Dear friends and supporters,
As may know, in December 2011, IHC, our former fiscal sponsor, lost more than $400,000 worth of donations ear-marked for RAWA’s amazing projects (for the full story, click here). Although we have found a new and wonderful fiscal sponsor, SEE, we are still reeling from this devastating blow. We are trying to rebuild, move forward, and continue our support for RAWA’s work.
Help us rebuild this Women’s History Month!
For every online donation of $100 made in March 2012, we will mail a copy of the remarkable book by Malalai Joya, A Woman Among Warlords, as our “thank you gift” to you.
This book, by one of Afghanistan’s most famous women, chronicles the history of Afghanistan, and its current precarious position, through the eyes of one courageous woman. Every $100 donation will be used toward RAWA’s life saving projects that benefit Afghan women.
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ABC Channel 7 in Los Angeles interviewed AWM Co-Director Sonali Kolhatkar about the devastating loss of funds.
Click here to watch the news story.
Read More...By Jeff Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times
February 14, 2012
More than 200 nonprofit groups, from animals rights organizations to political activists, said most of their donated funds appear to have vanished after the organization that watched over the money suddenly ceased operations last month.
The International Humanities Center closed its offices, took down its Web page and informed its clients by email that it has ceased operation. The center served as an umbrella organization for small nonprofit groups, handling their donations and performing administrative duties.
Read More...Dear friends and supporters of Afghan Women’s Mission and RAWA,
We are deeply saddened to inform you of a devastating incident that has affected our operations.
We were informed in mid-December 2011 that International Humanities Center (IHC), the non-profit group that we had hired to manage our funds since 2003, has lost all of our donations. All of the nearly 200 organizations that had accounts with IHC are the victims of this theft. Altogether, about $400,000 donated to Afghan Women’s Mission to fund RAWA’s projects were lost.
Nothing prepared us for this. We were, and still are, in shock.
Read More...6th Annual Fair Trade and Conscious Gifts Holiday Bazaar
November 15, 2011
WHEN: Saturday December 10th, from 11 am to 4 pm
WHERE: Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Blvd, LA CA 90005 (Geneva Room – wheelchair accessible)
Don’t spend your hard earned dollars at the mall, buying overpriced gifts made in countries with no labor or environmental protections!
Shop with a clear conscience at our 6th Annual Fair Trade and Conscious Gifts Holiday Bazaar.
Browse through a wide selection of hand-made goods made either internationally with fair-trade standards, or locally by LA-based artists.
There will be jewelry, purses, pillow covers, and more from Afghanistan, as well as books, T-shirts, candles, soaps, oils, handicrafts, and much much more!
Click here to view our new inventory of hand-made gifts from Afghanistan, made in RAWA’s income generation projects
Download the flyer here.
Entrance is Free. There will be complementary hot coffee and tea plus delectable cookies and pastries!
Read More...Our event last Friday was a great success! The Skype connection with Afghanistan was impeccable, with excellent sound and video quality. Thanks to our friends at Keycode Media, we were able to stream the event live and capture a full recording, which we now present (after minor edits to clean up dead time and fix some graphics).
For those who missed our live webcast with Reena of RAWA, here it is:
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On the 10th Anniversary of the U.S. war, an underground activist tells the real story of the Occupation & Afghan Resistance
Reena, a member of the Revolutionary Association of the women of Afghanistan (RAWA), will address American audiences via live video stream.
RSVP for the event on Facebook.
AWM Co-Director and KPFK’s Uprising host Sonali Kolhatkar will lead the conversation with Reena via video streaming in front of a live audience. The event will be webcast live on AWM’s website. Questions will be drawn from the in-person audience, and the online audience via Facebook.
WHEN: Friday Oct 7 2011 7pm PST / 10 PM EST
WHERE: Creveling Lounge (CC bld, 2nd floor) PCC campus, Pasadena California or @afghanwomensmission.org.
Open to the public. Entrance is free. There will be books and crafts available for sale.
If you are unable to attend this event, you can watch a live webcast of the entire event on this website! Click here to find out the time of the webcast in your city.
Organized in collaboration with PCC’s Students for Social Justice. KPFK is a media sponsor.
Read More...Former Afghan MP, Human Rights Activist and Author of “A Woman Among Warlords,” Malalai Joya, recorded this message on the Tenth Anniversary of the War and Occupation of Afghanistan:
Transcript of Joya’s message:
Hi everyone, I would like to thank all supporters and anti-war movements around the world who are marking the dark day of occupation of U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan.
Respected friends – 10 years ago the U.S. and NATO invaded my country under the fake banners of women’s rights, human rights, and democracy. But after a decade, Afghanistan still remains the most uncivil, most corrupt, and most war torn country in the world. The consequences of the so-called war on terror has only been more bloodshed, crimes, barbarism, human rights, and women’s rights violations, which has doubled the miseries and sorrows of our people.
Read More...Tenth Anniversary of Afghanistan War: RAWA Member Available for Interviews
September 27, 2011
For Immediate Release
September 21, 2011
Contact: Sana Shuja: 504-669-4446
Sonali Kolhatkar: 626-676-7884
E-mail: press[at]afghanwomensmission[dot]org
Surviving the Longest War: An International Video Webcast
On the Tenth Anniversary of the US war, an underground activist
tells the real story of the Occupation and Afghan Resistance
October 7th 2011, marks the ten year anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Afghanistan. To mark this event, Afghan Women’s Mission (AWM), a U.S.-based non-profit that works in solidarity with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) will hold a special international online talk-back with Reena, a member of RAWA.
“Ten years of war has not made Afghanistan safer for anybody except the fundamentalist warlords in the Afghan government, and the Taliban,” said Reena. This anniversary event, in collaboration with PCC’s Students for Social Justice, will raise serious questions about the official story of the longest war the U.S. has ever officially waged, and will offer the unique perspective of an underground Afghan activist who has witnessed first-hand the impact of the war.
AWM Co-Director and KPFK’s Uprising host Sonali Kolhatkar will lead the conversation with Reena via live video streaming from the Pakistan/Afghanistan region, in front of a live audience. The event will be webcast live on AWM’s website at www.afghanwomensmission.org .
“Using the latest technology available, we are thrilled to be able to broadcast the voice of this young RAWA member – an Afghan speaking for her generation – well beyond the confines of our physical event,” said Kolhatkar. “We invite people from all over the world to mark the tenth anniversary of this war by tuning into our live web video stream of our conversation with Reena.”
Read More...By GARETH PORTER Inter Press Service WASHINGTON – General David Petraeus wrote in his 2006 counter-insurgency manual that the United States command headquarters should establish a “narrative” for the counter-insurgency war – a simple storyline that provides a framework for understanding events, both for the population of the country in question and for international audiences.Read More…
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So Cal Events |
Events and Announcements
- Help us Rebuild This Women’s History Month
- Nonprofits say funds gone with center’s closing
- Our Donations Were Stolen. Please Help Us Recover!
- 6th Annual Fair Trade and Conscious Gifts Holiday Bazaar
- View Recorded Webcast “Surviving the Longest War”
- AWM Marks Tenth Anniversary of the Afghanistan War
>> Read More...
Afghanistan News Wire
- Nonprofits fear money in center’s care vanished
- Gareth Porter: Taliban Hijack the US’s Narrative
- Malalai Joya, Afghan war critic, gets U.S. visa
- U.S. Government Embarrassed by Afghan Woman Again
- Malalai Joya Named by Guardian Newspaper as Top 100 Women
- The Afghan War is Brutal, Expensive, Unpopular, and Ineffective – So Why Are We Spending Billions on It?
>> Read More...
Press Releases
- Tenth Anniversary of Afghanistan War: RAWA Member Available for Interviews
- U.S. Responds to Broad Public Campaign, Grants Malalai Joya Visa!
- US government denies entry visa to Afghan women’s rights activist and author Malalai Joya
- Leading Afghan Feminist Urges Immediate end to U.S. War
- A Woman Among Warlords – Malalai Joya Available for Interviews
- Afghan Women’s Rights Activist Calls for an End to US Occupation
>> Read More...