Acknowledgments

We would like to state the obvious, acknowledge our debt to all those who have have helped us make this small but meaningful project possible. To name all is just too many; to forgo all, however, would be unforgivable. So, we do the impossible and take on the difficult but in this case unavoidable task of choosing among friends who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to accommodate us and our requests as we have tried our best to make this undertaking a reality. With trepidation, we ask those of you who helped us but do not see your name on this page to excuse us for our effrontery.

First, we would like to thank the four members of Congress who have joined in initiating this campaign on Capitol Hill. They are Representative Elizabeth Furse of Oregon, Representative John Edward Porter of Illinois, Representative Esteban Torres of California, and Representative Frank Wolf of Virginia. We would also like to thank individual members of their staffs, who provided us with an infinite amount of assistance throughout this process. They are, respectively, Marie Rietmann, Kelley Currie, Eric Reuther, and Anne Huiskes.

In addition, we would like to acknowledge Kathryn Cameron Porter, the President of Human Rights Alliance, whose assistance has been vital in the development of this project.

We would also like to thank Karen T. Grisez, an attorney at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, for proofreading the manuscript.

Finally, on behalf of Kurds everywhere, we would like to thank all the supporters of the American Kurdish Information Network for providing us with the means to make this campaign a reality.

Thank you.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS

AMERICAN KURDISH INFORMATION NETWORK (AKIN) is a non-profit tax-exempt organization engaged in advocacy work for political rights of the Kurds. In America, it provides a public service to foster Kurdish-American friendship and understanding; in Kurdish lands, AKIN wishes war to stop, peace to prevail, and the will of the Kurds to be respected and accepted.

American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
2623 Connecticut Avenue, NW, #1
Washington, DC 20008-1522

202.483.6444
202.483.6476 Fax

E-mail: akin@kurdish.org
Home Page: www.kurdistan.org

HUMAN RIGHTS ALLIANCE (HRA) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of international respect for individual and collective freedoms and responsibilities, and the promotion of the universal declaration of human rights. The Human Rights Alliance works to transform human rights standards and conventions into tangible policy initiatives through education and awareness of elected lawmakers and policy makers in the United States, and international and regional institutions. The Human Rights Alliance searches for truth, seeks to empower local peoples, promotes public awareness, and creates innovative alliances for action, as we seek to give voice to the world's forgotten and neglected, especially women and children.

Human Rights Alliance (HRA)
3410 White Oak Court
Fairfax, VA 22030

703.352.8597
703.352.8599 Fax

E-mail: hra@cais.com
Home Page: www.cais.net/hra