[Peace-discuss] Fwd: (VCNV) Please Tell the U.S. Embassy to Give Hakim a Visa

[Stuart Levy]

 From Voices for Creative Nonviolence - urge US State Dept. to grant a 
visa to an Afghan Peace Volunteer:


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Please Tell the U.S. Embassy to Give Hakim a Visa
Date: 	Mon, 2 Jul 2012 15:01:58 +0000
From: 	Voices for Creative Nonviolence <info at vcnv.org>
Reply-To: 	Voices for Creative Nonviolence <info at vcnv.org>
To: 	<aware at anti-war.net>



Hakim, member of Afghan Peace Volunteers, has been invited to speak in 
the United States on a portion of the August-September Caravan of Peace, 
organized by Global Exchange. We hoped that we would have been able to 
have him as a visitor, just as many U.S. citizens have been visitors 
welcomed by the Afghan Peace Volunteers in Afghanistan.

On Friday, June 29, 2012, Hakim’s visa application in Singapore was 
refused. Yet, the State Department or a U.S. consular office does listen 
and, with sufficient appeals, has been known to grant subsequent visas 
upon reapplication. And so we urge all who receive this to swiftly email 
and call the following, asking that Dr. Wee Teck Young (Hakim) be issued 
a non-immigrant U.S. visa.

More background information is available by reading Kathy's recent 
article at
http://vcnv.org/seeking-a-visa-for-dr-wee-teck-young

Once we know Hakim's next appointment date, we may later ask for calls 
to Congress members who might offer a letter of support.

PLEASE CONTACT THESE PEOPLE, URGE THEM TO LET HAKIM SPEAK, AND GRANT HIS 
VISA.

     Deputy Chief of Mission Louis Mazel email: singaporecon at state.gov
     cc: American Citizens Service: singaporeacs at state.gov

     Dear Mr. Mazel,

     Dr. Wee Teck Young, a Singaporean doctor working in Kabul, has been 
invited to travel to the United States from September 3 - 10, 2012.  He 
is now in Singapore, visiting family.  Last week his application for a 
visa was refused.  I am hoping that he will re-apply.

     Dr. Wee is an internationally respected peace activist and 
commentator on issues of importance to myself and my community, and 
should be allowed to enrich the civil society conversations in the 
United States by participating in this summer’s multi-state speaking 
tour of the U.S.-Mexico “Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity.” 
Having become familiar with his history of consistently sacrificing 
comfort and wealth for his work in Afghanistan, I’m confident that Dr. 
Wee would return to his passion and work in Afghanistan at the end of 
the Caravan. Please facilitate my own first amendment rights and the 
diversity of the American public debate, by allowing a spokesperson I 
celebrate and admire to speak on my behalf in the United States this summer.

Thank you for considering this urgent request.

Sincerely, [Your Name]


---------------

Assistant Chief of Mission Hugo Llorens
Embassy of Afghanistan
American Citizen Services
email: KabulACS at state.gov

Dear Mr. Llorens,

     Dr. Wee Teck Young, a Singaporean doctor working in Kabul, has been 
invited by Global Exchange to travel to the United States, from 
September 2 - 10 as part of a Peace Caravan. Dr. Wee is an 
internationally respected peace activist and commentator on issues of 
importance to myself and my community, and should be allowed to enrich 
the civil society conversations in the United States by participating in 
this summer’s multi-state speaking tour of the U.S.-Mexico “Movement for 
Peace with Justice and Dignity.” Having become familiar with his history 
of consistently sacrificing comfort and wealth for his work in 
Afghanistan, I’m confident that Dr. Wee would return to his passion and 
work in Afghanistan at the end of the Caravan. Please facilitate my own 
first amendment rights and the diversity of the American public debate, 
by allowing a spokesperson I celebrate and admire to speak on my behalf 
in the United States this summer.

     Thank you for considering this request when Dr. Wee re-applies for 
a visa. His application was rejected by a consular official at the U.S. 
Embassy in Kabul, in 2010, when he applied to accompany two young 
Afghans who were invited to travel as part of a tour organized by the 
Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Sincerely,
     [Your Name]

---------------

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton               202-647-5291
Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg 202-647-8636
Call/contact the White House:
     COMMENTS LINE: 202-456-1111
        SWITCHBOARD: 202-456-1414
                         FAX: 202-456-2461
WEBFORM FOR EMAIL: 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

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