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ACTION ALERT FOR UMW
We have two issues to address by making phone calls or by sending e-mails.
Peace and
Refugees around the World.
Refugees
are people who are forced to leave their home countries due to war and
violence. International laws define who gets refugee status and establish
guidelines and rules for the treatment of refugees. The 1951convention of
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) protects refugees from
being returned to their home countries if they fear they will be harmed; the
convention also ensures that refugees are afforded many of the same protections
offered to citizens of the country they have relocated to.
There are an estimated 10.5 million refugees
in the world; 1.1 million fled their
homes in 2012. The war in Syria
has displaced over 4 million people. The U.S. currently houses 262,000
resettled refugees and offers training in soil, irrigation techniques and
climate to help refugees who are living in agrarian communities.
While
women and children comprise 48% of refugees, women bear the major brunt of
gross atrocities such as genital mutilation, rape, sexual assault, acid
attacks, trafficking, forced marriage, honor killings.
Achieving
comprehensive and durable world peace demands that all nations and citizens
work to fully integrate refugees and support their desires for personal
fulfillment through employment, education and family well-being.
ACTION REQUESTED
Call
your local congressional representative at 202-224-3121, or send e-mail, to
urge their support of:
H.R. 2855: Making Appropriations for the
Department of State,
which determines the amount of funding to provide in order to sustain and
secure organizations and bureaus overseas, agencies which makes international
participation in the refugee community possible.
H.R. 6460: THE Strengthening the Refugee
Resettlement Act,
which increases protections and services to all categories of refugees.
Urge your Senator to ratify the
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women.
ACTION ALERT FOR
UMW
We
have two issues to address by making phone calls or by sending e-mails.
Immigrant
Deportations
United
Methodist Bishops Minerva Carcano and Julius Trimble, co-chairs of our
denomination’s Interagency Task Force on Immigration, and Harriet Jane Olson,
top executive of UMW, were among 32 persons arrested on February 17, while
kneeling or standing on the icy concrete in front of the White House. Also
arrested was Bill Mefford, director of Civil & Human Rights at the General
Board of Church & Society.
Ms.
Olson said that UMW has collected thousands of postcards to ask the
administration to stop immigrant deportations. She added that while there are
many things the administration cannot do unless Congress will act, it can
choose how to enforce the law. Currently 1,100 people are deported daily. This
number represents as many relationships that are broken—families that are torn
apart with no reconciliation in sight.
ACTION REQUESTED
Advocate by texting 2million to 877877.
Or
visit action.umc-gbcs.org/joinnetworks.
Call President Obama and ask that he
end the deportations. The goal is to have 1,100 callers, representing the 1,100
people deported daily.
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There
are numerous websites that provide additional information on these issues,
among them:
new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/about/
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