wfn.org | AFSC Launches Holiday Campaign to Aid Iraqi Children

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.apc.org>]

Mustafa Malik
Director of Media Relations
American Friends Service Committee
PH: 215/241-7060
FAX: 215/241-7275
E-MAIL: mmalik@afsc.org
http://www.afsc.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 1997

   AFSC Launches Holiday Campaign to Aid Iraqi Children

PHILADELPHIA – The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) launches a
monthlong campaign on November 15 to aid the children of
sanctions-afflicted Iraq.

During the "Month of Solidarity with the Iraqi People," the AFSC asks
Americans to send Infant Friend-Ship Kits, which will be rushed to Iraq for
distribution among mothers leaving the hospital with newborns.  The AFSC
will also send Secretary of State Madeleine Albright an Infant Friend-Ship
Kit containing baby supplies symbolizing the desperate needs of Iraqi
children.  In addition, Albright will receive thousands of postcards from
individuals and groups from around the country asking her to remember the
children of Iraq this holiday season.

During the month, AFSC staff nationwide will organize educational programs
on the situation in Iraq.  The activities include organizing seminars and
video screenings, holding vigils, writing letters to U.S. policy makers,
collecting money for needed supplies in Iraq, and preparing Infant
Friend-Ship Kits.
 
More than 100 Iraqi children die each day from hunger and diseases spawned
by seven years of severe economic sanctions, according to UNICEF reports.
Coupled with the devastation caused by the 1991 Gulf War, these sanctions
have brought the Iraqi economy to the brink of collapse.  A country that
once prided itself on its economic self-sufficiency, developed
infrastructure, and highly educated population, Iraq today lies in ruins
and bankruptcy.

Despite the current diplomatic impasse, we believe that children come first.

If you would like to get involved in the "Month of Solidarity With the
Iraqi People" campaign, contact:
 
Kathy Bergen, National Coordinator
AFSC Middle East Peace Education
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
tel:  (215) 241 - 7019
fax: (215) 241 - 7177
e-mail:  kbergen@afsc.org  

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization which
includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice,
peace, and humanitarian service.  Its work is based in the belief in the
worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence
and injustice.