her way to school in Afghanistan is attacked by the Taliban and acid thrown in her face because she wants to learn to read and write, that is a crime. When a young child is deprived of the opportunity for an education and forced into labor, that is a crime. When women and children are trafficked into sex trade or other forced labor, that is a crime. There are so many reasons why it’s important for us to speak out against these crimes wherever they occur, and we intend to do so.

We also want solutions. You know, not everything is as, you know, clear as we would want it to be. You know, there is a great deal of concern on the part of some of our friends in South Asia and elsewhere that ending child labor drives families further into poverty. You know, these are the kinds of difficult questions we have to work in partnership with other countries, and recognize and respect the cultural norms, but not end there.

And I’ll just end with this one story because it made a big impression on me. You know, as First Lady, I went to Senegal. And there is an NGO in Senegal that has worked for years. This is not the kind of work that happens overnight. It doesn’t often correspond with our sense of time. And it is something that has to be consistent and continued over however long it takes. And because of the grassroots work supported by the United States Government with small grants, this NGO worked to influence village elders to end the practice of female cutting, convinced the elders that it was a health risk, that it was not religiously based – in one village – and then supported those elders who traveled from village to village to make the case. It wasn’t instantaneous, it wouldn’t fit into a headline, but eventually, it started to change attitudes and behaviors and even laws.

So we have to be creative in our diplomacy and our outreach, and we have to be respectful and humble about others’ life experiences and norms. But we can effectively, and I believe persuasively, make the case as to why we believe certain actions violate common universal human rights. And if we do that with the right attitude and with the patience that is called for, I think we can make more progress than just by issuing edicts, pointing fingers, and making demands.

So with that, thank you all for being part of the American foreign policy instrument. (Applause.)

 

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SAAEA
Non-Profit organization to help employees & communities
Our mission is to help the people 
         
http://saaea.tripod.com          
Phone: 703-912-8165