State Dept. Must Review Decision on Visas for Afghan Peace Volunteers

[annm4peace]

Please sign the petition. They deserve our help.

Several years ago I watched a live skype type video that was streamed from Afghanistan from the this Afghan peace group. They were so young and full of hope. That same year one of our Vets for Peace joined Kathy Kelly and visited Afghanistan and spent several days with these young men.

they are an inspiration and should be on CNN and other stations. They even organized and had a non-violent peace march that advocated non-violent tactics for peace.




Together with our allies, we flooded the State Department with emails asking them to grant a visa to Hakim, a leading peace activist in Afghanistan. When Hakim re-applied, the U.S. Consulate reconsidered his case and they granted the visa.

But Hakim is a mentor to the Afghan Peace Volunteers. When he visits the United States, at least two of those youth should come with him. Abdulhai and Ali (in photo at right) care deeply about their country. They are not a risk to stay in the United States (as the State Department fears). The only risk is that they will tell us what our occupation of their country is doing, and what they are doing to promote nonviolent alternatives.

We submitted a petition to the State Department with thousands of signatures, to no apparent effect. Visas for Abdulhai and Ali have been denied. Now it's time to flood our government with emails again. Let them know how much this means!



http://www.alternet.org/story/156411/why_the_us_should_honor_the_courageous_afghan_peace_volunteers

Why the US Should Honor the Courageous Afghan Peace Volunteers
A mentor of the Afghan Peace Volunteers urges the US to grant two young activists visas for a "Caravan for Peace" tour.

[annm4peace]

1. The Afghan Peace Volunteers are a grassroots group of ordinary, multi-ethnic Afghans

http://ourjourneytosmile.com/blog/about/

We are Afghan college students and youth who started this journey in 2008.
The Afghan Peace Volunteers are a grassroots group of ordinary, multi-ethnic Afghans seeking a life of non-violence, the unity of all people, equality, and self-reliance. We seek non-military solutions for Afghanistan and do not work for the benefit of any political group or religion.
We envision Afghans from all ethnic groups uniting for a non-violent movement towards a peaceful life.

[annm4peace]

2. the US embassy denied them Visa's

sad.