Call Your Congressman & House Foreign Affairs Committee: Help stop violence against Hindus in Bangladesh

Hindu American Foundation

Namaste HAF Supporters,

We need you to make TWO 30 second calls today: Call your Congressman and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As the HAF delegation prepares to hit the halls of Congress next week for the 10th Annual DC Advocacy Days, we need your help in laying the groundwork on an important and timely issue.

What is the issue?

We are asking the House Foreign Affairs Committee to hold a hearing on the escalating violence against minorities, mainly Hindus, in Bangladesh. 

The most recent violence follows the convictions of three Jamaat-e-IsIami (JeI) leaders by the International Crimes Tribunal for engaging in "crimes against humanity" during Bangladesh's 1971 War of Independence from Pakistan, when an estimated three million people were killed and 200,000 women raped. JeI is a radical Islamist political organization seeking to create a theocratic Islamic state in Bangladesh. 

Since late January, large-scale violence by supporters of JeI has resulted in more than 80 deaths and several hundred injuries. Hindu villages, in particular, have been systematically attacked with more than 47 temples destroyed and approximately 700 homes vandalized or burned to the ground.

Why does your call matter?

Influence in a democracy comes down to numbers. Each call made by an HAF supporter increases the importance of this issue. Every single call counts, and your call will be reinforced by HAF's DC Days delegates when we meet with Congressional offices and the Foreign Affairs Committee next Tuesday. 

Our goal is to generate 150 phone calls on this issue before next Tuesday's meetings, so that the House Foreign Affairs Committee knows that a hearing on Bangladesh has broad support from the Hindu American community!

What should you say?

Call #1: Your Representative

1. Find out who your Representative is by entering your zip code in the upper right corner at: http://www.house.gov/representatives/

2. Call the Washington, D.C. office. 

3. When the staff member answers the phone, use the following script:

"Hello.  My name is <your name>, and I am a constituent of Representative <your Rep's name> . I am a member of the Hindu American Foundation and am concerned about the escalating violence against minorities in Bangladesh led by Islamist extremist groups. I am calling to ask the Representative to urge the Foreign Affairs Committee to hold a hearing on this serious issue in an effort to generate awareness and discuss broader implications to US interests in the region. Thank you." 

Call #2: House Foreign Affairs Committee

4. Call the House Foreign Affairs Committee directly at (202) 225-5021. 

5. When the staff member answers the phone, use the following script:

 

"Hello.  My name is <your name>, and I am a constituent of Representative <your Rep's name> . I am a member of the Hindu American Foundation and am concerned about the escalating violence against minorities in Bangladesh led by Islamist extremist groups. I am calling to ask the House Foreign Affairs Committee to hold a hearing on this serious issue in an effort to generate awareness and discuss broader implications to US interests in the region. Thank you."  

You've made these two important calls.  Now what?

Please fill out this FOUR question form so we can record your call as complete. Remember our goal is 150 calls before next Tuesday. If you don't fill out the form, we won't know if you called. 

 

Please spread the word and ask your family and friends to make calls. Remember, every call counts!

 

Sincerely,

The HAF Team