Washington, DC (September 25, 2009) -- Flanked by a towering icon of James Madison and soaring marble walls adorned by the founding father's memorable quotes, Hindu American Foundation (HAF) members capped a long day of intense congressional visits with an dinner reception in the ornate Madison Building of the Library of Congress here Wednesday. Human rights and pluralism were the themes of the evening as members of the House of Representatives and Senate stopped in and Foundation leaders honored a diverse list of supporters with its annual awards and recognitions.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D, NY), perhaps the earliest supporter of the Foundation since its first meetings on the Hill in 2004, accepted a recognition award and addressed the crowd of over 150.
"The Hindu American Foundation has done so much to help end the campaign of violence against Hindus," said Rep. Pallone. "In today's world, it has become extremely important to promote understanding of all cultures and religions and your Foundation has done an admirable job advocating for religious tolerance.”
While Rep. Pallone forcefully spoke out against Pakistan sponsored terror in India's Kashmir and elsewhere, specifically calling out the Lashkar-e-Taiba for its terror attacks in Mumbai, Rep. Danny Davis (D, IL) blasted Sri Lanka's failure to safeguard the human rights of Tamil civilians.
"Many Tamils feel threatened and unsafe and that the [Sri Lankan] government may very well violate their rights," Rep. Davis said at the reception. "It is my hope that peace will mean exactly that, peace and good will."
Also this year, HAF presented two of its Mahatma Gandhi Awards for the Advancement of Religious Pluralism. Rev. Canon Dr. Gwynne Guibord, the Officer of Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, and the Reverend Karen Macqueen, a priest and Associate Rector, joined the Right Reverend J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of their Diocese, in electrifying Hindus last year after issuing a formal apology “for centuries-old acts of religious discrimination, including attempts to convert them.”
After reading a formal letter (click here to read the entire contents of the letter) from Bishop Bruno, Rev. Dr. Guibord said, "We must continue to bear witness to the truth that it is simply not possible to say with any integrity or authentic witness to the values that under-gird our two great faiths, that One loves God but hates another human being." (click here to read the entire speech)
Also honored was the American Jewish Committee (AJC), represented by Richard Foltin, Legislative Director and Counsel in the AJC's Office of Government and International Affairs in Washington, D.C, and Nissim Reuben, Program Officer on Indian-Jewish American Relations, for their work in building bridges between the Jewish and Hindu communities.
Foltin, Reuben and Shadow Senator Paul Strauss (D, DC) spoke on values shared by both the Jewish and Hindu faith traditions. "We seek a more just world allowing us to promote universalist values even as we work to strengthen the viability of our discrete communities, to be both particularistic and universalistic at the same time," said Foltin in his address. (click here to read the entire speech)
"We were honored this year to be joined by our Episcopalian and Jewish partners at this inspiring venue, and our shared message could not be clearer--pluralism and human rights are universal concerns," said Suhag Shukla, Esq., the Foundation's Managing Director. "Looking back on five years of bringing a loud and clear voice to our nation's leaders, we are optimistic that Hindu Americans across our nation see this Foundation as a key stakeholder and an institution that reflects their own coming of age."
Anju Bhargava, the only Hindu member of President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships capped the evening with a call to Hindu Americans to "focus on infrastructure development within our dharmic faith based institutions and access federal funding in its outreach."
Earlier in the day, members of the Foundation's Board of Directors, senior staff and active members fanned out for meetings in over a dozen offices of key Senators and House members. They pressed for increased scrutiny on aid appropriations to Pakistan, garnered support for a letter to the Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. urging diplomatic measures to address the mounting human rights violations in that country against Hindu minorities and endorsed a congressional resolution advocating for safeguarding Tamil lives in Sri Lanka.
Turning to domestic issues, the Foundation added its own voice to those of many faith based groups demanding fairness and compassion in legal immigration legislation, especially as it applies to the religious workers, J-1 exchange physicians and widows and widowers of U.S. citizens. The religious worker Special Immigrant program as well as the J-1 waiver that gives state health agencies the ability recruit foreign physicians to underserved rural and inner-city communities, are set to expire at the end of this month. The end of both programs would have a significant impact on Hindus. The Foundation also advocated for the end of the "widow penalty" which places spouses of U.S. citizens whose citizen spouse die prior to the end of a two year conditional period, in deportation.
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The Hindu American Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism. Contact HAF at 301.770.7835 or on the web at www.HAFsite.org. |
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