Dear Dato' Wong Chun Wai,
I have to place on record my deep disappointment at your recent article in The Sunday Star of 17 May 2009, under the title "A Disease Not To Be Sneezed At". You have in essence attributed the incidence and resurgence of certain diseases in our country to the presence of migrant workers and illegal immigrants. However the only factual basis for the views you expressed were 2 reports, one from 2000 and another from 2004. Indeed the 2004 report to which you referred merely documented the incidence of certain diseases amongst 1 million foreign workers examined nationwide. No comparison was made with any contemporaneous or subsequent study of the incidence of such diseases amongst Malaysians to establish any causal link. In any event, neither of these reports...
Lifestyle
Dear Senators and Representatives:
On this, the 100th anniversary of our great State being admitted into the Union, we must fight back attempts that promote hatred, that promote divisiveness, that promote xenophobia, and distrust – plus increase the danger to New Mexico residents. On this, the 100th anniversary of our great State, it is shameful that Governor Susana MartÃnez chooses to push her anti-immigrant legislation. You would figure that in 100 years of Statehood, New Mexico would be a land where racial tolerance and acceptance are principles of decorum, where languages and cultures co-exist in harmony, and where diversity of the State’s residents is hailed as a cornerstone of our Statehood. Yet, Governor MartÃnez has chosen to destroy all of this. Again, she is pursuing anti...
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Dear Fellow Americans of Iowa,
Every four years, you lead in our country’s tradition of grassroots democracy by hosting the rst major event in determining the candidates for President of the United States.
In the current divisive political climate, we reach out to you because it is more important than ever to give a clear and early message to a few of our candidates who espouse views that are not only hurtful but also an affront to the values of freedom and equal opportunity that we all hold dear.
We, the American people, will not be taken in by emotional and fearful rhetoric that neither assesses the situation in our country accurately nor presents solutions that are rational, workable, or practical.
Many of us also do not automatically buy into the notion that America is...
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Dear Mr. Hoekstra,
My name is Kyle Kamidoi and I am a second year law student at Wayne State University Law School. I am also the President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), and Public Relations Director of the National Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (NAPALSA). I am writing to you today regarding a campaign ad dubbed "Now" that you recently aired during the Super Bowl. In the ad you depict a young Chinese woman speaking broken English and talking about the outsourcing of Michigan jobs to foreign competitors. On behalf of my organization and supporting organizations I request that you formally apologize to the Pacific...
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Dear health care leaders,
Our American democracy was founded on the promise of freedom of religion, a conviction that invites immigrants from all over the world and enables our country to grow and prosper. Our health care system is strong because we celebrate that diversity — understanding diverse perspectives and cultural practices is fundamental to providing the highest quality of care.
Today, hatred and xenophobia have been thrust into our daily lives in a way that degrades our common humanity and impairs our ability to work together.
Muslims have been unfairly targeted in a manner that is simply un-American; and as further evidenced by a national Pew Poll, Muslims are viewed with the most distrust of any religious group. Yet, Muslims are important members of our medical...
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Dear Mr. Justice Kennedy:
By now, everyone appreciates the pivotal role you will play in the constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act. The fate of this law depends on you. We also know how central liberty is to many of your decisions — from abortion to sexual privacy to gun control (though not, apparently, to strip search regulations). But no one seems capable of capturing exactly what your interpretation of liberty is, or what it might foretell for this case.
I do not deign to describe the subtleties of your liberty jurisprudence to you. But I do think I can provide a sketch of the intellectual terrain in which you will be deliberating in the weeks ahead. For this, there is no better place to turn than to the writings of Isaiah Berlin, an Oxford philosopher whose essays...
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Dear Ms. Arbour,
As representatives of non-governmental human rights organizations engaged in combating racism, discrimination and xenophobia, we feel obliged to strongly support the report and recommendations of Mr. Doudou Diène, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, devoted to the Russian Federation and presented on 11 June 2007 at the Fifth Session of the UN Human Rights Council in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution No. 60/251 from 15 March 2006.
Mr. Diène visited the Russian Federation in June 2006 and drafted the aforementioned report in large part on the basis of information and testimony collected during his visit. In the course of preparing for this mission, Mr. Diène had a...
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I am a director of the English Language School, a business that teaches English predominantly to foreign students. We have been in operation since 2009 and we currently have 5 full-time employees, 3 teachers and 2 admin staff. Veronica Tima started here as a cleaning lady in 2009, and I’m proud to say, through her incredible aptitude, she has worked her way up to the position of Administration Manager! We are a proud little business that operates in rented space overlooking Greenmarket Square in Cape Town. ELS is a member of EduSA, along with about 25 other schools in South Africa operating in this domain.
As you know, the Ministry of Higher Education devolved the regulatory authority of overseeing language schools to Services Seta. We (along with the EduSA members) have been...
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Dear Chairman Mugabe:
I am mournfully penning down these few words with deep sympathy and empathy overshadowing my entire being for our fellow African brothers and sisters who are undergoing cruel persecution simply because they are not South Africans. My heart is beset by series of atrocious scenes emanating from cities across South Africa as inhumane hostility against peaceful immigrants and foreign nationals intensifies. The dawn of brutality and bloodletting pervading every echelon of South Africa today is a complete contradiction to Pan-Africanism and an irony to African Unity.
The most pathetic and deadliest incident of recent in Africa is the unending xenophobic campaign in South Africa. Mr. Chairman, the African Union must act fast to find a permanent resolution to this...
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Dear #NoToXenophobia people,
Shaken up, aren’t you? You saw some knobkerries and hammers and you’re ready to pack up.
When you are done passing on sandwiches to foreigners maybe you can come visit us, the locals. Maybe you can come see our lives.
Last week, my sister’s son was bitten by amagundwane, you know, those big rats. Moses survived, but now we don’t know if he has rabies. They took him to the clinic, but they said he has to come back next week because
the nurse couldn’t find a taxi. Because of xenophobia they said. So my sister came back home to Kennedy Road (she lives in Durban) and her son will get bitten again. Because of the foreigners. The world must stop. Because of them.
Xenophobia is the cause of everything today. There aren’t any toilets. Because of xenophobia. No...
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